I remember when the Language of the Land exhibit came to Oklahoma City from the Library of Congress. That exhibit declared us a western state, and the illustrative map showed all of the contiguous states west of the plains in a nice clump, and there was Oklahoma jutting out of it, like a puzzle piece that didn’t quite fit. (Texas was proclaimed Southern in that exhibit, by the way.)

Take a look at the Oklahoma Almanac’s Demographics section and check out Zelinsky’s Cultural Regions map of the state. We do indeed have influences from all of the areas: midwestern, southern, southwestern, and western. Settlers came to our state from all of those areas. Add Indian Removal to the mix and I think you have a good idea why some people describe Oklahoma as schizophrenic.

But what fertile ground for writers!