Three artists to be honored as 'Oklahoma Legends'
BY JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer
Sunday, October 21, 2012
10/21/12 at 4:28 AM
Three of Oklahoma's most influential artists - S.E. Hinton, Roy Clark and N. Scott Momaday - will be honored as "Oklahoma Legends" in a special presentation Nov. 1 at Oklahoma State University-Tulsa.
The event, sponsored by the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers, will be honoring Hinton's contributions to film, Clark's to music and Momaday's to literature.
Tickets are $15 and are available by calling 918-596-7109, or at tulsaworld.com/mytix
Teresa Miller, executive director of the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers, said, "'Oklahoma Legends' is a new event we're hosting to honor some of our state's leading artists. Their work has spanned the decades and their influence will continue to reverberate with many generations to come.
"Each of the featured artists will be doing a special presentation as part of the awards ceremony that will showcase the talents that made these artists legends here in Oklahoma."
Hinton pioneered the concept of "young adult" literature with the 1967 publication of her novel "The Outsiders." In the early 1980s, Hinton's novels caught the attention of Hollywood, and a series of films based on her stories were filmed in and around Tulsa.
These included Francis Ford Coppola's films based on "The Outsiders" and "Rumble Fish," as well as adaptations of "Tex" and "That was Then, This is Now."
Hinton will be interviewed on stage by former Tulsa World writer John Wooley.
The films helped launch the careers of a generation of actors, including Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Diane Lane, Emilio Estevez, Ralph Macchio, C. Thomas Howell and Nicolas Cage.
Clark is perhaps best known for his years as co-host of the popular TV variety show "Hee Haw." Yet Clark's abilities as a guitarist and as an interpreter of songs earned him multiple awards as Entertainer of the Year and Instrumentalist of the Year from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association.
He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry.
As part of the "Oklahoma Legends" evening, Clark will perform accompanied by the Tulsa Playboys.
Momaday won the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his first novel, "House Made of Dawn." The Lawton native has published volumes of poetry, essays and plays, and was featured in the Ken Burns documentary "The West."
He was named the Oklahoma Centennial Poet Laureate in 2007, the same year he received the National Medal of Arts from then-President George W. Bush.
Momaday and fellow writer Michael Wallis will perform selections from Momaday's "The Bear-God Dialogues" as part of the evening.
Original Print Headline: Three artists to get honor of 'Legends'
James D. Watts Jr. 918-581-8478
james.watts@tulsaworld.com
