The University of Tulsa, in collaboration with Magic City Books, announces Switchyard at Mayfest, May 9-11 in the Tulsa Arts District. This festival within a festival convenes writers and musicians featured in the latest issue of the award-winning Switchyard magazine to examine, celebrate and reimagine the future of rural America. Switchyard at Mayfest includes six events over three days with 15 speakers, including bestselling authors Bill McKibben, Monica Potts, and Jeff Sharlet, among others. Tickets begin at $10.
“Every election cycle, rural America is oversimplified and reduced to a set of easy cliches,” reflected Switchyard magazine editor and University of Tulsa Presidential Professor Ted Genoways. “This issue of Switchyard – and accompanying talks at this festival – are intended to present a richer, more complex version of multiple rural Americas.”
Switchyard at Mayfest complements the latest issue of the magazine to present a multifaceted view of rural America that captures the dynamics and intricacies of this under-covered and often misrepresented region. Award-winning journalist C.J. Janovy describes coming of age as a lesbian in Nebraska. New York Times bestselling author Monica Potts documents the shortage of in-home health workers in Upstate New York. Jeff Sharlet, a finalist for this year’s National Book Critics’ Circle Award, explains how the hippie communes of rural Vermont became havens for conspiracy theory and hate. Bill McKibben, considered the leading voice on climate change, writes about how farmers and ranchers across the Farm Belt are joining the climate fight.
The alignment of the Switchyard magazine issue launch with Mayfest is no accident. University of Tulsa President Brad R. Carson said he welcomes the opportunity to bring new content to Tulsa’s beloved Mayfest tradition.
“Art, music, and literature are the soul of society; they reflect our deepest emotions, challenge our perceptions, and inspire our greatest achievements. At The University of Tulsa, we believe in providing a platform for writers and artists to share their unique voices with the world,” said Carson. “By fostering these opportunities, we not only enrich our cultural landscape but also empower individuals to contribute to a diverse and vibrant tapestry of human experience.”
Switchyard at Mayfest tickets range in price from $10 to $20 per talk, per person. TU offers an all-event VIP pass for $100, which also includes access to VIP areas of Mayfest as well as tickets to two concerts at Cain’s Ballroom: Waxahatchee on Wednesday, May 8, and The Great Divide on Saturday, May 11. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit switchyardmag.com or tulsamayfest.org.
Switchyard at Mayfest Schedule
An evening with Bill McKibben and Andrea von Kampen
Thursday, May 9, 6 p.m.
OKPOP Museum, 422 N Main Street, Tulsa
Switchyard at Mayfest kicks off with a night of music and conversation. Singer-songwriter Andrea von Kampen begins the evening with an acoustic performance and then she will join renowned climate activist Bill McKibben and Switchyard magazine editor Ted Genoways for a lively conversation about how people can take action to address the new era of climate change.
A Screening of “No Place Like Home: The Struggle Against Hate in Kansas”
Friday, May 10, 12 p.m.
OKPOP Museum, 422 N Main Street, Tulsa
Switchyard welcomes Academy Award-winning filmmaker Kevin Willmott and C.J. Janovy, an award-winning writer and director of content-journalism at KCUR, to screen and discuss their documentary film “No Place Like Home: The Struggle Against Hate in Kansas.”
Lost Promise and Resilience in Rural America
Friday, May 10, 2 p.m.
OKPOP Museum, 422 N Main Street, Tulsa
Monica Potts, acclaimed author of “The Forgotten Girls,” engages in a captivating discussion with Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, award-winning author of “The Overlooked Americans,” as they delve into the heart of rural America’s challenges and discover rays of hope for the future.
Exposing the Ku Klux Klan in America
Friday, May 10, 6 p.m.
OKPOP Museum, 422 N Main Street, Tulsa
Timothy Egan, author of New York Times Bestseller, “A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them,” engages in a riveting conversation with Kevin Willmott, the director and Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman.”
A Journey into the Heart of America
Saturday, May 11, 10 a.m.
Cain’s Event Room, 423 N Main Street, Tulsa
New York Times bestselling author and esteemed journalist Jeff Sharlet and acclaimed political activist Jane Kleeb delve into the heart of America’s complex political landscape and explore the power of community as Americans navigate through uncertain times together and discover how ordinary citizens are becoming catalysts for change, forging a path toward unity and cooperation in the face of adversity.
Thrilling Tales from Rural America
Saturday, May 11, 1 p.m.
Cain’s Event Room, 423 N Main Street, Tulsa
Switchyard at Mayfest concludes with an edge-of-your-seat writers’ salon. One of America’s hottest crime fiction writers S.A. Cosby and bestselling Rocky Mountain gothic fiction writer Kali Fajardo-Anstine read from their most recent novels and then join award-winning fiction writer and translator Jennifer Croft, and American Studies academic Karen Roybal for a riveting roundtable discussion about rural crime, gothic fiction, and class, race, religion, and sex in rural America.