107: Brief Encounters with the Oklahoma City Bomber – A Conversation with Connie Squires

In this episode, we speak with author Connie Squires about how to balance thematic unity with differentiation in a story collection, the vapidity of middle-class suburban fiction, and what constitutes “gritty realism.” Connie is the author of three novels: Along the Watchtower (Riverhead/Penguin, 2011), Live from Medicine Park (University of Oklahoma Press, 2017), and Low April Sun (University of Oklahoma Press, 2025), and a story collection, Hit Your Brights (University of Oklahoma Press, 2019). Her short fiction has appeared in The Atlantic and The Rolling Stone 500, among others, while her essays can be found in The Village Voice, The New York Times, and World Literature Today. She holds a PhD in English/Creative Writing from Oklahoma State University and now teaches at the University of Central Oklahoma and gives regular talks and readings around the United States.