Rock is Lit: Oklahoma Grooves: An Inside Look at ‘Live From Medicine Park’ with Constance Squires

In this episode I’m joined by Constance Squires, author of the 2017 rock novel ‘Live From Medicine Park’. The story follows Ray Wheeler, who arrives in Medicine Park, Oklahoma, with the goal of filming a documentary about the comeback of Lena Wells, a singer whose career got derailed by a bad late-night TV appearance in the 1980s. Ray, known for his philosophy of non-involvement with his subjects, finds himself drawn into Lena's world as he begins to probe into her past. As Ray delves deeper into Lena’s story, he uncovers secrets surrounding her band mate Cyril and Lena’s son, Gram. Meanwhile, Gram’s wife, Jettie, a talented musician herself, struggles to pursue her passion for music in the face of familial disapproval. The novel delves into themes of ambition, identity, and the search for authenticity. In addition to ‘Live From Medicine Park’, Constance Squires is the author of the forthcoming novel ‘Low April Sun’ from University of Oklahoma Press. She’s also the author of the 2012 Oklahoma Book Award-winning novel ‘Along the Watchtower’ and the short story collection ‘Hit Your Brights’. Her short fiction has received multiple Pushcart-Prize nominations and other awards and appeared in many prestigious journals, such as the ‘Atlantic’, ‘Guernica’, ‘The Dublin Quarterly’, ‘Shenandoah’, and ‘The Rolling Stone 500’. She wrote the screenplay for the short film ‘Grave Misgivings’ has published nonfiction in the ‘Village Voice’, the ‘New York Times’, ‘Salon’, ‘World Literature Today’, and been featured on NPR’s ‘Snap Judgment’. She holds a Ph.D. in English and is currently a professor of Creative Writing at the University of Central Oklahoma. ‘Live From Medicine Park’ was a 2018 Oklahoma Book Award finalist. Rock is Lit alumnus Jeff Jackson included the novel in his ‘Electric Lit’ article, “7 Candidates for the Great American Rock and Roll Novel.” I’m thrilled to have the chance to talk to her about this must-read for music fans. PLAYLIST Americana Instrumental Music/No Copyright Rock is Lit theme music [Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop” Americana Instrumental Music/No Copyright “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” by Bob Dylan “Baker Street” by Gerry Rafferty “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” by The Hollies “Geronimo” by Moonshine Bandits, featuring Domangue “Choctaw Bingo” by James McMurty “Hey Hey, My My” by Neil Young “Rock & Roll to My Country Soul” by Jenny Tolman “Mystery Train” by Elvis Presley “Game On!” by Aqours “Hot Burrito #1” by The Flying Burrito Brothers (with Gram Parsons) “If You Really Want To Be My Friend” by the Rolling Stones Rock is Lit theme music LINKS: Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Goodpods: https://goodpods.com/podcasts/rock-is-lit-212451 Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rock-is-lit/id1642987350 Constance Squires’ website: https://www.constancesquiresofficial.com/ Constance Squires on Twitter: @ConnieSquires Constance Squires on Instagram: @conniesquires Constance Squires on Facebook: @ConstanceSquiresAuthorPage Christy Alexander Hallberg’s website: www.christyalexanderhallberg.com Christy Alexander Hallberg on Twitter, Instagram & YouTube: @ChristyHallberg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices