Prof’s book contending for Oklahoma must-read

4:08 p.m., Oct. 20, 2005--Will Rogers: A Biography, by Ben Yagoda, professor of English at UD, has been nominated as one of six books for the “Oklahoma Reads Oklahoma” program designed to help celebrate the state’s centennial in 2007.

The project celebrates the Sooner State’s diversity by encouraging the reading, discussion and enjoyment of Oklahoma-themed literature.

Online voting at [www.okreadsok.org] is open to citizens of all states. The deadline for voting is Monday, Oct. 31. The winning selection will be announced Nov. 7, and reading and discussion programs will take place in 2006.

Published in 2000, Will Rogers: A Biography, is the story of the Oklahoma native and popular humorist also known as “The Cherokee Kid.” From the early 1920s until his death in 1935, Rogers was considered to be the most popular man in America. His newspaper column drew 40 million readers daily. He was the country’s biggest radio entertainer, lecturer, movie star and homespun sage.

A contributor of articles, essays and reviews to more than 50 national publications, including Esquire, The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine, Yagoda [www.english.udel.edu/byagoda] teaches courses in journalism and nonfiction writing. He is coeditor of The Art of Fact: A Historical Anthology of Literary Journalism and is the author of About Town: The New Yorker and the World It Made, as well as The Sound and the Page: Style and Voice in Writing.

Article by Jerry Rhodes

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