Dr. Francine Ringgold Transcript

November 14, 2007

Dr. Kent Gustavson: [music fades] Welcome back to Authors Sound Off Radio. Today is the Oklahoma Centennial Special, and my next guest has contributed immensely to the state’s cultural heritage. Welcome to Dr. Francine Ringgold.

Dr. Francine Ringgold: Hi!

Dr. Gustavson: She’s the former Poet Laureate of Oklahoma, and longtime editor‑in‑chief of “Nimrod, ” the international journal of prose and poetry. How’s the weather down in Oklahoma on this centennial‑‑

Dr. Ringgold: Actually it’s gorgeous today! It’s sunny, it’s very gusty and about 60 degrees.

Dr. Gustavson: It’s often gusty down there in Oklahoma.

Dr. Ringgold: [laughs] Right.

Dr. Gustavson: Can you tell me a little bit first off about your Poet Laureate position?

Dr. Ringgold: Well, I was appointed, I think it was 2003, and it’s usually a two‑year appointment and I was reappointed in 2005. And the task, really, of the Poet Laureate is what you make it, as long as you in some way promote poetry and the love of poetry and writing poetry. So that’s what I try to do.

Dr. Gustavson: Now are you first a poet, or are you first an editor?

Dr. Ringgold: [joking] Ah, what a nasty question! Well‑‑

Dr. Gustavson: [laughs]

Dr. Ringgold: I think probably I’m… first an editor, in the sense that I spend more time doing that. But in some ways it’s simultaneous ‑‑ not that I write at the same time as I edit ‑‑ but I keep being nurtured by what I read, and developing new ideas as to what I want to do, but it’s sort of submerged when I’m working with other people, because when I’m working with other people or other work, I’m really trying to help it emerge.

So I don’t know whether you can put it first, second; it’s like saying “Are you a mother first?” I’m always a mother. “Are you a wife first?” I’m always a wife. As the kids say, we “multitask.”

Dr. Gustavson: So let’s talk first about your poetry.

Dr. Ringgold: All right.

Dr. Gustavson: You have a new poem about your dog?

Dr. Ringgold: [laughs] Yes, actually it’s developing into a book of poems about my dog. And that’s unusual for me, because I usually write… about people, about experiences much more on a personal level. Little did I think that I would be attracted so much or have such an attachment for my dog that I would actually write about him. But of course I’m also using him in some sense as a vehicle for writing about other issues. So that he becomes a metaphor for… many things. I would also‑‑

Dr. Gustavson: I happen to be a dog lover‑‑

Dr. Ringgold: Ah, good!

Dr. Gustavson: [laughs] I‑‑ yes, OK. So I’d love to hear‑‑

Dr: R: All right! OK. As a matter of fact, waiting for you to call, I wrote another one.

Dr. Gustavson: Great!

Dr. Ringgold: But this was a few days ago. It’s called “This Morning.”

[listen to podcast for text]

That’s it!

Dr. Gustavson: It’s a beautiful one.

What would you say about your poetry? It’s very evocative, the one you just read. Is it all emotional like that?

Dr. Ringgold: I am afraid that I am an emotional creature. And probably so‑‑ here’s the one I wrote a few minutes ago. And I must say that I just listened to the end of Diane Glancy ‑‑ and I know Diane very well ‑‑ her interview; and she said something about she puts it down and then she goes back and revises. So I want it to be understood that I really did just write this, but believe me, it’s very raw.

Dr. Gustavson: [laughs]

Dr. Ringgold: It’s called “Sundog”.

[listen to podcast for text]

Dr. Gustavson: I’ve got to say I’m curious about your dog now. Can you tell me a little bit about him?

Dr. Ringgold: [laughs] My dog is a rescue dog. He’s medium size; he’s beige and white and he has a very mottled face. Very sweet‑‑ Oh! Here he comes! [laughs] Very sweet‑looking, and he just is very fast when he runs, but he’s very tender.

Dr. Gustavson: I love dogs. So let’s talk about “Nimrod.”

Dr. Ringgold: OK.

Dr. Gustavson: Because it’s had such an impact on Oklahoma; it’s really created somewhat of a Mecca out of little Tulsa, Oklahoma. Can you just tell me a little bit about the history of “Nimrod”?

Dr. Ringgold: Well, thanks for saying that. And of course we are an international journal. “Nimrod” is, amazingly, 51 years old. It was started by a graduate student at the University of Tulsa. And at first it was a 16‑page stapled job, hot type, and came out three times a year. Now it’s 220 pages, 224, I guess, once in a while larger than that. It now has a four‑color cover.

Our mission is “discovery.” We have published the first poems ‑‑ and stories as well ‑‑ of many well‑known authors; Diane Glancy, whom you just interviewed, being one of them. We also publish well‑known writers who are willing to come along for the ride; they really help promote the new writers.

We also offer a prize in fiction and poetry, yearly. That is a $2000 first prize and a $1000 second prize. We reduce the manuscripts here ‑‑ they’re submitted without a name ‑‑ to 20 in each category, and send them to the judge who is a nationally known and respected writer.

And sometimes he or she makes the right decision [laughing] and sometimes the wrong decision, by which I mean that naturally, since we have over 20 editors, and we’ve been doing this a long time, we have our favorites. But we can’t make the choice, and so that’s what I mean by the right one or the wrong one.

Dr. Gustavson: What has “Nimrod” done for Oklahoma?

Dr. Ringgold: I think that you really put your finger on it when you said we have become a Mecca, because the awards that we give are unusual in that it’s not just a cash prize. We bring the writers and their judges and other writers to Tulsa once a year, and have quite a substantial conference, which is Friday night and all day Saturday.

People from all over Oklahoma‑‑ October 19 we had the conference, and there were participants from seven different states, and 31 communities in Oklahoma. So people look forward to this conference. We have different writers each year that they can work with and learn from.

And so we hope that we have brought that to the area as well. And then when we do international issues or thematic issues, that is a really good contribution. [music starts in background] One of my favorite things; we have done whole issues on India, and two issues on the American Indian population; their writing. Arabic literature‑‑

Dr. Gustavson: So where can we find “Nimrod” magazine?

Dr. Ringgold: You can, I hope, find us at Amazon.com, and also by writing; either emailing nimrod@utulsa.edu. We have a website www.utulsa.edu/nimrod, and we will gladly send you a copy of “Nimrod.” We are in libraries and, we hope, bookstores, but you know how hard it is to have much other circulation in bookstores these days for a little magazine.

Dr. Gustavson: Absolutely. It’s been a great pleasure speaking with you, and happy birthday to Oklahoma!

Dr. Ringgold: Thank you so much! You’re right on top of it, aren’t you?

Dr. Gustavson: Thank you indeed!

Coming up, our next guest is Joyce Carol Thomas. Don’t miss it. [music up and over]

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