A Community-wide Reading Initiative

Join Tulsa County residents in reading folk hero Woody Guthrie’s only fully realized novel – “House of
Earth.” Set in Pampa, Texas, during the Dust Bowl, this earthy book uses lyrical language to paint a portrait
of hardship and hope. Sharecroppers Tike and Ella May Hamlin don’t ask for much, just a house that can
withstand the brutal cold and relentless dust storms that assault their crumbling wooden shack, and a
little piece of land on which they can grow their own food. Longing to build with his own hands a sturdy
house made of earthen bricks, Tike battles the elements and the oppression of Big Agriculture while living
and loving passionately. “House of Earth” illuminates themes that are still relevant today, and is written
with powerful, poetic prose that perfectly complements Guthrie’s musical legacy. Copies of “House of
Earth” are available for checkout at the Tulsa City-County Library.

One Book, One Tulsa is sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust and the Woody Guthrie Center.