OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE: Matthews enjoys words

May 18—Muskogee native Kenny Matthews knows a good line when he writes one.

"For me, it all comes back to words," he said. "I love a good line whether it's in a song or a book, putting those words together the right way."

He enjoys writing songs and stories when he's not working as Jim Lucas Checotah Public Library's branch manager.

Matthews traces both experiences to his childhood, when he attended Pershing and Sadler elementaries.

"One of my earliest memories was driving around with my dad and realizing I can read," Matthews said. "He'd have me read different signs and billboards through Muskogee. I started reading books at that point, and writing even as a kid. I was constantly reading. I'd make up stories."

He said his parents played guitar, which he learned at age 14.

"Dad showed me chords and it took off from there, he said.

Matthews lived in the Texas Panhandle town of Dumas for a few years before moving back to northeast Oklahoma in high school.

"It's different out there, super dry, no trees," he said. "I came back here and all of a sudden I started having headaches, I don't know why. I didn't realize I was allergic to all of the green."

He stayed interested in music after graduating from Tahlequah High in 1998. He toured with the Tulsa group Sleepwalking Home through his 20s.

Matthews worked for several years as a hourly manager at Wagoner's Walmart.

"The store felt like a family, and as much as I liked it, I wanted to do more, get an education," he said.

He went to Northeastern State University while working at Lowe's in Tahlequah.

"Originally wanted to teach history, then I realized I could still do what I wanted to do with history with my English degree," he said.

Matthews started at Lucas library in 2023.

"It sounded like everything I worked for in life, it was all put into this job," he said.

He's getting ready to enroll at University of Oklahoma to earn a masters degree in library and information science.

"I would start in summer but that's our busiest time at the library," he said.

Getting used to the job

Kenny Matthews recalls his first few weeks as Checotah library branch manager. He said co-workers told him he "looked like a deer in the headlights."

"There was so much new information to take in," he said. "I think the idea was that the retail experience was going to be helpful in a lot of what I did."

He said he sees the library as a place where people can gather.

"It's more than home, more than school," he said. "It's one of the few places where people can come and not have to pay for things."

Matthews said he's brought guitar lessons and poetry to the library's programming.

"I have become involved with tabletop role playing with the teens, get them more interested," he said. "We've got a disparity as far as demographics go. We've got school age children and we've got older patrons, with teens/young adults missing, we want to make them know it's a place for them as well."

He said he sees his work paying off.

"Recently on a Facebook post, one of our patrons talked about how good of a role model I am for the teens and for the people in the community," he said. "Knowing your job affects people in a positive way."

Writing is a passion

Matthews has had short fiction published in literary journals, including NSU's Talon. He's now working on short stories based around Checotah and focusing on crime.

He said he can be a harsh critic of his writing

"Do you ever go back over an old piece of writing and you're like 'I'm not even like the same person who wrote that,'" he said. "Sometimes, I'll go over it and think that's a lot better than I sometimes think of myself being."

He said he doesn't let others read or review his work until he's finished with his first draft.

"Sometimes you have to just let it go," he said.

Matthews said some writers are architects, who plan things out while others are gardeners who plant and watch things grow.

"I am definitely a gardener," he said. "I'm pulling weeds and shaping things instead of having an intentional plan."

He's got the music in him

Matthews likes to play the guitar sometimes during lunch breaks.

"It helps me refocus," he said. "Music is soothing to the soul, especially when I'm writing songs or playing songs. It sort of gets past the thinking part of the brain, to the feeling and subconscious part."

Matthews also teaches guitar at the Lucas library. He said the library offers several guitars to check out.

During his 20s he toured with a Tulsa band called Sleepwalking Home, which he described as heavier rock "with more melodic tones."

His performing now is limited to his home.

"My wife and I do music together, she's a good singer," he said. "Like to get something going to where we'd play live sometimes."

He also writes music.

"Right now, I've been into the idea of crossing into country and some of the more emotional music," he said, adding that he likes singer/songwriters Jason Isbell and Ruston Kelly.

"I feel that's where my heart is now," he said. "I want to get a songwriter roundtable workshop, maybe in Muskogee. Someone come in and listen to establish songwriters, learn the craft."

HOW DID YOU COME TO BE AN OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE?

"I was born in Muskogee. I came back to Muskogee after I received this position. I was looking in the Checotah and Muskogee area. Muskogee's always felt like home."

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT MUSKOGEE?

"Its location. It's close to so many things. I have a lot of family in Tahlequah, close to work. It's got a lot of the features of a city while still having that hometown vibe to it."

WHAT WOULD MAKE MUSKOGEE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE?

"Basically some businesses. It has a potential for it to be more than what it is. I want to get involved in the local politics, see what's going on there."

WHAT PERSON IN MUSKOGEE DO YOU ADMIRE MOST?

"Growing up, the biggest impact, without a doubt was my grandma. When I was born, I lived west of Muskogee and she lived down the lane from us. She was one of the strongest women I've known in my life. She was physically strong, and up until the day she died, she was up walking up and down the lane doing stuff. Doing chores. She never backed down. She was strong physically and intellectually, as well."

WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORABLE THING TO HAPPEN TO YOU IN MUSKOGEE?

"I have a lot of good memories of Muskogee. When I got back from Texas and was in high school, I learned to drive and I remember spending a lot of time with friends, driving around Muskogee, getting into mild shenanigans."

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

"My wife and I watch a lot of TV, read a lot of books. We like to travel, recently we went to Las Vegas, probably head to Arkansas in a couple of weeks. We both enjoy plants. I don't have the green thumb she does."

HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP MUSKOGEE IN 25 WORDS OR LESS?

"Prototypical small town feeling with a lot of things you can get in the bigger cities."