Lynn Riggs

Born near Claremore, in what is now Oklahoma, in 1899, he grew up in a Cherokee family and drew deeply on that background in his writing. After studying at the University of Oklahoma, he built a career as a poet, playwright, and later a screenwriter, becoming one of the important dramatic voices of the Southwest.

His most famous play, Green Grow the Lilacs (1931), was adapted by Rodgers and Hammerstein into the landmark musical Oklahoma!. But his body of work reaches far beyond that single title: he wrote many plays set in Indian Territory and the broader Southwest, often capturing local speech, everyday struggles, and the uneasy meeting of old ways and modern life.

He also spent time working in Hollywood, where screenwriting helped support him financially. Even so, his lasting reputation rests on the distinctive world he created onstage — one shaped by Cherokee heritage, Oklahoma landscapes, and a warm but unsentimental understanding of human nature.