Background
Wilma Elizabeth McDaniel was born in 1918 in Stroud, Oklahoma, and moved with her family to the Central Valley of California
in 1936 as part of the Dust Bowl migration. She lived in the Central Valley, primarily in Tulare, for the remainder of her
life. Known as an "Okie Folk poet," she is the author of over fifteen collections of poetry and prose, most dealing with
aspects of life in the Central Valley. She was the subject of a film documentary by Chris Simon, "Down an Old Road: the Poetic
Life of Wilma Elizabeth McDaniel." She died April 13, 2007.