Andy Oler

Toby Oler Toby Oler was a songwriter, banjo player, and multiinstrumental artist. He died in Nov. 2025. His brother Andy now manages this page. All proceeds to Backline, a nonprofit providing mental health and wellness resources to people in the music industry. In Toby's words, "All the best to you. Stay observant."

Toby's Bandcamp page is back up and running. All proceeds directly to Backline, a nonprofit providing mental health and wellness resources to people in the music industry. Currently the page includes four instrumental albums, and we will release more of his records over time. tobyoler.bandcamp.com

Charles Dickens – Lebanon, Illinois - The New Territory Magazine Charles Dickens in Illinois. Finding places where the whispers of the spirits occasionally break through. Literary Landscapes by Ryan Byrnes.

Charles Dickens & the Mermaid House Inn—exploring the famous British author’s stopover in Lebanon, IL, finding places where the whispers of the spirits occasionally break through. #LiteraryLandscapes by Ryan Byrnes. #Dickens #LebanonIL #Illinois newterritorymag.com/literary-lan...

Stuart Dybek – Chicago, Illinois - The New Territory Magazine Stuart Dybek & 12th Street Beach—Chicago, IL, and the way memories bind us to place. Literary Landscapes by E.N. Couturier.

Stuart Dybek & 12th Street Beach—Chicago, IL, and the way memories bind us to place. #LiteraryLandscapes by E.N. Couturier. #Dybek #ChicagoParkDistrict #12thStreet #Chicago #Illinois newterritorymag.com/literary-lan...

Toby’s buddy Joel did this extended live version of Toby’s song “Blue Dream” from Thank You Bird Snider. Proceeds to Cardinal Greenway ragenap.bandcamp.com/album/live-a...

Harvey Pekar – Cleveland Heights, Ohio - The New Territory Magazine Harvey Pekar Park at Coventry Rd & Euclid Heights Blvd—a modest park honoring the master of Midwestern mundanity. Literary Landscapes by Joseph S. Pete.

Harvey Pekar Park at Coventry Rd & Euclid Heights Blvd—a modest park honoring the master of Midwestern mundanity. #LiteraryLandscapes by @nwi-jsp.bsky.social. #HarveyPekar #AmericanSplendor #Cleveland #ClevelandHeights #Ohio newterritorymag.com/literary-lan...

Danez Smith – St. Paul, Minnesota - The New Territory Magazine Danez Smith & Black Youth Healing Arts Center—what it takes to create spaces for poets of color to thrive. Literary Landscapes by Chandler Peters-DuRose.

Danez Smith & Black Youth Healing Arts Center—what it takes to create spaces for poets of color to thrive. #LiteraryLandscapes by Chandler Peters-DuRose. #DanezSmith #BYHAC #StPaul #TwinCities #Minnesota newterritorymag.com/literary-lan...

Renee Nicole Good – Minneapolis, Minnesota - The New Territory Magazine Renee Nicole Good at 34th Street & Portland Ave—protestors murdered by ICE in the Minneapolis Bloodlands. Literary Landscapes by Ellen Lansky with Greta Gaard.

Renee Nicole Good at 34th Street & Portland Ave—protestors murdered by ICE in the Minneapolis Bloodlands. #LiteraryLandscapes by Ellen Lansky with Greta Gaard. #ReneeGood #Minneapolis #TwinCities #Minnesota newterritorymag.com/literary-lan...

Literary Landscapes - The New Territory Magazine A project about the ways that Midwestern literature is relevant today—how we engage with the stories we tell about our region.

Read and share Vol. 18 of #LiteraryLandscapes — we have essays on Renee Nicole Good, Danez Smith, Harvey Pekar, Stuart Dybek, and Charles Dickens. 2/2 newterritorymag.com/literary-lan...

A series of five portraits with a blue background. The faces are Harvey Pekar (drawn in comic style), Stuart Dybek, Renee Nicole Good, Danez Smith, and Charles Dickens (artistic portrait).

The newest volume of #LiteraryLandscapes is here! It's a timely issue, with an essay on Renee Nicole Good and two from the Twin Cities. 1/2

High school library bookshelf featuring Lingering Inland alongside several other books by local authors from Hagerstown, Indiana

Aunt Lisa donated a copy of Lingering Inland to my high school library!

What a wonderful way to feature the contributors to LINGERING INLAND!

I'm excited to see so many Lingering Inland contributors highlighted in NewCityLit!

I would particularly love to feature authors from Iowa or the Dakotas, which have so far been underrepresented in #LiteraryLandscapes

Literary Landscapes - The New Territory Magazine CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: We seek brief essays (400-600 words), accompanied by a photo. See a list of authors we're seeking, or pitch your own.

Anyone have a good story to tell about a place related to Midwestern literature? I am working on the next volume of #LiteraryLandscapes and would love to see your pitch! Here's a list of potential sites: newterritorymag.com/midwest/lite...

Stories from the 78 | Lingering Inland: How Midwest Stories, Memory, and Place Shape the American Soul Andy Oler’s Literary Landscapes Project Explores Midwestern Identity Through 73 Voices, From Toni Morrison to the Beauty of Everyday Towns

I was excited to talk to Tom Barnas of Stories from The 78 about Lingering Inland! storiesfromthe78.com/stories/ling...

“Don’t Mind if we doodily do: a night of music celebrating Toby Oler. Orbit Room, January 3” handwritten on a watercolor background

Several of Toby’s friends are gathering this weekend to play his music. Seems perfectly fitting, and I’m grateful both that they’re doing it and that I can be there

Hey, thanks! UIP did an amazing job with it

So happy to have you GO OFF in this book!

Lingering Inland A Literary Tour of the Midwest Author: Edited by Andy Oler Foreword by José Olivarez

Interior pages about Gwendolyn Brooks

Interior pages about John Joseph Mathews

Interior pages about Sojourner Truth

Happy Pub Date to LINGERING INLAND: A Literary Tour of the Midwest edited by @andyoler.bsky.social, with a foreword by @joseolivarez.bsky.social!
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...

#LiteraryStudies #Midwest

Lingering Inland

Today’s the day! Find your copy wherever books are sold!*
* preferably an independent bookstore somewhere between Cleveland and western Nebraska
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...

Mark Twain – London, England - The New Territory Magazine Twain in London, between the upheavals of travel and the resumption of familiar routines. Literary Landscapes by Susan Kumin Harris.

Mark Twain & 23 Tedworth Square—Twain in London, between the upheavals of travel and the resumption of familiar routines. #LiteraryLandscapes by Susan K. Harris. #MarkTwain #London newterritorymag.com/literary-lan...

Mark Twain – London, England - The New Territory Magazine A ruined corner of London that will always be a little paradise for Twain’s ghost. Literary Landscapes by Thomas Ruys Smith.

Mark Twain & Dollis Hill—a ruined corner of London that will always be a little paradise for Twain’s ghost. #LiteraryLandscapes by @thomasruyssmith.com. #MarkTwain #DollisHill #GladstonePark #London newterritorymag.com/literary-lan...

Mark Twain – Hartford, Connecticut - The New Territory Magazine Twain’s Midwestern books, written in his beautiful and eccentric Hartford home. Literary Landscapes by Jacques Lamarre.

Mark Twain House & Museum—Twain’s Midwestern books, written in his beautiful and eccentric Hartford home. #LiteraryLandscapes by @jerklamerk.bsky.social. #MarkTwain #Hartford #Connecticut @marktwainhouse.bsky.social
newterritorymag.com/literary-lan...

Mark Twain – Elmira, New York - The New Territory Magazine The quirky characters and social dynamics of Twain’s time in Elmira, New York. Literary Landscapes by Matt Seybold.

Mark Twain’s writing study—the quirky characters and social dynamics of Twain’s time in Elmira, NY. #LiteraryLandscapes by @mattseybold.bsky.social. #MarkTwain #Elmira #NewYork @marktwain.bsky.social newterritorymag.com/literary-lan...

Mark Twain – Hannibal, Missouri - The New Territory Magazine Discerning fact from fiction regarding Hannibal’s most famous resident. Literary Landscapes by Cindy Lovell.

Mark Twain’s Boyhood Home & Museum—discerning fact from fiction regarding Hannibal, Missouri’s most famous resident. #LiteraryLandscapes by Cindy Lovell. #MarkTwain #Hannibal #Missouri newterritorymag.com/literary-lan...

Here we go, the inaugural issue of Rust Belt Studies: A Journal of Public and Emplaced Humanities! I'm happy to see the work that Katie and Valentino are doing—please read, submit, and support! www.rustbeltstudies.org

I'm glad to finally get this essay online!

I enjoyed working with you on it and learning more about this portion of Twain’s life!

Lingering Inland Pre-Order Pre-orders before Dec. 18 come with a "Midwest Sayings" sticker pack, a New Territory bookmark, and a special ornament with gift wrap! How do the stories we tell about Midwestern places influence or r...

These essays form the bulk of a Twain cluster in the new book LINGERING INLAND: A LITERARY TOUR OF THE MIDWEST. Pre-orders shipping now! shop.newterritorymag.com/products/lin...

Literary Landscapes - The New Territory Magazine A project about the ways that Midwestern literature is relevant today—how we engage with the stories we tell about our region.

This time around, we've got essays by @mattseybold.bsky.social, Cindy Lovell, @thomasruyssmith.com, Susan K. Harris, & @jerklamerk.bsky.social. Please read and share! newterritorymag.com/literary-lan...