Current Magazine
Kyle Norris

April 2 Alix Olson brings her fiercely articulate and scaldingly intelligent brand of spoken-word poetry to The Ark. Consider these two significant and titillating components. 1) The Ark's deviation from its folk/roots music concentration, and 2) The energetically fueled, astutely perceptive social/cultural criticism unleashed by Olson.

Ark manager Dawn Coraci points out that the idea of featuring poetry at The Ark was sparked by a December event entitled "Night Out With Garrison Keillor." It consisted of an open mic for local poets hosted by the well-known radio personality. Due to the overwhelmingly positive response from the poetry community, The Ark considered this potential. Olson makes a fine match because in addition to her rich and captivating style, she's also demonstrated a history of affiliating herself with Ark-related performers (such as Catie Curtis and Pamela Means, both of whom appear on Olson's spoken-word CD "Built Like That.")

When Alix Olson discovered spoken-word (by stumbling into a performance at one of the art form's original establishments, New York City's Nuyorican Poets' Café,) she says, "I felt like I found home-base." She has evolved into a prolific, recognized, and revered artist (who slammed the winning poem for the Nuyorican team's unforgettable victory in the 1998 National Poetry Slam Championship — a feat folks are still talking about.) She performs over 220 shows a year.

Spoken-word is a communal, audience-participatory genre that spotlights the performance of original poetry. Often times the performer speaks from the perspective of a minority, be that racial, sexual, economic, gender, etc. Olson does not merely "touch upon" this array of issues; she embraces, exemplifies, embellishes, examines, and praises these struggles. When asked why she tours the world performing her poetry, she responds, "Like all of us here in the USA, I am living in a world deluged by SuperWalmarts, TV talk shows, corporate criminals, and little white boys with misplaced rage. What other choice is there, if one has the privilege of time, a political background, and a supportive community, but to be a part of the mountain of voices building and pushing against that terribly devastating monoculture?"