April 16, 2004
Asheville Citizen-Times

By Christine Hawes

Spoken word artist Alix Olson speaks her mind at Club Hairspray

9:51 a.m.


Today, Alix Olson is a true international leader of a cutting-edge art form - a spoken word artist who has received mainstream exposure through recognized names like CNN, HBO's Def Comedy Jam and Utne Magazine.

Just four years ago, Olson was an unknown newcomer, even in a subculture known for being alternative. She was one of the few spoken word artists appearing on the women's festival circuit, let alone anywhere outside of a few cafes in large cities.

How did she come so far so quickly? By simply being herself. That means using fans' photos for her publicity shots, hiring close friends who share her political views as her touring staff, and being consistently loud and proud as a self-described feminist "queer activist."

"I'm never going to be a mainstream name. I'm never going to be somebody that thousands of people will come to see," Olson says. "It just seems to me there's a spot for everybody in the world. You find your spot, and you work with it."

Olson is returning to Club Hairspray on Wednesday and will likely hits an assortment of hot-button topics: women's rights and sexuality, the Iraqi war and her interpretation of it as an "occupation and manslaughter ... this fixation on the word `terrorism' and how it has eaten up every other word."

With the beaming, innocent face of the all-American boy or girl next door, Olson is described as electrifying, explosive and occasionally shocking on-stage. Her multi- faceted persona stems from a fascinating personal history, including being raised without a strong gender identity by parents who were "one of the few radical, progressive people" in a small Pennsylvania town. Her parents named her after Alix Kate Shulman, a feminist author.

Olson remembers feeling "different" from other kids, but not at all isolated. "I knew how lucky I was." She thrived in anything related to reading or performance, and got her first taste of an audience when an elementary school teacher chose her to read to the kindergartners.

The only difficult after-effect of her nontraditional upbringing was Olson's obsession with debating, and questioning, and expressing.

"I was constantly calling people on their (expletive)," Olson says during a phone interview, with a soft, smiling voice that makes it hard to imagine what she is describing. "I was always engaging, always angry. I had a lot of rage."

Olson says that once she discovered spoken word as her destiny, and began performing more of it, her personal anxiety subsided. In fact, she says, her entire career has grown out of nothing more than a desire to express herself, a feeling that "I should go and share this."

"I really didn't even know what a career in spoken word would mean," she says. "I couldn't imagine how one could make a career in spoken word."

Today, in addition to her high-profile appearances, Olson performs 200 to 250 shows on the road each year. She is now in the process of completing a 90-minute documentary about her life on the road that will be released in August.

Cuts: Spoken word artist Alix Olson performs Wednesday night at Asheville's Club Hairspray.