'Folk poet' voices her emotions

By DEBBIE WOODELL
Philadelphia Daily News

You have to hear Alix Olson. It doesn't do her justice to see her words in print.

No, the Bethlehem, Pa., native is as much a part of her work as the words she writes. Where necessary, her voice expresses rage, love, humor, seduction and more. The easiest place to hear Olson is on her new CD, "Built Like That," available via her Web site, www.alixolson.com.

If you are lucky, you can hear her live.

She has described herself as a "folk poet," partly because of such musical influences as the Indigo Girls, Melissa Ferrick and Ani DiFranco, but also because some of her pieces sound as much like folk songs as anything. "Eve's Mouth," the CD's opening track, for instance, includes her friend, folk singer Catie Curtis, on guitar and backup vocals.

"I'm not a singer, so I wouldn't be able to sing," Olson said in a recent telephone interview.

"But I kind of see my poetry as songwriting, in a way, and then the voice used as an instrument, but vocalizing instead of singing. So, in some ways, it's a political statement, and in some ways, because I don't sing, I think (the poetry) comes out pretty song-like."

It was while a student at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., that Olson grew serious about poetry. Among her earliest influences were Audre Lorde and Adrienne Rich.

"I read tons of poets, but the ones who really spoke to me were the feminists and the lesbians," said Olson, who is gay. "Those are not taught in high school. I didn't really open up to it - getting really passionate about poetry - until I was allowed to hear poets who spoke in a voice I related to."

Olson is focused on her solo career.

She does not hesitate to take on anything she feels needs taking on. In the poems "Daughter" and "Warrior," she embraces feminism and condemns a society that tries to force women into subservient roles. In "Dear Mr. President," she assails global politics and America's tendency to force its way on the rest of the world. "America's on Sale!" rails against capitalism and materialism. "Cute for a Girl" is a sexy poem about, well, sex.

"Politics are being co-opted by people like MTV and corporations," she said, noting her anger at a "feminist revolution" sponsored by Nike. "I needed to reclaim it for myself, and hopefully other people respond to that, too."

Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on June 29, 2001.