from Object Magazine
August 2001
by Rob O'Brien
Last year, in the middle of all the one-person narratives and goofy comedies of Fringe Fest, Alix Olson sold out, sold out five shows at the Old Arizona Studios doing just one thing -- standing on stage and reading her poetry.
In a world where publishers pay about one cent per poem printed, that's pretty damn amazing. That kind of popularity is unheard of. The great power of an Olson reading is in the positive wave it sends through a crowd that's been insulted and villainized by the mainstream culture (GLBT people, activists, welfare recipients, etc.). As energizing as a May Day parade, her poetry leaves the listener rekindling notions of hope for their community and their world that they thought had left forever. Olson's show at the Bryant-Lake Bowl (www.bryantlakebowl.com) will without a doubt send the audience out into the night believing change is possible.
Samples of Olson's poetry are available at her website: www.alixolson.com
Recently, Olson took time out of her tour schedule to bounce a few ideas back and forth over e-mail:
Q: How important is storytelling to your poetry?
A: Storytelling is the backbone of most art, I think, and it takes many forms. My stories tend to focus on my particular and individual observations of the world around us. My hope is that by putting my value system, my little heart and brain on the line, I can remind myself, and hopefully others, that it is okay to do that.
Q: How do you see the integration of the political and the poetic in your work?
A: They are inseparable. The very idea that art and politics are somehow at odds with each other is what keeps Politics uninteresting, uncreative, and bound to suit-wearing bores; and keeps Art repressed, suppressed and underfunded. The world is a poetic, political place, so when the world is where you ground your work, the result will be both poetic and political.
Q: For poetry that's so political, what's your creative technique? Do you start with a line of verse or the idea you want to talk about?
A: Generally, I begin with an observation -- of a person or a few people in a situation that I find interesting. The dynamic of interactions between people is artistic. We dance around each other in such a fascinating way. Often, I'm inspired by magazine headlines, bits of conversation, snippets of TV shows. My work depends upon being rooted in the moment. Sometimes, I'm revolted by aspects of our culture, but still fascinated in my revulsion. I think that your own fascination with the topic is the most important element in writing/performing; otherwise, why should others be subjected to your ideas?
Q: Did your poetry always take such a performance bent, or did it originate in more traditional forms?
A: My work has always been performative. I write in my head and I write to perform. And, actually, that IS the more traditional form -- before pen and paper, poets were bards who performed, sang, danced their poetry to groups of people. Poetry was a liberated art form, and I love that spoken word returns it to its roots. Of course, I read a lot of poetry, and love it in all of its forms.
Q: How do you respond to criticism that what you do is performance art and not poetry?
A: A poet in Portugal once said that during a poetry festival in Porto, Portugal; spoken word in Portugal had not yet become popular, and there was some confusion over what art form it was. Clearly, what I write is poetry since it is for the most part iambic pentameter and rhymes -- that much is fairly simple. But, as far as performance art/theatre -- I think that label is also fair. It doesn't much matter to me what it's called, except that the slam poetry/spoken word community is very much committed to reclaiming the concept of poetry -- as poetry for the people, as a return to the roots of speaking to one another -- and I am a part of that wonderful artistic, political community.
Q: What have you been working on lately?
A: I've been on tour for the past three months, with shows almost every night. Neeve and I, who run Feed the Fire Productions, have been trying to make it to each show on time. That's been our work! We've also just finished making a CD, "Built Like That" on the Feed the Fire label, and run an educational grant program called "Youth Aloud," which sends spoken word artists into high schools to teach: the LGBTQ high school and the women's prison high school here in NYC are our schools.
Q: How long till you figure you're named "the most dangerous woman in America?"
A: I can only dream ... No, I think I'm too much of a wussy at heart to be that dangerous. I think big.
Q: How many times do you figure you've been cited as an example of the "radical homosexual agenda?"
A: Hopefully by cute, radical homosexuals!!
Q: Any Dubya poems in the works, or are you ignoring the court-appointed executive?
A: I've been a bit overwhelmed by this administration -- I think many of us are still just getting over being dumbfounded. I do have some Dubya material/poetry in the works, but mainly I have optimistic "okay, now what are we going to do" thoughts. It's much more important to me that we start thinking and planning about the future, about alternatives, about a third party, than make fun of the guy. (Though, goddess help me, it's so tempting ....)
Q: If you had a chance to produce and direct Hamlet and could do anything you want with the script and staging, what would you do?
A: Get rid of his Tragic Flaw. Those TF's always keep us down, don't they?
Alix Olson at Bryant-Lake Bowl, 810 W Lake St, Mpls; Aug. 24 & 25 at 9:30 p.m.; $12; 612-825-8949; for more info, visit www.bryantlakebowl.com or www.alixolson.com
Questions or comments? Write stage@objectmag.com