Pittsburgh City Paper
Music Previews
6/26/2003
p.64

Alix Olson
Banshee Pride

by Robbie Whelan

Between the aftermath of the Iraq War, violence in the West Bank and an economy wobblier than a Kordell Stewart slant-pass, reading the morning paper is about as uplifting as burning the scrambled eggs. The air is heavy with helplessness, and now that the peace rallies are over, who is going to comfort us? Bush? Rummy? New York City-based feminist dyke slam-poet Alix Olson has a different solution: Take comfort in words.

"I think if people took one minute and thought about whether or not they're happy or satisfied in this society, the answer would be 'no' across the board, but no one has the right to feel helpless," says Olson, who's currently on tour promoting her new CD, Independence Meal. The disc's 12 poems take a hard-edged swipe at the war, the establishment, and what she sees as a patriarchal, greedy society.

This is not the kind of thing you pop in the stereo after a rough day at the office. This is poetry that calls its audience to action the same way Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up" does, only without the laid-back reggae grooves (or the ganja). In their place are pent-up rage, liberal usage of FCC-proof language ("fuck" and "cunt"), and an abrasive, confrontational style.

"The reason that I use the language that I use is to point out how ridiculous it is that the language is foul in the first place," Olson says. "I love words & but the idea that a word could ever be 'dirty' is ridiculous. What's dirty is when words are used against us."

Through her readings at college campuses and poetry festivals from Oregon to Portugal, Olson's devotion to words has garnered the respect of the spoken-word community at home and abroad. Her audiences, she says, are largely female, and generally agree to some extent with what is being said into the mike. Olson is radical enough, it seems, that most of the time she is preaching to the converted. "But even the converted need inspiration," she insists. "What I would hope my art is doing, at its best, is a roomful of people feeling a surge of power together. Shows are like rallies for me!"

As for the poetry itself, it doesn't even consider pulling punches: Olson takes what she sees as the world's problems and smacks you in the face with them. The poems are pretty much without subtlety, sometimes even heavy-handed, but that's kind of the point. "To me, the world of consumerism and sexism and racism is so totally not subtle that the voice inside my head screams to be unsubtle in response," she says. And unless you want to fuel the fire, don't ever accuse her of being too outspoken: "Women have always been accused of being too loud, too banshee-like. I proudly reclaim that."

Alix Olson performs at 10:30 p.m. Thu., June 26, at Club CafÈ, South Side. 412-431-4950.