| Alix Olson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1975 Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | Spoken word poet |
Alix Olson (born 1975 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania[1]) is an American poet who works exclusively in spoken word. She graduated from Wesleyan University in 1997 and uses her work to address issues of capitalism, sexism, homophobia, heterosexism, transphobia, misogyny, and patriarchy. She identifies as a queer feminist.[2]
In 1997, Olson began performing at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, where she eventually made the 1998 Nuyorican Poetry Slam team. She and her fellow Nuyorican team members Lynne Procope, Steve Coleman and Guy LeCharles Gonzalez would go on to win the 1998 National Poetry Slam Championship that year in Austin, TX.[3] This championship would lead to Soft Skull Press publishing the anthology Burning Down the House which showcased poetry by Olson, Procope, Coleman and Gonzalez as well as poetry by the 1998 Nuyorican Team's coach, Roger Bonair-Agard.[4]
Olson's work has also been published in several publications including Emanuel Xavier's Bullets & Butterflies: queer spoken word poetry (Suspect Thoughts, 2005) and Amy Sonnie's Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology (Alyson Publications, 2000). She has been a headliner on HBO's Def Poetry, and is the subject of a documentary film, Left Lane: On the Road with Folk Poet Alix Olson by Samantha Farinella.
She edited the spoken word anthology, Word Warriors: 35 Women Leaders in the Spoken Word Revolution. The book, published by Seal Press in 2007, features essays and poetry from poets such as Patricia Smith, Eileen Myles, Sarah Jones, Suheir Hammad, Staceyann Chin, Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz, Lynn Breedlove and Michelle Tea, among others.[5]