Alix Olson

Who is Alix Olson?

Alix L. Olson 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, misogyny, and patriarchy. She identifies as a queer feminist.

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 in Austin, TX. 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.

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.

Olson is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.