Usually right away you have some that are more amateur and some are wonderful. Calling himself a person who reads and writes poetry, not a poet, Olson is not a prolific writer. He is pleased if he completes four or five poems a year. Chosen as a reader in previous Poets' Night Out, Olson believes the venue provides poets both an outlet for their writing and a sense of community. It evidences a real strong interest in poetry, at least in a segment of the community.
Poetry is very much alive in Traverse City.
An environmental lawyer, Olson began writing poems more than 20 years ago, while mired in an intense legal battle in the Upper Peninsula against land and mining interests, plus the State of Michigan. In the midst of all that pressure, he left his office one afternoon and wound up in a local bar drinking wine. As his mind wandered, his poetic muse sparked and came to life. I was writing poems. It was a breakthrough of something I didn't know about myself.