Alix Olson

Alix L. Olson (born 1975 ) is an American poet who works exclusively in spoken word. She uses her work to address issues of capitalism, racism, sexism, homophobia, heterosexism, misogyny, and patriarchy. She identifies as a queer feminist.

Early years and education Olson was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1975 to parents who were both politically minded professors and held ideals that she believes were passed along to her. She has recalled early childhood memories sitting under a table coloring protest signs. Soft Skull Press published Burning Down the House, an anthology that showcased poetry by Olson and her teammates and poetry by Roger Bonair-Agard, the 1998 Nuyorican Team's coach. In 1999, Olson beat Stacey Ann Chin in a slam off, giving her the title of the OUTWRITE slam champion. Olson recorded and published three spoken word CDs: Built Like That (2001), Independence Meal (2004), and Protagonist (2014). She was the subject of the documentary Left Lane: On the Road with Folk Poet Alix Olson, which was released in 2004. In June 2006, Olson co-hosted the Sixth Annual Outmusic Awards with Ari Gold at the Knitting Factory in Rochester, New York.

She is editor of Word Warriors: 35 Women Leaders in the Spoken Word Revolution with a foreword by Eve Ensler, a spoken word anthology published in 2007, which features contributions by Patricia Smith, Eileen Myles, Suheir Hammad, Staceyann Chin, Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz, Lynn Breedlove, Michelle Tea, and others.

In July 2014, blogger Justyn Hintze wrote about Apple's engraving service, which she felt was exhibiting sexist programming. According to Hintze, the programming came to her attention when she attempted to engrave her new iDevice with an Olson lyric, "I’ll give myself a lube job, shake my broomstick 'til my clit throbs", a lyric Hintze described as "feminist, sex-positive, and it makes me smile. Every. single. time."

The blog and subsequent campaign on Twitter, #MyClitMyChoice, garnered media attention.

Olson's work has been featured on NPR, HBO's Def Poetry Jam, Rachel Maddow's Air America radio show, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Curve magazine, Girlfriends magazine, The Advocate, Out magazine, the Lesbian Review of Books, and other media outlets. She has appeared on the covers of Lambda Book Report, Lavender Lens, Velvet Park magazine, She has spoken to the National Organization for Women, GenderPAC, the Lesbian Summit, and poetry festivals in several countries. In 2004, she performed for at March for Women's Lives in Washington, D.C.

Oxford College of Emory University Olson is an Associate Professor of women's, gender, and sexuality studies at Oxford College of Emory University in Oxford, Georgia. Her latest book is called The Ends of Resistance: Making and Unmaking Democracy (Columbia University Press, 2024).

Critical analysis bell hooks described Word Warriors: 35 Women Leaders in the Spoken Word Revolution (Seal Press, 2007), which Olson edited, as "daring to be heard.. to resurrect you." Historian and activist Howard Zinn called Olson "an ingenious poet, a brilliant performer, a funny person, a serious thinker. Quite simply, extraordinary." A critique in Utne Reader calls Olson "...the spoken word diva everyone's talking about." In describing her live performances, The Progressive calls Olson "an electrifying performer who seduces the audience with wit and energy, spinning tales of life on the road between her fiery poems. A sharpshooter with theatrical flair, Olson oozes both love and rage." The Progressive referenced Olson as a "word warrior", and Ms. Magazine described her as a "road-poet-on-a-mission."

Books Word Warriors: 35 Women Leaders in the Spoken Word Revolution, Seal Press, 2007 Burning Down the House, Soft Skull Press, 2003

Awards 1998: National Nuyorican Poetry Slam champion, Austin, Texas. 1999: OUTWRITE slam champion 2000: New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship 2002: Three-time nominee for "Outstanding Artist-Activist" for the OUTMusic Awards 2003: Rape Crisis "Visionary Award" along with Margaret Cho and Nobuko Oyabu 2004: "Best activist" (along with MoveOn) as part of Venus magazine's "Hott List" and OutMusician of the Year by OutMusic for Excellence in artistic expression and LGBT community activism. 2011: Political science travel grant from the University of Massachusetts Amherst 2012: Research assistantship as part of the Graduate Research Initiative Program and the University of Massachusetts Amherst's "Student Choice Teaching Award" 2013: Center for Research on Families fellowship and Distinguished Teaching Award, University of Massachusetts Amherst 2016: New Political Science Christian Bay Award Olson was awarded the Barbara Deming Award and offered a Hedgebrook Fellowship, which she declined

Discography 2001: Built Like That 2003: Independence Meal 2014: Protagonist