Former Rapid River Magazine poetry columnist Ted Olson doesn’t skydive or find buried pirate treasure hidden on gorgeous beaches around the world. But he is, in my estimation, a man who has entirely too much fun in life.
He’s a poet, which means that he feels every thing he sees or hears more intensely than the average person does. He’s a professor in the Appalachian Studies Department at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tenn., where he has the satisfaction of introducing young people to the study of a fascinating region of the U.S.
As a cultural historian, he wrote a superb book on Appalachian culture, Blue Ridge Folklife (1998), which every Asheville newcomer should read. Not just a word man, Olson is also a musician, who’s made notable contributions (gaining two Grammy nominations) in his work as a music historian.
As a book editor, Olson has brought to readers the literary legacy of writers who deserve more recognition, such as Sarah Orne Jewet and Sherwood Anderson. His latest editorial project is The Hills Remember: The Complete Short Stories of James Still, a labor of love that took almost a decade to accomplish. James Still (1906-2001), once known as the Dean of Appalachian Literature, spent much of adult life alone in a log home in eastern Kentucky. He was a novelist, poet and short story writer, most well-known for his 1940 novel, River of Earth, which was constructed by recycling a dozen of his short stories.
“I was interested in James Still’s work” Olson says, “because he found beauty and nobility in a hardscrabble Appalachian landscape, expressed through his literary efforts in a poetical interpretation of regional dialect.”
The 53 stories in this collection are indeed short, written in a style that is spare and full of action—perfect for today’s busy reader. The characters are simple people who face their struggles with a quiet dignity that is almost mythic. But life is not necessarily fair or forgiving for these characters.
In the title story, “The Hills Remember,” a nasty old codger makes sure he’s not the only man to meet his Maker on the day he’s been accidentally shot in the back. Women don’t fare well in these tales. Like in “The Burning of the Water,” their men pursue unattainable dreams that become nightmares for their families. Childhood is no idyllic time. In Still’s most anthologized story, “Mrs. Razor” (1945), a 6-year-old girl is convinced she is the mother of three children and married to a “lazy shuck of husband” who brings nothing but hunger and humiliation to their lives.
Like his first poetry collection, Breathing in Darkness (2006), Olson’s most recent volume, Revelations: Poems (2012), consists of 78 short poems. His poetry books make perfect gifts for those people who claim they don’t like poetry—his work is so clear you’ll have no trouble understanding what the poem is about, and so meaningful you’ll be breathless from the focused insight of its few lines.
A revelation is something that is disclosed from another source—God, or nature, or perhaps another person—rather than dug out from tragedy, or discovered on a long journey. The inspirational details of nature and the meditative, almost abstract nature of Olson’s poetry, make me think he is channeling his inner Celtic Christian monk.
In “Questions” Olson bemoans the deteriorating changes in Appalachian life:
“And what can the future hold
for people with no stories?”
In a poem about walking, which he claims is his one skill, Olson catapults his simple walks on land to the contemplation of the locomotion of other creatures.
“What sustains me are whims
I have when tired from walking:
my limbs are wings or fins,
if I get the notion.”
In Economy, Olson reminds politicians what a real economic plan is.
“Truth is
there’s never enough money
to buy a sunrise.”
My favorite poem, which is so loving it made me cry, is Caretaker, about an older man who is determined to take care of the weeds at the house of his home-bound mother:
“… he’ll cut those weeds,
so at sunrise/ she’ll wake, look out,
and have no doubt/ she’s part of life.”
In November, Olson fans are in for a treat. He’s reading not once, but two times at local bookstores. A natural storyteller, Olson will entertain us with how the insights of the poems were revealed to him, who were the real people behind the rhymes, and the secret languages in which the creatures and the landscapes disclosed their mysteries.
Ted Olson at the Altamont Poetry Series, Monday, November 19 at 7:30 p.m. Altamont Theatre, 18 Church Street, Asheville. For more information call (828) 348-5327 or visit www.myaltamont.com
Ted Olson poetry reading, Friday, November 30 at 7 p.m. Montford Books & More, 31 Montford Ave., Asheville. For more information call (828) 285-8805 or visit www.montfordbooks.com
Want More?
For information about the life of author James Still, including a glossary of dialectical words and phrases, visit The Hills Remember at www.kentuckypress.com, and http://thehillsremember.wordpress.com.
For information on Ted Olson’s first poetry book visit www.windpub.com/books/breathingindarkness.htm.
For information about Ted Olson’s newest poetry book, visit publisher page www.celticcatpublishing.com/revelations.htm.
To contact Ted Olson about purchasing his other books, email him at olson@etsu.edu.