by Ted Olson New Native Press, a small independent publisher based in Cullowhee, North Carolina, has recently issued a book offering new translations of poems composed by the internationally recognized Spanish-language poets Federico Garcia Lorca and Pablo Neruda. Both of those poets have long been familiar figures to serious fansContinue Reading
from Ted Olson, Rapid River Poetry Editor/Columnist It has been quite an honor to serve for more than three years as poetry editor/columnist for Rapid River and to be part of such a vital arts and culture publication. My sincere thanks to publisher Dennis Ray for entrusting me with thatContinue Reading
The National Storytelling Festival by Ted Olson Appalachia is a storied land. Every place within the region has its own story, and virtually every person who has spent a significant amount of time in a specific Appalachian place has been affected by—indeed, has become part of—that story. The region’s artistsContinue Reading
Poems from New Books by Western North Carolina Poets by Ted Olson Sepia Print: Nov. 2, 1919 They sit on the old wooden swing, The sun on their faces. They are nineteen and in love. She leans against him And looks as happy as She said she once was. ClaspingContinue Reading
James B. Johnston’s Memories of Northern Ireland by Ted Olson When he was a young man living in Belfast, Northern Ireland during the late 1960s, author and publisher James B. Johnston met his future wife Ann. He was Protestant and by background was culturally British, while she was Catholic andContinue Reading
by Ted Olson The Difficulty of Anthologizing American Poetry In 2006 I purchased the then brand-new Oxford Book of American Poetry, a rather massive anthology published by the Oxford University Press and edited by New York City-based poet and critic David Lehman. It was interesting to learn what Lehman consideredContinue Reading
The Dean of Appalachian Literature by Ted Olson Heritage I shall not leave these prisoning hills Though they topple their barren heads to level earth And the forests slide uprooted out of the sky. Though the waters of Troublesome, of Trace Fork, Of Sand Lick rise in a single bodyContinue Reading
by Ted Olson When I began writing this monthly column for Rapid River Magazine in June 2009, I thought I’d primarily be reviewing books by contemporary Appalachian poets. I did so more or less regularly for about a year, but then began to explore other territory….for no other reason thanContinue Reading
