The Charles Olson Lecture is an annual event held in collaboration with the Cape Ann Museum to honor and continue the legacy of poetic investigation that Olson practiced during his lifetime.
In 2010, Diane di Prima gave the first Charles Olson Lecture at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Gloucester. Over the years, the following people have given the annual lecture:
The GWC and Cape Ann Museum are continually honored to have such talented and accomplished poets, writers, and creatives come to honor Olson’s legacy with these annual lectures. Their personalities and unique perspectives shine through each speakers’ individual words; and the growing cast of voices only makes Olson’s legacy louder and the community behind it stronger.
Diane di Prima 2010
Iain Sinclair 2011
Anne Waldman 2012
Amiri Baraka 2013
Ralph Maud 2014 – CANCELLED
Michael McClure 2015
Hettie Jones 2016
Ann Charters 2017
Ed Sanders 2018
Stephan Fredman 2019
Ammiel Alcalay 2021
A segment from the First Charles Olson Lecture, given by Diane di Prima. One of the most powerful bits of Diane di Prima’s Charles Olson Lecture was her reading of her poem “Rant”. We are lucky to have it here.
“2nd Annual Charles Olson Lecture” – October 15th, 2011. Greg Gibson introduces Gloucester Writers Center Writer-in Resident Iain Sinclair. Filmmaker/critic Sinclair lectures on Charles Olson at the Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester, MA.
“Third Annual Charles Olson Lecture – Problem Not Solving” – Anne Waldman and Ambrose Bye Present at the Third Annual Charles Olson Lecture – October 13, 2012.
“Fourth Annual Charles Olson Lecture – Featuring Amiri Baraka” – Poet Amiri Baraka reads at The Cape Ann Museum on October 29, 2013 for the Fourth Annual Charles Olson Lecture. Introduction by Ammiel Alcalay.
Ralph Maud was slated to give the 5th Charles Olson lecture at the Cape Ann Museum. Health issues prevented his flying from Vancouver to Boston, and sadly, Ralph passed on December 8th, 2014. Ralph spent decades creating a facsimile library of all the books Charles Olson wrote, read or talked about. We hope you will come and visit the Maud / Olson Library.
“6th Annual Charles Olson Reading” – Micheal McClure. October 3, 2015. Introduction by James Cook
“Hettie Jones – 7th Charles Olson Lecture 10.20.16” – Hettie Jones reads at the 7th Annual Charles Olson Lecture at the Cape Ann Museum. In addition to talking about Olson she reads from her new book, ‘Love, H: The Letters of Helene Dorn and Hettie Jones,’ which can be found at the Bookstore in Gloucester on Main Street or if you shop at Amazon register at Amazon/Smile with the GWC as your non-profit. https://www.amazon.com/Love-Letters-H…
“Eighth Annual Charles Olson Lecture – Ann Charters” – The eighth Annual Charles Olson Lecture, delivered by author, scholar and photographer Ann Charters. 10/21/17, Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester, MA.
“8th Charles Olson Lecture with Ed Sanders at the Cape Ann Museum” – This illustrated lecture, “A Life of Olson, with Glyphs,” features a sequence of projected color Glyphs with text and comments on key points in Charles Olson’s life and times, including the personal interactions of Olson with Ed Sanders beginning in 1962 and continuing until Olson’s passing in early 1970. Included will be a tracing of Olson’s remarkable influence on poetry and writing, lasting into this era and beyond, plus Sanders’ attempt in 1968 to spur a relationship between Olson and Janis Joplin, and other incidents in Olson’s epoch-stirring life.
“2019 Olson Lecture S. Fredman” – This 10th annual Olson Lecture was given by S. Fredman. Recorded October 28, 2019.
Chuck Stein is the author of 10 books of poetry. In addition he is author of the critical study The Secret of The Black Chrysanthemum (1987, Station Hill Press), a fascinating critical study of Charles Olson’s poetry and prose. In a small gathering at the GWC Chuck sketches out Charles Olson’s “Projective Verse” in relationship to Blank Verse with mentions to: Ken Irby, Robert Creeley and Larry Eigner.