USAmericans LOVE their dead poets. Especially those who they can’t or aren’t able to understand during the poet’s life. Charles Olson is another case in point. Living in poverty at the end of his life in 1970, Charles Olson was the subject of a major panel, reading and exhibition in Tucson, Arizona (of all places) in October of 2008. Charles Olson: Language as Physical Fact happened at the University of Arizona Poetry Center and was sponsored by CHAX Press. A few more details are available here: http://chax.org/eoagh/issuefive/olson.html

Curriculum of the Soul, a Charles Olson Centennial Conference, happens June 4 through 6, 2010, at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, where their Special Collections Library specializes in Beat and Black Mountain literature.

Of course, one of the best spots for Olson news is the OlsonNow blog: http://olsonnow.blogspot.com/