{"id":35886,"date":"2017-03-18T11:16:14","date_gmt":"2017-03-18T17:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=35886"},"modified":"2018-09-23T11:32:20","modified_gmt":"2018-09-23T17:32:20","slug":"read-local-first-jason-olsen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/read-local-first-jason-olsen\/","title":{"rendered":"READ LOCAL First: Jason Olsen"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/em>READ LOCAL First<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>is your glimpse into the working minds and hearts of Utah\u2019s literary writers. 15 Bytes regularly offers works-in-progress and \/ or recently published work by some of the state\u2019s most celebrated and promising writers of fiction, poetry, literary non-fiction and memoir.<\/p>\n

Today we present Price-based\u00a0Jason Olsen.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A professor of English at Utah State University Eastern, Jason favors us with an excerpt of his full-length collection,\u00a0Parakeet<\/em>, forthcoming from\u00a0BatCat Press<\/a>. Of this work, Jason writes, \u201cParakeet\u00a0<\/em>doesn\u2019t move logically and sequentially\u00a0from page to page as would a normal poetry collection. Instead, it provides instructions and\/or options\u00a0at the end of each page as to where the reader will go next. It\u2019s a poetry book version of\u00a0Choose Your Own Adventure\u00a0<\/em>books, kid\u2019s books from the 80\u2019s that were written in second person and gave the reader a chance to determine the direction the story took. What I\u2019m sharing here are few pages from the middle of the book to provide a look at the style and poetics moves in the collection.\u201d<\/p>\n

So . . . curl up with your favorite cup of joe and enjoy Jason Olsen!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

excerpt from\u00a0Parakeet<\/strong><\/em><\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

They weren\u2019t always<\/h4>\n

merely symbolic, my hands\u2014<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

in the Thursdayness of my billfold,<\/h4>\n

a parakeet (according to sources, a bird of<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

limited potential)<\/h4>\n

was searching for freedom.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

You don\u2019t want to believe it\u2019s true,<\/h4>\n

but I picked up the bird<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

and walked toward the donut mirror<\/h4>\n

in my bathroom,<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

the mirror in which I have never seen<\/h4>\n

the center of my own face.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

The parakeet found a crevice<\/h4>\n

within my reflected eyes<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

and flew completely through,<\/h4>\n

finding what was waiting outside,<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

not just of me,<\/h4>\n

but my walls.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

The mirror didn\u2019t move.<\/h4>\n

The rug was silent.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

There was only one of me<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

interested, suddenly, in the direction<\/h4>\n

the world was willing to take.<\/h4>\n

___________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

If you want to read 34 lines describing the speaker\u2019s longing after watching the parakeet leave, turn to page 46.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you think the poem should shift into a meditative monologue in which the speaker debates the direction of his or her life, turn to page 18.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I want to remember the value of flavor<\/h4>\n

in terms of your mouth<\/h4>\n

and its ability to taste\u2014but my memory<\/h4>\n

is a sponge trying to absorb a waterfall.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

I\u2019ve done the math\u2014every four and half seconds,<\/h4>\n

I forget something else.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

That dog that lived next door to my Aunt\u2019s place<\/h4>\n

before she embezzled the fifty grand and moved<\/h4>\n

to Quebec? Can\u2019t picture it.<\/h4>\n

The singer who belted out \u201c99 Luftballoons?\u201d<\/h4>\n

Poof\u2014gone, like I never even knew it.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

You might have thought I was staring at my own ceiling,<\/h4>\n

but right now I\u2019m actually in a lit class from my memory,<\/h4>\n

forgetting things before I learn them.<\/h4>\n

This class is from ten years ago. I\u2019m entitled to forget.<\/h4>\n

Some old poet and his tense relationship to form?<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

If I hadn\u2019t copied Aaron\u2019s notes,<\/h4>\n

it would have been lost to me forever.<\/h4>\n

Instead, it\u2019s only lost to me now.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

Tomorrow, whatever didn\u2019t quite<\/h4>\n

inspire my green ink gel pen will vanish.<\/h4>\n

Only one thing will remain.<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

___________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Maybe the speaker should return back to the longing for the parakeet established earlier in the poem. If you agree, turn to page 17.
\nIf you\u2019d rather read about the speaker\u2019s relationship to the green ink gel pen, turn to page 50.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0*<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Humanity sings as soft<\/h4>\n

as an imported bomb shelter.<\/h4>\n

I perch on the logs and telephone poles of America,<\/h4>\n

just large enough.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

I sneak inside the air ducts<\/h4>\n

of bus stations and hotel lobbies.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

I swerve out and in<\/h4>\n

the pale green streets.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

I\u2019m singing above<\/h4>\n

someone else\u2019s ecstasy,<\/h4>\n

torn between lovely mornings<\/h4>\n

here and abroad.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

What I know of humanity<\/h4>\n

is a propeller voice.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

The downtown landscape<\/h4>\n

is circled red.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

I\u2019ll never need comfort again.<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

___________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

The parakeet and the speaker are becoming one entity. Turn to page 52.<\/em><\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The parakeet was syntax on the stage,<\/h4>\n

illumination on the bus.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

The moment is motionless, however,<\/h4>\n

because Arizona becomes smaller,<\/h4>\n

an airplane state<\/h4>\n

in an asphalt world.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

I am so in need.<\/h4>\n

Take me, drag me<\/h4>\n

out of Hell and tell me something<\/h4>\n

about motion or migraines. Eyes<\/h4>\n

are blinking in the clouds.<\/h4>\n

It\u2019s a little creepy.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

I am so completely<\/h4>\n

small.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

Brace yourself.<\/h4>\n

Do dah. Do dah.<\/h4>\n

Parakeets are raiding<\/h4>\n

jet planes.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

Hold on only<\/h4>\n

if you\u2019re interested in endings.<\/h4>\n

___________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

The poem is finished now.<\/em><\/p>\n

#<\/p>\n

Jason Olsen is originally from Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and has lived in Price, Utah for nine years. His first collection of poems,\u00a0Parakeet<\/em>, is forthcoming from BatCat Press in June 2017.\u00a0His poems and stories have been published widely in journals, including in\u00a0Rattle<\/em>,\u00a0The Mid-American Review<\/em>, and\u00a0North American Review.\u00a0<\/em>He was twice named a first place winner in two separate categories in the Utah Original Writing Competition. In 2013, he won the Book Length Collection of Short Stories category, and in 2016 he won the Book-length Collection of Poetry category. He is an Assistant Professor of English at Utah State University Eastern. You can watch Jason\u2019s Bite Sized Poetry video from 2015\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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READ LOCAL First\u00a0is your glimpse into the working minds and hearts of Utah\u2019s literary writers. 15 Bytes regularly offers works-in-progress and \/ or recently published work by some of the state\u2019s most celebrated and promising writers of fiction, poetry, literary non-fiction and memoir. Today we present Price-based\u00a0Jason Olsen.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1566,"featured_media":38271,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_piecal_is_event":false,"_piecal_start_date":"","_piecal_end_date":"","_piecal_is_allday":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,2513],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-literary-arts","category-read-local-first"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/jason-olsen-picture-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-02 12:21:03","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1566"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35886"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38272,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35886\/revisions\/38272"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}