title: A Charles Olson Reader
author:  Charles Olson 
description: Charles Olson (1910-70) believed that poetry exists in an 'open field' through which the poet transmits energy to the receptive reader. Olson's influence on the development of British and American poetry through his writing and teaching is immense. His work encompasses myth, history, scholarship and politics, grand theories and delight in the particular variousness of life, all marked by the curiosity and openness to experience that he asked of his readers. Olson grew up and returned to live in the seafaring town of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and it was from the life and language of its citizens that his poetry drew its strengths. "The Reader" includes extracts from the full range of Olson's poetry and prose, including letters, interviews and the full text of the key essay 'Projective Verse'. Ralph Maud, a colleague of Olson's from 1963-5 and the editor of Olson's letters, has supplied an introduction, supporting illustrations, notes and bibliography to this essential resource.
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  _g u i d e t o_
  
  _L o n d o n_
  
  5 t h E d i t i o n
  
  By
  
  Donald Olson
  
  original text by Ben Illis
  
  ![](Images/image00560.jpeg)
  
  _g u i d e t o_
  
  _L o n d o n_
  
  5 t h E d i t i o n
  
  By
  
  Donald Olson
  
  original text by Ben Illis
  
  other titles in the
  
  _IRREVERENT GUIDE_
  
  series
  
  Irreverent Amsterdam
  
  Irreverent Boston
  
  Irreverent Chicago
  
  Irreverent Las Vegas
  
  Irreverent Los Angeles
  
  Irreverent Manhattan
  
  Irreverent New Orleans
  
  Irreverent Paris
  
  Irreverent San Francisco
  
  Irreverent Seattle/Portland
  
  Irreverent Vancouver
  
  Irreverent Walt Disney World
  
  Irreverent Washington, D.C.
  
  About the Author
  
  Donald Olson is a novelist, playwright, and travel writer. His novel _The
  Confessions of_ _Aubrey Beardsley_ was published in the United Kingdom by
  Bantam Press, and his play, _Beardsley,_ was produced in London. His travel
  stories have appeared in the _New York_ _Times, Travel & Leisure, Sunset,
  National Geographic _ guides, and many othe