Karol Olesiak is a queer disabled poet, writer, and activist whose work explores trauma and transcendence. Karol is a combat veteran and a co-founder of soldiersforthecause.org, an Occupy Wall Street affinity group and antiwar blog, Karol’s work appears in Laurel Review, Rogue Agent, Neologism Poetry, Soul Forte, Zoetic, Lone Mountain Literary, and other publications. Karol is a Wheeler Prize semifinalist, Saturnalia Books semifinalist, Moonstone Chapbook finalist, and Pushcart nominee with an MFA from University of San Francisco.
PRAISE:
With Saturday Morning Crusades, Karol Olesiak boldly reimagines the mundane as a symphonic stream of thought, playfully drawing attention to the oft-ironic underbelly of the modern world. At once a layered lament and a celebration of euphony, Olesiak’s joyful play with sonics juxtaposes the chapbook’s subject matter, ultimately nodding to the nonsense in the world around us and forcing the reader to parse the harsh truths hidden between the lines.
–nat raum, author of journal of various worries
In Saturday Morning Crusades, Karol Olesiak evokes an impression of something intangible, a crumbling reality that at times seems almost absurd, yet you can’t shake the feeling that each word has been carefully chosen. With each read, you find yourself deciphering hidden meanings, like a puzzle you can’t step away from. There’s something chaotic and fragmented in Olesiak’s language, entwined with a sentiment of exhaustion and overwhelm amid the society’s brain-rot. Olesiak questions everything, including the sense of self, gender, and the world around us. The language doesn’t shy away from a strong critique of spirituality and the reliance on being ‘fixed’ by someone or something else. This poetry collection is heavily based on symbolism and, at times, humorous twists and riddles, but it pulses with frailty and unspoken truths that are often either too unpleasant or too painful to acknowledge.
–Andrea Damic author All The Losses
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