Featured Writer

Maryann Olson

Writing workshop participant at the Housing Authority of Portland's (HAP) Holgate House Apartments for HAP residents and other adults living on a low income and/or with a disability.

Maryann Olson was born in Germany. In 1954, at the age of six, she was adopted by an American military family, and was raised in Aberdeen, Maryland. She has two biological sisters she’s never met, and a stepbrother. A single parent, she raised two daughters who are now 31 and 36, and has two grandsons.

You can read more about Maryann (pictured, right) and her writing, which is featured in our fall 2008 anthology, Now/Past/Future, and below.

Remembering That Day

By Maryann Olson

I remember this day, we had a rough day. Nothing went right, the girls wouldn’t settle down, and anything I tried to do turned out to be like chaos. Then that night I tried to put a waterbed together, the girls running around and on top of the bed, screaming and playing. I had had it, I began to yell and curse, tears streaming down my face. Don’t you realize I can’t do this by myself, it’s hard and you’re making a mess, blaming them for everything. On and on I was yelling. Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door. A voiced called out this is the police open up. As my heart raced even harder. I put the screwdriver down and rushed to the door. What is going on here? The police asked, the neighbors said you’re beating your daughters.

The oldest daughter stood behind me and said no, Mommie just got upset because we were not listening to her. As the two officers check the girls over for red marks and bruises my heart pounded even harder. Are they going to take my girls? raced through my head.

After some silence, as the officers stepped aside to discuss the situation, they turned and gave me a card with numbers and said they can help you.

The officers asked if they could help with the bed, and when they got done and ready to leave, one of them said, we understand what you’re going through, just be careful.

After they left I turned to the girls and there at the table Ellen was asleep and Ginger reached up for a hug. As I held her in my arms I began once again to cry with relief, whispering Oh! dear Lord forgive me, I am so sorry, please help me as I raise there girls by myself. Oh! please forgive me!

Interview with featured writer Maryann Olson

Biography writer and interviewer: Katy Michel, Write Around Portland volunteer, pictured below with Maryann

What brought you to writing?

I wasn’t great in school but started writing while attending a Christian college. I experimented with writing my autobiography, but made the mistake of showing it to a friend who badly critiqued my writing and that I found discouraging so I never finished it.

For a long time, I didn’t write anything at all. But then when faced with battling cancer, I attended a writing class at OHSU. Encouraged by my positive experience there, I signed up for Write Around Portland at Holgate House.

What does writing give you?

I’ve spent time in nursing homes and foster care and have been battling cancer (I’ve been a survivor of 14 years this month!) Also, I live with MS [Multiple Sclerosis]. Writing helps me work through these issues and process the things I’ve been through.

How was your experience with Write Around Portland at Holgate House different from the writing class at OHSU?

OHSU was a smaller workshop, often four to five writers—and this year seven. We lost a writer this year, and when you see people so very ill you become more than a writer, you become a support group.

At Holgate House, there was a larger variety of people. They started with 15 or 17, and became ten regulars. There were so many more people with different backgrounds at Holgate House than in my previous classes, and they responded to the writing differently. Less analytical, their responses were more along the lines of, “Yes, I’ve experienced that, too.” The fact that some [writings] touched me and some didn’t challenged me to form opinions and find good things. Both experiences are very good.

My Write Around Portland volunteer workshop facilitator, Devon, was excellent. I’m really outspoken, and if I went to her with a concern, she tried to work it out. [This workshop] taught me a lot about personal interaction, through writing. The environment was structured, and uncritical. In the tradition of other facilitators, Devon wrote postcards each week to each writer encouraging them in their writing. I still have the cards. At the end of the workshop, the writers each made themselves little books with colored paper, and passed them around to everyone else, each person writing something positive. I really liked that, too.

I learned a lot of tolerance. I’m not always as tolerant as I need to be…tolerance in the way of being able to listen to who other people are. In the workshop I was learning to accept everyone on their own basis, their own personality. The writing prompts were different, from what I was used to. They really let us express ourselves. I also liked the fact that you didn’t have to be a class act writer. You could just be yourself.

Can you tell me a little about your piece in Now/Past/Future, the Write Around Portland anthology [“Remember That Day,” above]?

What was really scary was that I’d lost control. Things were changing, work, my abilities, things in my body…I hid it from myself which created lots of frustration. My oldest daughter is a single parent, and the things I was writing made me reflect…she deals with things similar to me…I try to be a sounding board…but it’s hard not to give her advice sometimes. It’s easier to be a grandparent, I suppose because you can just hand them back and say, “Here you are!”

How did Write Around Portland affect your writing?

One day, our workshop was given a writing prompt. But I couldn’t think what to write, so I looked around at the faces in my workshop. There were no barriers between us. Each person was as important as the next. We each have a place in life, and each have an opinion. So I wrote a piece on that and it got a great response from the group and from our facilitator Devon.

I learned not to write only about my negative experiences. I showed my strengths and my weaknesses. In books nowadays, people are so negative. It’s not on the positive, but they put on a happy ending. Anybody can tell a story and have a happy ending, but it’s harder to really feel it…to read what you wrote and say “Hey, that really did turn out great!”

Each workshop session I left with—most of the time—a strengthened outlook. I left with my strength instead of weakness. I want to see a better way of doing things. You don’t have to live in the past and if you bring up the past, it will show what you learned.

Is there anything you’d like to tell your readers?

I’d like to encourage anyone and everyone who wants to write to write…not to be held back by excuses we come up with. It helps you deal with your life. You need to be able to look at yourself in the positive and not the negative.


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TAKE A Writing Workshop SIGN UP for Write Around Portland News WRITING RESOURCES	Publications & Writers Featured Writer Maryann Olson Writing workshop participant at the Housing Authority of Portland's (HAP) Holgate House Apartments for HAP residents and other adults living on a low income and/or with a disability. Maryann Olson was born in Germany. In 1954, at the age of six, she was adopted by an American military family, and was raised in Aberdeen, Maryland. She has two biological sisters she’s never met, and a stepbrother. A single parent, she raised two daughters who are now 31 and 36, and has two grandsons. You can read more about Maryann (pictured, right) and her writing, which is featured in our fall 2008 anthology, Now/Past/Future, and below. Remembering That Day By Maryann Olson I remember this day, we had a rough day. Nothing went right, the girls wouldn’t settle down, and anything I tried to do turned out to be like chaos. Then that night I tried to put a waterbed together, the girls running around and on top of the bed, screaming and playing. I had had it, I began to yell and curse, tears streaming down my face. Don’t you realize I can’t do this by myself, it’s hard and you’re making a mess, blaming them for everything. On and on I was yelling. Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door. A voiced called out this is the police open up. As my heart raced even harder. I put the screwdriver down and rushed to the door. What is going on here? The police asked, the neighbors said you’re beating your daughters. The oldest daughter stood behind me and said no, Mommie just got upset because we were not listening to her. As the two officers check the girls over for red marks and bruises my heart pounded even harder. Are they going to take my girls? raced through my head. After some silence, as the officers stepped aside to discuss the situation, they turned and gave me a card with numbers and said they can help you. The officers asked if they could help with the bed, and when they got done and ready to leave, one of them said, we understand what you’re going through, just be careful. After they left I turned to the girls and there at the table Ellen was asleep and Ginger reached up for a hug. As I held her in my arms I began once again to cry with relief, whispering Oh! dear Lord forgive me, I am so sorry, please help me as I raise there girls by myself. Oh! please forgive me! © Maryann Olson and Write Around Portland Interview with featured writer Maryann Olson Biography writer and interviewer: Katy Michel, Write Around Portland volunteer, pictured below with Maryann What brought you to writing? I wasn’t great in school but started writing while attending a Christian college. I experimented with writing my autobiography, but made the mistake of showing it to a friend who badly critiqued my writing and that I found discouraging so I never finished it. For a long time, I didn’t write anything at all. But then when faced with battling cancer, I attended a writing class at OHSU. Encouraged by my positive experience there, I signed up for Write Around Portland at Holgate House. What does writing give you? I’ve spent time in nursing homes and foster care and have been battling cancer (I’ve been a survivor of 14 years this month!) Also, I live with MS [Multiple Sclerosis]. Writing helps me work through these issues and process the things I’ve been through. How was your experience with Write Around Portland at Holgate House different from the writing class at OHSU? OHSU was a smaller workshop, often four to five writers—and this year seven. We lost a writer this year, and when you see people so very ill you become more than a writer, you become a support group. At Holgate House, there was a larger variety of people. They started with 15 or 17, and became ten regulars. There were so many more people with different backgrounds at Holgate House than in my previous classes, and they responded to the writing differently. Less analytical, their responses were more along the lines of, “Yes, I’ve experienced that, too.” The fact that some [writings] touched me and some didn’t challenged me to form opinions and find good things. Both experiences are very good. My Write Around Portland volunteer workshop facilitator, Devon, was excellent. I’m really outspoken, and if I went to her with a concern, she tried to work it out. [This workshop] taught me a lot about personal interaction, through writing. The environment was structured, and uncritical. In the tradition of other facilitators, Devon wrote postcards each week to each writer encouraging them in their writing. I still have the cards. At the end of the workshop, the writers each made themselves little books with colored paper, and passed them around to everyone else, each person writing something positive. I really liked that, too. I learned a lot of tolerance. I’m not always as tolerant as I need to be…tolerance in the way of being able to listen to who other people are. In the workshop I was learning to accept everyone on their own basis, their own personality. The writing prompts were different, from what I was used to. They really let us express ourselves. I also liked the fact that you didn’t have to be a class act writer. You could just be yourself. *Can you tell me a little about your piece in Now/Past/Future, the Write Around Portland anthology [“Remember That Day,” above]?* What was really scary was that I’d lost control. Things were changing, work, my abilities, things in my body…I hid it from myself which created lots of frustration. My oldest daughter is a single parent, and the things I was writing made me reflect…she deals with things similar to me…I try to be a sounding board…but it’s hard not to give her advice sometimes. It’s easier to be a grandparent, I suppose because you can just hand them back and say, “Here you are!” How did Write Around Portland affect your writing? One day, our workshop was given a writing prompt. But I couldn’t think what to write, so I looked around at the faces in my workshop. There were no barriers between us. Each person was as important as the next. We each have a place in life, and each have an opinion. So I wrote a piece on that and it got a great response from the group and from our facilitator Devon. I learned not to write only about my negative experiences. I showed my strengths and my weaknesses. In books nowadays, people are so negative. It’s not on the positive, but they put on a happy ending. Anybody can tell a story and have a happy ending, but it’s harder to really feel it…to read what you wrote and say “Hey, that really did turn out great!” Each workshop session I left with—most of the time—a strengthened outlook. I left with my strength instead of weakness. I want to see a better way of doing things. You don’t have to live in the past and if you bring up the past, it will show what you learned. Is there anything you’d like to tell your readers? I’d like to encourage anyone and everyone who wants to write to write…not to be held back by excuses we come up with. It helps you deal with your life. You need to be able to look at yourself in the positive and not the negative.	"Write Around Portland has expanded my abilities, expanded my ideas and most of all, expanded my circle of friends. " Paula Nielson, Write Around Portland Participant Provide a writer with a writing journal, pen, bus tickets, and an anthology. Featured Writer Maryann Olson Click here to read about past featured writers.
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