Postcards from Gravelly Beach – Global literature pod dispatches
Postcards from Gravelly Beach – Global literature pod dispatches
Dave Thorvald Olson, storymaker

Postcards from Gravelly Beach – Global literature pod dispatches

LiteraturePersonal JournalsPerforming ArtsPlaces & TravelPhilosophyEnglish
Spoken-word postcards and free-verse dispatches — riffing on Beat and counter-culture lit, poetic life on the road, and historic heroes. Since 2005, Dave hand-makes each communiqué, alchemizing spontaneous readings, field recordings, and ambient sound from splendid locales.
Website
Cereal and Hypnotists – Postcard #93
12 November 2025

Cereal and Hypnotists – Postcard #93

Reading poems from Muriel’s Journey and beyond—small box of cereal, alchemist confer with hypnotists, Osaka Afternoon—free-verse reflections from the caboose on poetry, community, and finding home in Japan.
Noto Roadtrip Diary – Postcard #92
03 November 2025

Noto Roadtrip Diary – Postcard #92

Riffing about earthquake scars, zen temples, sea swims, scrapbooks, aliens, dinosaurs & 7″ records while rain falls in an engawa […]
Items Forgotten (on Spoken Word Radio) – Postcard #91
20 October 2025

Items Forgotten (on Spoken Word Radio) – Postcard #91

Poems on hotel letterhead, resplendent with stamps – crafted in mountains, on tracks and seas, while finding ways to be […]
“Rainy Mystery Alley” (Thorvald and Thurston, spoken word space) – Postcard #90
03 June 2025

“Rainy Mystery Alley” (Thorvald and Thurston, spoken word space) – Postcard #90

Analog loops, guitars, feedback and poetry about impossible alleys, 8 seat bars, villages with book shops, woolen scarves, Fado, Kathmandu […]
100 Items, for 2024 – Postcard #89 (with Olson Family Band) {updated remix}
31 December 2024

100 Items, for 2024 – Postcard #89 (with Olson Family Band) {updated remix}

A Hungarian habit of recollection from creative endeavors to life admin, communiques and campsites, flowing in freeform from Kura barn […]
“Personal Archeology” – Postcard #88 (+ via audio &/or video)
10 December 2022

“Personal Archeology” – Postcard #88 (+ via audio &/or video)

Riffs about the glory of journals, diaries, notebooks full of musings and importance of turning off inner-critic and not overthinking […]
Nepal Stupa Choruses – Postcard #87
23 November 2022

Nepal Stupa Choruses – Postcard #87

Washing dishes and busted spectacles lead to rowing a lake in Nepal figuring out deity, enlightenment, peace and power with […]
Indulge Me, Logistically – Postcard #86
09 November 2022

Indulge Me, Logistically – Postcard #86

Let’s not lose each other amidst the table cloth being pulled out from under glasses and dishes. Meaning: some technical […]
Lost the Plot (Finding Home) – Postcard #85
10 November 2021

Lost the Plot (Finding Home) – Postcard #85

Thinking about “going home in October” or even more, going far away from home via freeverse poetry, read directly from […]
Simon, Stolen, Shame – Postcard #84
12 March 2019

Simon, Stolen, Shame – Postcard #84

A heart-wrenching poem about an abducted boy called Simon – who lived nearby, was my age and sorta looked like me […]