Word: olsen
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1960-1969
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Died. Harold Ogden ("Chic") Johnson, 66, junior member of the comedy team of Olsen & Johnson, a rollicksome, rubber-faced wag who in 47 years in vaudeville never let a custard pie go unthrown and grew rich, together with Straight Man "Ole" Olsen (currently touring in Europe), by endlessly repeating their zany show, Hellzapoppin, a unique blend of slapstick and what O & J christened "gonk," which they defined as "hokum with raisins in it"; of a kidney ailment; in Las Vegas...
...freshman explained how he was chosen: "I signed up at registration and Dick Olsen came up to my room to see me. Then they threw a party in Pete Wallison's room one night. They had already set up various units and a list of prospective members to contact; later they just told me that I was on the Yard Council...
...last short story and the one that bears the title of the book is by far the best in the collection. All of Tillie Olsen's work (as of now, four published short stories) involves to some extent fading ideals and filial misunderstanding; "Tell Me a Riddle" provides supreme poetic expression of this theme...
...story is gripping. It builds with sequences, flashbacks, and interjected dialogue until the final scene, when the husband understands his own sad metamorphosis and his wife's idealistic strength. Tillie Olsen's style is highly individual in a sense impressionistic. It is almost as if the sensitiveness of a child's reactions and insights were sifting through a loose filter of adult experience...
...Stand Here Ironing" are fairly good short stories, but neither approaches the power of the other two. Again the concern is with resentment between generations and unfulfilled expectations. But in these, which probably relate more directly to her own life, Miss Olsen's unique style, so powerful elsewhere, seems contrived; Nonetheless, they are both moving and certainly well worth an hour of exam period procrastination. "Tell Me a Riddle" alone makes of Tillie Olsen a superb short story writer...