Poetry. "WHAT KILLS WHAT KILLS US explores the human condition in all its glory and ferocity. Through Biblical allusion, Greek myth, and coming-of-age drama, this work revels in sheer grit and imagination. Olsson doesn't shy away from atrocity. His is an original use of language, manifested at times by a suspicion of language itself: 'what issued from his mouth seemed as wondrous as a bird / of paradise strutting about, its tail a flag for the next world, / so he kept talking.' Olsson's supreme gift lies in his ability to astonish the reader even as he opens our minds to the state of our own fragile humanity." Judith Skillman"