“Distinguished Office of Echoes,” a Poem by Lisa Olstein

Lisa Olstein

Lisa Olstein is the author of six poetry collections published by Copper Canyon Press: Radio Crackling, Radio Gone; Lost Alphabet; Little Stranger; Late Empire; Dream Apartment; and Distinguished Office of Echoes. Her nonfiction includes Pain Studies (Bellevue Literary Press/Dreamscape/Hanser), a book-length lyric essay on the intersection of pain, perception, and language; and Climate (Essay Press), an exchange of epistolary essays co-written with poet Julie Carr. Olstein is the lyricist for the rock band Cold Satellite, fronted by songwriter Jeffrey Foucault, and in 2025 Lost Alphabet for voice, five musicians, and electronics, an adaptation of her poems by composer Januibe Tejera, premiered with Ensemble Phace (Vienna). Olstein’s honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, Pushcart Prize, Lannan Writing Residency, Hayden Carruth Award, Writers League of Texas Discovery Book Award, and Sustainable Arts Foundation Award. She is the Ellen Clayton Garwood Centennial Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Texas at Austin.