Peter Olevnik grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, a former manufacturing center at the confluence of three rivers — the Maumee, St. Joseph, and St. Mary’s — in the northeastern corner of the state.
A lover of language and art throughout his life, he earned his PhD at the State University of NY at Buffalo, and spent most of his working years as a university librarian in Illinois and New York.
Peter’s first anthology was Look Homeward Asheville, a collection of poems and stories that was published by Grateful Steps Publishing in 2009 and nominated for the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award. An accomplished artist, Peter has enjoyed showings of his paintings, portraits, and drawings in galleries and exhibitions in Illinois, Indiana, New York, and his adopted home state of North Carolina.
Peter and his wife, Judy, recently relocated to Jacksonville, FL, to be near family. For many years before their move, Peter served as both facilitator of and participant in the annual “Poetry Sunday” celebration of poems presented by members of the Unitarian-Universalist Congregation of Asheville, of which he is a long-time member, and helped establish the “Poetry Lovers” participant group that meets at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute affiliated with the University of North Carolina, Asheville.
Buried Pennies
Buried Pennies is Peter Olevnik’s second book, and includes both numerous drawings made both close to home and during his travels overseas.