Max Olesen

Max’s family history combines two distinct paths that he tries to live and teach by: the imaginative and the practical. The first path is more obvious as Max’s mother and grandmother were elementary school teachers and his maternal grandfather was a university professor. His father was a landscaper and his paternal grandfather was an auto mechanic. Max worked in landscape construction while earning Bachelors and Masters degrees in English from the University of Victoria.

Max wants to combine the imaginative and practical in his teaching. He tries to help his students communicate with the world in a practical and efficient manner, while also dreaming big and thinking deeply, critically, and creatively. Since joining the college in 2013, Max has become a member of the English Department’s continuing faculty and has had the privilege of teaching courses in composition, creative writing, and literature, working with the students and staff that make Camosun a special place. He looks forward to continuing his journey at Camosun and helping others in their own journeys.

Courses Teaching/Taught:

• ENGL 094: Provincial English Literature
• ENGL 103: Preparatory Academic Writing
• ENGL 151: Academic Writing Strategies
• ENGL 161: Literary Genres
• ENGL 163: Introduction to Literary Traditions - Science Fiction
• ENGL 290: Special Topics in Literature - Weird Fiction
• CRWR 150: Introduction to Speculative Fiction

Publications

Non-fiction:

“Ambiguous Gods: Mythology, Immigration, and Assimilation in Neil Gaiman’s American Gods (2001) and ‘The Monarch of the Glen’ (2004).” ‘Curious, If True’: The Fantastic in Literature, edited by Amy Bright, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012, pp. 116-144.

“The Apotheosis of the Unnameable: Introducing H.P. Lovecraft”. Grey Ghost Review, No. 3/Journeys. 2019, pp. 70-72.

Fiction:

“Come, Thick Night”. Grey Ghost Review, No. 2/Home. 2019, pp. 26-30.

“The Tunnels”. ergot. November 3, 2023.