Elder James Olson (March 9, 1909 – July 25, 1992) was an American poet, teacher and literary critic.
He was awarded a Ph.D. in 1938 from the University of Chicago with the dissertation, General Prosody, Rhythmis, Metric, Harmonic.
He divorced Ann Elisabeth Jones then married Geraldine Louise Hays in 1948, and they had two children: Olivia and Shelley.
He gained full professorship in 1955 and was named Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of English in 1973.
[3] During his career he traveled abroad several times as a visiting professor,[4] but he remained a member of the university faculty until his retirement in 1977.