At age 17 he also began writing for The Columbian newspaper and contributed articles on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury music scene where his first introductions were to Bill Graham of the Fillmore West and singer Janis Joplin.

During the winter of 1970, Carolan spent time living at the studio home of visual artist Marcos Irrizarry and Abel Bello in Pozuelo d'Alarcon near Madrid, and he credits the experience for showing him the possibilities of a life in the arts.

Back in Vancouver, he began writing for the Georgia Straight, joined P.W.A.C., and as a freelance journalist wrote for publications throughout Canada and the U.S.

[1] His publications include co-translations of the modern Taoist classics The Book of the Heart and The Supreme Way; Giving Up Poetry, a memoir of his studies with Allen Ginsberg; and the critically acclaimed Return To Stillness: Twenty Years With A Tai Chi Master.

He has also worked as media advocate on behalf of international human rights, Canadian Aboriginal land claims, famine relief, and Pacific Coast logging and watershed issues.