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Walk A Little Slower: A Collection of Poems and Other Words
Walk A Little A Collection of Poems and Other Words is a book of hope, honesty, and joy by Tanner Olson. This collection of more than 60 poems and writings will invite you to slow down, lean in, hold fast, and to keep going. In the midst of the uncertainty and unknown, the already and not yet, the hopes and fears, we can easily forget that life was meant to be enjoyed. Tanner Olson’s writing weaves together faith, questions, humor, and hope as he encourages you to walk a little slower.
128 pages, Paperback
Published November 9, 2021
144 people are currently reading
887 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
April 29, 2023
So fun and easy to read. Olson has a great ability to convey his deep complex thoughts on faith through really simple language. I love it
August 19, 2024
Some really good words in here. Made me love Jesus more. Made me want to slow down and just enjoy the ordinary things of life. To just enjoy being in God's presence. Made me want to hug my family and, yes, walk a little slower.
August 3, 2023
Loved these sweet sweet poems about slowness, faith, ordinary life, deep grief, hope in God, noticing the ordinary& simple. These poems felt like a deep breath
January 14, 2022
Perfect read for the surgery waiting room. The poems are definitely some that I will come back to again or save to share with people when I think they could use them. Saving this one for Jake to look at because I don’t think he’d typically like poetry but might like this.
January 23, 2022
Steeped in nostalgia and faith, these poems were refreshing. They were beautifully ordinary.
January 1, 2023
started off really strong but felt a bit repetitive. i appreciate the topics of conversation and messages but i couldn’t relate as much when the poems were consistently about “Him”. not so much for me but my jesus lovers would love this book. overall, good poetry but not as hard hitting as i had hoped.
May 8, 2024
This was a really good book. I bought it randomly a while ago and finally got around to reading it. It’s great for people going through a transition like graduating as you look at what was, what is, and what is to come.
August 26, 2024
I'm not a poetry person. It's confusing and the meaning is obscured and I don't like having to fight to understand what I am reading. No thanks.
But I've come to learn that all poetry is not Shakespeare or Dickinson. Some poetry is more like words strung together in an artistic way to make a picture. That's what these poems and other writings are and I like these much better.
In these, I found words that express what I'm feeling. I found words that seeped into my hurt and my heart. I cried. I felt a few pieces fit back together. It was good.
I still say I don't like poetry, as a general rule. But I'll try something if it's like this.
But I've come to learn that all poetry is not Shakespeare or Dickinson. Some poetry is more like words strung together in an artistic way to make a picture. That's what these poems and other writings are and I like these much better.
In these, I found words that express what I'm feeling. I found words that seeped into my hurt and my heart. I cried. I felt a few pieces fit back together. It was good.
I still say I don't like poetry, as a general rule. But I'll try something if it's like this.
Read
November 8, 2024DNFing at 45%… is it bad to DNF poetry??
So sorry, just not connecting to it at all. It doesn’t feel personal at all, but like every motivational Pinterest quote ever.
So sorry, just not connecting to it at all. It doesn’t feel personal at all, but like every motivational Pinterest quote ever.
July 10, 2025
I look forward to Tanner Olson’s Substack posts every single day, and I loved this sweet book of poetry.
October 12, 2025
I love this man and his work. I’ve seen him speak and his book was just as awesome.
September 20, 2022
I read this via the kindle version, and while I could tell the poems had goodness packed in them, the words were all jumbled. I’m not certain if the kindle version is simply messed up, or if this author really did write in a very confusing layout. Two stars for the good things I was able to extract, but it was mostly unreadable.
Dear author, If you read this review, you might want to simply make certain the kindle version is set up as you intended. I can tell you have talent, I just wish I could’ve fully read your words!
Dear author, If you read this review, you might want to simply make certain the kindle version is set up as you intended. I can tell you have talent, I just wish I could’ve fully read your words!
November 21, 2021
I've always loved Tanner's poems. They speak me to right where I'm at and feel like an old friend! My favorite collection of his is still "As You Go" but there were still beautiful words in this one too!
January 4, 2023
I personally didn’t resonate with everything. I don’t like judging poetry as a poet myself, but this just particularly wasn’t for me. Some poems were amazing but a lot of it felt like a youth pastor. Idk
April 29, 2023
As a poet should, Olson leaves his personality all over the book. It begins with the appropriate title pages and logistical information, then the introductory copyright and credit information section, concluded with “This book goes great with coffee,” and followed by three near-blank pages, the first reading “i wrote this for you” and the third “just happy to be here,” and finally the table of contents. The book is split into four sections, “Slow Down,” “Lean In,” “Hold Fast,” and “Keep Going.” Each section begins with a longer work sharing the name of the section — mostly longer narrative prose / prose-poetry pieces establishing a theme for the poems contained in that section.
The first section of this book touched home with me in countless ways. I don’t struggle to pick my favorite works in the book: the title poem, “Walk a Little Slower,” as well as “A Journal Entry from Arcadia, MI” and “Phone” — all found in the first section. As the book continues, I found myself struggling more and more to follow closely with the poems, as they stray further from concrete images and more into philosophical ramblings with far too much repetition. While I read, I marked poems exceptionally effective to me, but left no marks in the third section. The fourth section had some exceptions, “The Long Way Home,” “Eighth Grade,” “Stillness,” and “It’s Nice to Meet You,” but none of these meet the quality I saw in the first works. I can’t help but imagine some of these poems were written exclusively to be printed on an otherwise blank white or eggshell canvas and hung in a middle-class guest bathroom.
In particular, the poem “…Hold On” falls as a low point of the book. There are four two-or-three-line stanzas that each end with the line “…hold on.” The first three stanzas essentially say the exact same thing, and the fourth does little to elaborate. I think the words “hold on” carry more weight and depth on their own than the poem attributed to them with anything in addition. The book contains other similar poems that attempt to encourage or do something in that vein, but they lose the power of Olson’s writing, which I see in his description of sights and foods and people he loves.
Contrasting “…Hold On,” I love the poem “A Journal Entry from Arcadia, MI.” Olson begins with a simple statement of fact: he’s writing the poem on his in-law’s front porch in Arcadia. He goes on to describe some sights around him, says he woke up slowly without anything to do that day but “reminisce or something,” and proceeds to reminisce for most of the poem. The poem is middle-sized relative to the rest of his work, spanning almost two pages with plenty of white space between lines, but it holds my attention well, jumping between a few topics relevant to his reminiscing on his in-law’s porch. He talks about having fallen in love, and finding she loved him too, then moving across the country to be with her. In the second half of the poem he talks about eating a couple peaches the day before — they were messy, but he considers eating a peach messily to be the only way, and worth it in the end. The peaches serve nicely as a small metaphor of how he feels about his wife and the “tornadoes and hurricanes” they endured during their long-distance relationship.
After reading the book, I wouldn’t necessarily consider myself a fan of Olson, though I enjoyed and felt touched by some of his work. In some cases, like the piece “Lean In,” I think the story alone was more impactful to me than any part of his writing. I would like to read more of his work in the future. I’ll probably buy his newest book, Continue: Poems of Prayers and Hope (2022) and see if he’s exhibiting growth into the particular style of his poetry I enjoy, taking a turn elsewhere into new or different territory, or maybe remaining stagnant in what he’s doing now. Regardless, I do see the value of some of his works I didn’t enjoy. I would recommend this book to the worrying friends of mine — those who are anxious or consider life to be a race they may fall behind in.
While some of Olson’s poetry misses the mark in my eyes, oftentimes altogether lacking the sophistication or skill I like to see in poetry, his best work achieves its goal of bringing peace and hope to its readers. It’s clear to me that he enjoys the simplicity of his poetry. He likes dumb rhymes and cutesy metaphors. Those aren’t always for me, but he thinks correctly in his first poem in the book, “Before You Begin…” Pretentious or not, Olson writes, “Slow down. / Sit with these words. / Give them time. / Stay awhile. / / I think there is something in this book for you,” and there were poems I needed to read.
The first section of this book touched home with me in countless ways. I don’t struggle to pick my favorite works in the book: the title poem, “Walk a Little Slower,” as well as “A Journal Entry from Arcadia, MI” and “Phone” — all found in the first section. As the book continues, I found myself struggling more and more to follow closely with the poems, as they stray further from concrete images and more into philosophical ramblings with far too much repetition. While I read, I marked poems exceptionally effective to me, but left no marks in the third section. The fourth section had some exceptions, “The Long Way Home,” “Eighth Grade,” “Stillness,” and “It’s Nice to Meet You,” but none of these meet the quality I saw in the first works. I can’t help but imagine some of these poems were written exclusively to be printed on an otherwise blank white or eggshell canvas and hung in a middle-class guest bathroom.
In particular, the poem “…Hold On” falls as a low point of the book. There are four two-or-three-line stanzas that each end with the line “…hold on.” The first three stanzas essentially say the exact same thing, and the fourth does little to elaborate. I think the words “hold on” carry more weight and depth on their own than the poem attributed to them with anything in addition. The book contains other similar poems that attempt to encourage or do something in that vein, but they lose the power of Olson’s writing, which I see in his description of sights and foods and people he loves.
Contrasting “…Hold On,” I love the poem “A Journal Entry from Arcadia, MI.” Olson begins with a simple statement of fact: he’s writing the poem on his in-law’s front porch in Arcadia. He goes on to describe some sights around him, says he woke up slowly without anything to do that day but “reminisce or something,” and proceeds to reminisce for most of the poem. The poem is middle-sized relative to the rest of his work, spanning almost two pages with plenty of white space between lines, but it holds my attention well, jumping between a few topics relevant to his reminiscing on his in-law’s porch. He talks about having fallen in love, and finding she loved him too, then moving across the country to be with her. In the second half of the poem he talks about eating a couple peaches the day before — they were messy, but he considers eating a peach messily to be the only way, and worth it in the end. The peaches serve nicely as a small metaphor of how he feels about his wife and the “tornadoes and hurricanes” they endured during their long-distance relationship.
After reading the book, I wouldn’t necessarily consider myself a fan of Olson, though I enjoyed and felt touched by some of his work. In some cases, like the piece “Lean In,” I think the story alone was more impactful to me than any part of his writing. I would like to read more of his work in the future. I’ll probably buy his newest book, Continue: Poems of Prayers and Hope (2022) and see if he’s exhibiting growth into the particular style of his poetry I enjoy, taking a turn elsewhere into new or different territory, or maybe remaining stagnant in what he’s doing now. Regardless, I do see the value of some of his works I didn’t enjoy. I would recommend this book to the worrying friends of mine — those who are anxious or consider life to be a race they may fall behind in.
While some of Olson’s poetry misses the mark in my eyes, oftentimes altogether lacking the sophistication or skill I like to see in poetry, his best work achieves its goal of bringing peace and hope to its readers. It’s clear to me that he enjoys the simplicity of his poetry. He likes dumb rhymes and cutesy metaphors. Those aren’t always for me, but he thinks correctly in his first poem in the book, “Before You Begin…” Pretentious or not, Olson writes, “Slow down. / Sit with these words. / Give them time. / Stay awhile. / / I think there is something in this book for you,” and there were poems I needed to read.
December 26, 2021
A very peaceful follow-up to our Christmas Eve and morning- curled up in my pajamas reading Tanner's latest poetry collection. I was super intentional about walking slower this season and not getting caught up in the worldly aspects of celebrating Jesus's birth. Being gifted this book was a true blessing and reminder of why slowing down is so important.
An added bonus- I was able to hear Tanner read several of the poems in this collection in October at church. Totally added to my reading experience. Catch him if you can!
An added bonus- I was able to hear Tanner read several of the poems in this collection in October at church. Totally added to my reading experience. Catch him if you can!
May 1, 2023
Most of the poetry I have been exposed to has been dark, sad, or realistic. While I enjoy being realistic and seeing the common natural human pessimism sometimes, it isn't always the right mood. This book was a nice breather from the hopeless poems. It holds many poems of hope and optimistic feelings. It also speaks of being a symbol of hope to others. The title itself refers to the poem in which a child is asking their parent to "walk a little slower" so he can follow in his footsteps. Overall, this book was pretty good, even though I'm not a big fan of poems.
April 2, 2024
Reading this book was like breathing in fresh air. The simplicity of Olson’s words was beautiful and made me appreciate the small ordinary things. A great read to inspire hope and remind you that God is always there.
Quotes I liked:
“Light is always on the way”
“Life is messy but so is art. Both a process, often never finished, left undone with more to be done or re-done”
“Faithfulness doesn’t always make a noise. It is the quiet that keeps me close to You. Hope doesn’t always whisper or yell.”
Quotes I liked:
“Light is always on the way”
“Life is messy but so is art. Both a process, often never finished, left undone with more to be done or re-done”
“Faithfulness doesn’t always make a noise. It is the quiet that keeps me close to You. Hope doesn’t always whisper or yell.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2022
The gift of this book has drawn me closer to many. The Hope Of Forever is “my personal poem.” Author Tanner Olson using his time and talents to shine light on readers in a way that gives love in the quiet moments of reading or laughter during loud boisterous group sharing. Even reading Coffee provides a warm embrace. Check it out!!!!
November 8, 2023
This book meant so much to me! I tried to read this book a few poems at a time in order to savor it, and it was so worth it. I haven’t cried while reading in a long time, but I’ve Never Seen a Moose in the Wild had me bawling. Incredibly powerful poems that inspire me to live life more intimately with Jesus.
November 22, 2021
Tanner Olson has a very genuine voice. I appreciate the way he shares his faith and his doubts. How he is vulnerable and relatable. I get the book as soon as I can after every release and I am never disappointed. I am always going to support him and suggest you read his stuff too!
August 29, 2022
There were some really beautiful poems in here. And then there were some fun ones and silly ones; musings by the author. A lot of talk about God (which may or may not be your thing), but enjoyable all the same.
December 28, 2021
The humor lights up these gentle, wise poems. Good words to face a new year with (or a new day).
January 20, 2022
Another beautiful work from Tanner Olson that connects, relates, provokes and inspires. Keep writing Tanner. Keep being you. Keep being true.
January 24, 2022
Tanner is a wonderful writer. Each poem is thoughtfully written and thought provoking. This is a book for every wanderer, discoverer and ponderer. It is an encouragement and a joy to read.
January 31, 2022
the perfect invocation for a new year
March 1, 2022
I usually hate poetry but so many of these really hit deep in the soul
August 26, 2022
Wonderful sentiment and a surprisingly Faith-filled collection. The authors voice is authentic and nice. But I wanted a little more from it in the end. Look forward to future work from Olson.
December 8, 2022
Beautiful writing!
December 15, 2022
This book hit my soulllll. Cried a few times too. One of my favorite poetry books ever.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews