Green Olive Ghosts

Nicole Zwolinski is a poet and author whose work makes room for the beautiful mess of motherhood, creativity, and ordinary life. Her debut collection, Motherhead, arrives from Finishing Line Press in summer 2026, gathering the intimate, funny, and sometimes tenderly unruly moments that do not fit neatly into a highlight reel.

In this Ship’s Log, Nicole reads live from her work and talks honestly with Jeanne about writing in the in-between minutes of a full life. She shares the practice of keeping a “wins list” when rejection gets monotonous, and the persistence behind publications that took years of quiet submissions before an anthology invitation and a first adult literary-magazine credit in Great Britain.

She also reads “Green Olive Ghosts,” a poem that begins with a ghost in the garage and lands on the hope that her children will always remember her when they see green olives. The conversation moves through motherhood, making time, and the small details that become lasting family stories.

Stay for Two Truths and a Lie, including Nicole’s unexpected stories about being an aspiring actress, the Nutcracker and a violin, and endurance racing. Which one is the lie? Listen and decide for yourself.