Date: July 20, 2023
Dear Reader,
Continuing in this 30th issue of the 3rd Thursday Newsletter, I will be chronicling the Tacoma Artists Initiative Program project to compile and publish an anthology of poetry of Tacoma. The project is called Voices of Tacoma: A Gathering of Poets.
And don’t forget that the July Gathering of Poets will be at Wheelock Library on Tuesday, July 25, at 6:30pm. We look forward to seeing you there!
Continue reading below to learn more.
Write253 is hosting POETS A GO-GO on August 3, from 6pm to 8pm at Hilltop A Go-Go (1016 MLK Jr. Way) so buy your tickets now! This event will help raise funds for the many programs Write253 provides to the young writers of the Tacoma area. There will be a silent auction with a great selection of unique items, karaoke, printmaking, and poetry!
Parable Tacoma and Blue Cactus Press have partnered to bring the Writer’s of Color Writing Club on the 2nd Friday of every month, from 6p to 8pm at Parable.
Join author, entrepreneur, and Blue Cactus Press founder Christina Vega for a half-day, in-person workshop to learn about Publishing for Entrepreneurs on Sunday, July 30, from 1pm to 4pm. The workshop outlines the main components of book production for entrepreneurs interested in self-publication. Workshop content includes:
An overview of different publishing models — self-publishing/entrepreneurial, traditional publishing, and hybrid publishing — and the costs and benefits of each route.
A breakdown of essential components of book production, including book development, editorial, design, printing, marketing, and sales.
Suggested timelines and budgets for publishing a book.
Workshop zine that includes all workshop content, reference material, and suggested media for continued publishing education.
I participated in this workshop a couple of years ago and highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to publish.
Tacoma Writes will be meeting at Heritage Coffee & Plant House on July 25th, August 8th, and August 22nd, 6pm to 8pm. Check out their Instagram post and come build a community of Tacoma writers!
The Tacoma Arts Commission is accepting nominations for the 2023 AMOCAT Arts Awards! Award Categories are Community Outreach by an Individual, Community Outreach by an Organization, and Arts Patron. Make a nomination by July 30 via Submittable.
Check out Creative Colloquy’s website to read some of the coolest stories you’ll find from South Sound writers and poets. And remember, they are always taking submissions!
Taking a (well deserved) summer hiatus, Creative Colloquy Open Mic and Literary Readings will return in September.
July 20, 2023
Chronicle of Voices of Tacoma: A Gathering of Poets - Part 3
Dear Reader,
With the 30th issue of the 3rd Thursday Newsletter I wanted to share updates from our monthly Gathering of Poets, and to introduce the Poet’s Workshops!
At June’s Gathering of Poets, at the South Tacoma Library branch, we heard a poem about place and spent time talking about what it means to be in a place and to create poems – to create art – which represents our feelings about “place”.
We talked about the process of creating poetry from these intimate surroundings, whether it is the place you physically occupy, or places from your memory.
We discussed how our feelings about the larger world around us are distilled into the expression of our emotions about the places we occupy (either physically or from memory).
Needless to say, it was an amazing Gathering of Poets! I hope you’re able to join us for the next gathering, which will be held at Wheelock Library on July 25th, at 6:30pm.
I am excited to be able to announce the upcoming Poet Workshops! These workshops will be facilitated by four amazing literary arts thought-leaders who will guide us through an iterative process.
Voices of Tacoma: Grounding Kristy Gledhill
September
Voices of Tacoma: Generating Celeste Schueler
October
Voices of Tacoma: Editing Jenny Bartoy
November
Voices of Tacoma: Publishing Christina Vega
December
The workshops are meant to be a path for those interested in submitting to the anthology, which will open for submissions in January. The submission window will be the entire month, starting January 1st and closing at 11:59pm on the 31st. We look forward to seeing your poems of, about, or inspired by Tacoma! The anthology will be published in Autumn 2024.
More information about Voices of Tacoma: A Gathering of Poets
The second Monthly Poet Gathering (a hybrid writer's group) will be held at 6:30pm on June 28 at Tacoma Public Library - South Tacoma Branch. All of the meetings will also be accessible via Zoom. For more information check out Voices of Tacoma or scan the QR code below.
There will be four poetry workshops facilitated by local poets, publishers, and literary artists. These will start in September and we have a couple of exciting facilitators lined up already.
The third component is the poetry submission process, (open to poets of all ages and from anywhere). The topic of the anthology is poetry about, or inspired by, Tacoma. The plan is to open the submissions in early 2024.
The last component is the compilation and editing of the poetry anthology, with a publishing date in Fall 2024. There will be poetry readings where all contributors will be invited to participate and celebrate their work and all contributing poets will receive a copy of the anthology.
For questions or media inquiries about the project, please contact agatheringofpoets@gmail.com.
This project is partly funded by the Tacoma Artists Initiative Program.
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