3rd Thursday Newsletter Issue: 37 Date: February 15, 2024 Dear Reader, The 37th issue of the 3rd Thursday Newsletter <https://www.beeugenebecreative.com/blog> finds us at a key milestone in the project. With the submission period ended (January 31), the editorial panel is now in the process of reviewing and scoring all of the poems. We received truly amazing work, capturing the spirit of our city as distilled in personal impressions from the poets who call this place home (or have just passed through). An equally amazing component of this project are the compelling stories of why folx submitted their work to the anthology. Foremost is the incredible sense of belonging that the literary arts community in Tacoma has created, as described by these poets. These are inspired words of hope from voices that need to be heard and it is an honor to be a steward to those voices. The equity-focused mission of our panel is equally inspiring for me and I am fortunate to have such an amazing group helping to guide this project. We are far from being finished but just this sense of hope, and persistence, would have been enough to make all this work worth it to me. This month’s newsletter may be the shortest ever, but that’s only because I have a lot to do, reveling in the word-images and working with the editorial panel on crafting this anthology of, about, and inspired by Tacoma. Thank you for making it possible! Burl ------------------------------ For questions or media inquiries about the project, please contact agatheringofpoets@gmail.com. This project is partly funded by the Tacoma Artists Initiative Program. ------------------------------ Please share this newsletter. If you received it from a friend, visit Be! Eugene Be! Creative <http://beeugenebecreative.com> to learn more. <https://sites.google.com/view/beeugenebecreative/home> Copyright© 2024 by Burl E. Battersby All Rights Reserved