3rd Thursday Newsletter Issue: 35 Date: December 21, 2023 Dear Reader, This Winter Solstice issue of the 3rd Thursday Newsletter <https://www.beeugenebecreative.com/blog> comes just ten days before we open for submissions for the anthology of poems “of, about, and/or inspired by” Tacoma, Voices of Tacoma: A Gathering of Poets. We are excited to see your submissions. Actively seeking to include all voices in this work, we have focused our outreach efforts in various areas of the City, but we haven’t been everywhere. Please help us continue to spread the word so that all (established and aspiring) poets know to send us their work (January 1 through 31). Our focus with this project has always been to: - Support and enrich the existing literary arts community in Tacoma - Continue the work of earlier anthologists and poets - Amplify the voices of poets who have not been represented in past projects because of socioeconomic, racial, accessibility and/or other barriers to their inclusion - Publish a world-class anthology that will represent the true spirit of Tacoma In order to support these goals we created multiple events and programming which included our Monthly Gatherings <https://www.beeugenebecreative.com/monthly-poetry-gatherings>, (eight, at various library branches around town), our Autumn Poetry Workshop <https://www.beeugenebecreative.com/autumnpoetryworkshop> series (with four amazing facilitators), and multiple outreach activities, including: - Write253’s Summer Camp - Creating an anthology of poetry - The Poet’s Corner at the Hilltop Street Fair - Creative Colloquy Crawl at Doyle’s Pub - Tacoma Arts Month’s Kaleidoscope at STAR Center - Tacoma Arts Studio Tour at Mad Hat Tea Co. - Arts at the Armory We also have created A Lexicon of Tacoma <https://www.beeugenebecreative.com/post/a-tacoma-lexicon>, a collaborative effort to help spur ideas for writers looking to capture elements of Tacoma in their work. We continue to look for ways to engage poets and writers in 2024, including continuation of the Monthly Gatherings, partnerships with our local literary arts organizations, hosting workshops, and active involvement in community events. In preparation for our opening up submissions (on January 1), we are excited to announce the selection of our editorial panel. This diverse group of literary artists and thought-leaders will be selecting poetry that demonstrates the character of Tacoma for our anthology (to be published in Fall 2024). Send us your submissions <https://www.beeugenebecreative.com/opensubmissions> (through January 31) and look for more information on upcoming events in the next few weeks! Lastly, check out Matt Nagle’s article <https://tacomaweekly.com/tacoma-poet-works-to-build-community-p6632-221.htm> about the project in The Tacoma Weekly <http://tacomaweekly.com/>! Have a safe and happy holiday season! ------------------------------ 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© 2023 by Burl E. Battersby All Rights Reserved