Hey everybody, In an effort to stay connected through poetry during a global pandemic (and National Poetry Month), I recently started a YouTube channel where, every Friday, I'll be posting "flash" Poem Friday workshops and a few other goodies from time to time. I'm inviting you to visit the channel and click "subscribe" in order to be notified when a new workshop or Good Poem goes up. These videos feature local poets performing their work, flash thoughts on craft, video-bombing by my dog and/or kindergartener, a selection of prompts, and an opportunity for residents of Pierce County to submit what they write in response to those prompts (and receive some brief feedback) to gritcitypoetlaureate@gmail.com. You can also reach me there with any questions you might have. Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_x1es-cVenVb37-jji4hag/ [https://yt3.ggpht.com/a/AATXAJy_Lh8KBCa5CBTc3zOGIAjU6prrB1-pDVVEVw=s900-c-k-c0xffffffff-no-rj-mo]<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_x1es-cVenVb37-jji4hag/> gritcitypoetlaureate - YouTube<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_x1es-cVenVb37-jji4hag/> Poet Laureate for the city of Tacoma talks poetry, voice, creativity, and craft. Featuring readings by poets of the Pacific Northwest. www.youtube.com Check out the intro video as well as yesterday's first workshop, and tune in for Good Poems this week as well as next Friday's workshop on voice, featuring Christina Butcher of Blue Cactus Press. (And a big thank you to my friend Sarah Reebs for her awesome video editing skills!) Lastly, send me your poems! I've already received many of them and, while I can't see my own face, I'm pretty sure it's been lighting up every time I read your work. It feels a bit like we're back at the Eastside Community Center or the south Tacoma library branch, jogging our imaginations side by side. Stay creative, stay kind, and stay healthy. I miss you. Your laureate, Abby Abby E. Murray MFA & Ph.D. (she/her pronouns) Poet Laureate 2019-2021, City of Tacoma Editor in Chief & Poetry Editor, Collateral www.collateraljournal.com<http://www.collateraljournal.com> Instructor, Army War College Fellows University of Washington | Tacoma