Let’s embark on an adventure through creativity with Julia Cameron’s transformative book, The Artist’s Way. Every fourth Saturday from 1 - 3 p.m. we’ll gather to share our personal discoveries and challenges as we build a thriving creative practice.

During the first 90 minutes, we’ll engage in discussions about our experiences navigating the book's exercises. In the final half hour, we’ll put our imaginations to the test with a still-life prompt, inviting you to express yourself through poetry, scene writing, sketches, or any medium that speaks to your creative soul (BYO supplies).

Creative Colloquy lures readers and writers out of hiding, to connect and conspire.

Join us on the 3rd Monday of every month for literary reading and open mic at The New Frontier Lounge!

Featured Readers:
Michael Keen
Ed Komenda
Dario Cvencek

The micro essay packs a punch in under 1,000 words, and we'll learn how in this generative class. We'll go over contemporary micros, discuss the form, and generate seeds of future essays through prompts and exercises.

Presented by Job Carr Museum, author Mary Boone will share her new picture book Pedal Pusher at Tacoma’s Old Town Park.
Bring your child’s bike, trike, or scooter for a mini parade around the park and snag your newest read with our mobile little free library!

Let’s embark on an adventure through creativity with Julia Cameron’s transformative book, The Artist’s Way. Every fourth Saturday from 1 - 3 p.m. we’ll gather to share our personal discoveries and challenges as we build a thriving creative practice.

During the first 90 minutes, we’ll engage in discussions about our experiences navigating the book's exercises. In the final half hour, we’ll put our imaginations to the test with a still-life prompt, inviting you to express yourself through poetry, scene writing, sketches, or any medium that speaks to your creative soul (BYO supplies).

Creative Colloquy lures readers and writers out of hiding, to connect and conspire.

Join us on the 3rd Monday of every month for literary reading and open mic at The New Frontier Lounge!

This month’s featured readers include Mary Bradford, Helen Rowe and Michael Haeflinger.

Writing Dangerously

"Loving yourself enough to become beautiful, to tell the truth," is the advice offered by poet Lena Khalaf Tuffaha in her acceptance speech for the National Book Award in poetry earlier this year. This workshop will explore the intersection between radical self-love and truth telling, using it as motivation to reinvent our ideas of "beautiful writing." A writing that is truthful, untethered, raw, sometimes uncomfortable and undeniably beautiful. 

Let’s embark on an adventure through creativity with Julia Cameron’s transformative book, The Artist’s Way. Every fourth Saturday from 1 - 3 p.m. we’ll gather to share our personal discoveries and challenges as we build a thriving creative practice.

During the first 90 minutes, we’ll engage in discussions about our experiences navigating the book's exercises. In the final half hour, we’ll put our imaginations to the test with a still-life prompt, inviting you to express yourself through poetry, scene writing, sketches, or any medium that speaks to your creative soul (BYO supplies).

Creative Colloquy lures readers and writers out of hiding, to connect and conspire.

Join us on the 3rd Monday of every month for literary reading and open mic at The New Frontier Lounge!

Our featured readers include Rita Andrea, Emily Powell, Jake Lane and Julie Baldock.

Join us for a day of dialogue, crafts, arts, storytelling and hands on activities centered around Tacoma and climate change.

Tacoma Climate Stories: Join the City of Tacoma Office of Environmental Policy & Sustainability and the Tacoma Public Library in sharing your experiences with climate change impacts through visual, artistic, or spoken-word mediums! Lend your voice to a new 'Climate Stories Community Archive' project. Help inform future Tacoma climate communications efforts and get inspired for your next read!

Featured storytellers include:
Cat Melaunie,
Sandy King,
Jessica Trujillo,
Courtney Bird,
JP Kemmick
&
Jennifer Preston

For more information, visit www.engagepiercecounty.com

Creative Colloquy lures readers and writers out of hiding, to connect and conspire.

Join us on the 3rd Monday of every month for literary reading and open mic at The New Frontier Lounge!

Featured Readers Include:
Stephani Hemness
Courtney Davis
Rhea Melina

Join us on March 14th, 2025 for the second Ground to Sound Film and Art Festival at the Foss Waterway Seaport for an unforgettable night celebrating film, music, poetry, and art—all inspired by the Puget Sound!

WHAT TO EXPECT:

• Documentary film screening featuring this year’s selected works

• Live performances & open mics

• Interactive art installations

• Literary readings

• Music & freestyle cyphers

EVENT DETAILS:

• Doors open at 6pm

• Program starts at 6:30pm

• Art & community connections until 9:30pm

Creative Colloquy lures readers and writers out of hiding, to connect and conspire.

This month we’re celebrating a momentous milestone — 11 years of CC!

Join us for a celebratory evening with readings, drinks, cake, music and a raffle for rad swag and prizes at The New Frontier Lounge!

Join us every third Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. for our regular literary reading and open mic gathering.

Featured Readers this month submitted works inspired by our Lunar New Year: Year of the Wood Snake call for submissions.

Featured Readers:

Ronen Perry
Christina Slack
Sasha Victor
Julie Baldock

Poetry, Essays, Short Stories- all are welcome!

Join us every third Monday of each month at 7 p.m. for our regular literary reading and open mic gathering.

Featuring:
Mercury Sunderland
&
R. G. Mint

Poetry, Essays, Short Stories- all are welcome!

Join us every third Monday of each month at 7 p.m. for our regular literary reading and open mic gathering.

Featured Readers Include:
Shaun A. McMichael
&
Karen Miller

Poetry, Essays, Short Stories- all are welcome!

Color Stories: A Generative Poetry Workshop

Join former Tacoma Poet Laureate Kellie Richardson for an interactive workshop exploring the role and use of color in poetry, music, and prose. Color has long been used as a symbol to communicate meaning, deepen creative expression, and even call humans forth toward justice. In this workshop, we will read works of poetry, song, and prose to look at the many ways artists utilize color to explore memory, honor humanity, and practice magic. Participants should be prepared to discuss the readings and engage with prompts to generate or build on their own memories and experiences with color. This workshop is open to all levels of writers and creatives. You will be offered an opportunity to share the work you create (though not required), as well as offer generative feedback to your peers.

Join us every third Monday of each month at 7 p.m. for our regular literary reading and open mic gathering.

Featured Readers:
Steve Tarry,
Kris Hall,
Jamie Fiano

Poetry, Essays, Short Stories- all are welcome!

Whether you're a bibliophile, filmmaker, artist, or environmental enthusiast, come out to King's Books for a literary night that is free, family-friendly, and open to the public for a firsthand opportunity to participate in a great workshop open to all ages and experience levels AND have the opportunity to be filmed for a documentary...with details for a poetry submissions contest to follow. More details coming soon!

Workshop Description:

Do you care about the earth? What about the Salish Sea? Are you curious about creativity? Join literary arts teaching artist, Joy, for an interactive writing workshop where we will use writing and storytelling as a means of showcasing your care for our environment here in Tacoma! In collaboration with Creative Colloquy, this workshop will be the kickoff for literary entries for the Ground to Sound Film and Art Festival. During this exploratory workshop, you can expect time for writing, reading, sharing (if you’d like to), and learning more about the festival. With the help of literary forms, literary devices, and imagination - come away inspired! The theme for this year is "Healthy Sound. Better Tacoma. Now and Forever." This workshop is open to writers of all levels and ages. You are welcome to bring something to write with and write on, but no worries if not, we got you covered!

Join us for our annual literary extravaganza!

3 hours, various venues and dozens of storytellers in a walkable footprint.

Join us every third Monday of each month at 7 p.m. for our regular literary reading and open mic gathering.

Featured Readers Include: Nancy Miller Gomez, Kellie Richardson More TBA …

Poetry, Essays, Short Stories- all are welcome!

Join us every third Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. for our regular literary reading and open mic gathering.

Featured Readers Include:
Richard Wilkinson
Kristina Corcoran
Sandy King

Poetry, Essays, Short Stories- all are welcome!

Tacoma will be saturated with verse during TBW thanks to Creative Colloquy.

We’ll gather brilliant South Sound writers to tell short stories, prose, or poetry, and then the floor will open for listeners to do the same — all while enjoying cocktail-themed beers and ciders at Peaks & Pints.

Featured Readers Include: Jamie Fiano Jack Cameron J.D.AardeCat Melaunie

The Writer’s Workshop Series Presents: This Poem Is Not All That Feeds You: Writing Food in Community with Sarah A. Chavez.

Join us every third Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. for our regular literary reading and open mic gathering.

Featuring:

Elizabeth Beck,
Helen Rowe,
Joanne Rixon

Poetry, Essays, Short Stories- all are welcome!

Join us every third Monday of each month at 7 p.m. for our regular literary reading and open mic gathering.

Featured Readers Include:
Samuel Snoek-Brown
Laila Tova
Elizabeth Beck

Poetry, Essays, Short Stories- all are welcome!

Join us every third Monday of each month at 7 p.m. for our regular literary reading and open mic gathering.

This month we’re meeting at The New Frontier Lounge (21+).

Featured Readers Include:

Burl E. Battersby,
Layla Ormbrek,
Raissa Larson
&
Elizabeth Beck

Poetry, Essays, Short Stories- all are welcome!

The forecast says the sun will be shining, so catch us outside with our CC Book Bike. Our mobile little free library will have free books for all ages, with loads of genres to select from.

Literary Info Fair, Featured Poetry Reading & Open Mic! (open to EVERYONE! UWT community, Tacoma community, South Sound community; come one, come all!)

- Poetry fair featuring the musical stylings of DJ Yaya-Sol and Tacoma Literary Community partners such as Blue Cactus Press, King's Books, Creative Colloquy, and more!

- Featured reading & Q&A with amazing Washington State Poets Paul Hlava Ceballos & Laura Da'

- Ending with a community Open Mic