Creative Colloquy Crawl
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2025
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
6 P.M.
Stimming in Stanzas @ THE RUSTY GOAT | Celebrate bold, brilliant, and boundary-breaking poems from neurodivergent authors, challenging the false notion that neurodivergence and poetry don’t belong together. This reading showcases voices that are raw, lyrical, experimental, and essential to the form, ranging from joy to rage, resilience to humor, silence to song. Join us as autistic writers claim their rightful space in poetry, dismantling stereotypes with every line. Featured readers include: Sandra K. King, Beatrice Benson, Katie MK Scott, Tara Jerome, and Camille Bennett. (all ages)
Women Who Write Together @ MANUSCRIPT | Women Who Write Together is a community of women who rise through the power of shared stories. We amplify diverse voices and spark meaningful dialogue with gratitude and respect. We value curiosity, learning, the courage to grow together as writers. We recognize writing as a path to healing, understanding, and empowerment for women. Featured readers include: J.D. Aarde, Dawn Ellis, Kay Hayes, Meredith Heller, Janet Hubbard, Karen Irwin, Leah McCall, Kat Scheibner, Marlene Stewart, Tobi, Jessica Trujillo (all ages)
Come listen to A Gathering of Poets and hear the #VoicesOfTacoma @ KINGS BOOKS | A Gathering of Poets is here to share their work on this leg of your adventure. A spin-off from the anthology of poetry, Voices of Tacoma: A Gathering of Poets, A Gathering of Poets meets monthly at Swasey Library and produces the monthly (more or less) zine, Analog Poems. Featured readers include: Robert Lashley, Faith Croy, Peter Jung, David Gilmour, Michael Magee, and Burl Battersby. (all ages)
Creative Colloquy presents Volume Ten Voices @ The MIX | Get a first listen to the voices shaping Creative Colloquy Volume 10 with sneak peeks from our upcoming winter publication. Featured readers include: Cat Melaunie, Jonny Eberle, James Keith Smith, and Sabrina Hill. (21+)
Literary Speakeasy: Love Letters to Tacoma @ DOYLES | Step into Doyle’s cozy snug for a hands-on ode to our city and the storytellers who make it shine. We’ll supply the paper, postcards, and pens, plus twine and tiny clothespins to create a living wall of words. Write a love letter to Tacoma, a note of gratitude to your favorite writer, or a mini-story about this place we call home. Make something, leave something, and help us build a collective keepsake of community voices. (21+)
7 P.M.
Salt, Smoke and Story @ PUGET SOUND PIZZA | Salt to protect, smoke to cleanse, story to bind us together. Join witches and writers Miel MacRae, Katie MK Scott (owner of Blackbird Apothecary), and Jenni Prange Boran for an evening where words become spells, rooted in ritual, ancestry, and everyday magic. (all ages)
East Point West Press presents the Western Washington Poets Network anthology, Surviving Interesting Times @ MANUSCRIPT | East Point West Press is proud to release a second anthology of Western Washington Poets Network poems. Produced by second-generation letterpress operator Griffith H. Williams, this chapbook features forty-three poets, from Bellingham to Vancouver, Washington. Using an antique letterpress, and featuring hand-set type, this volume resembles chapbooks of an earlier generation while presenting contemporary poetry of wit and wisdom. Featured readers include: Dawn Ellis, Ed Harkness, Janka Hobbs, Fred LaMotte, Alison Peacock, Roy Rozgo, and Griffith Williams. (all ages)
Light & Fire: Speaking into Being the World We Want to See, UWT Student Open Mic @ THE GRAND | Join a rapid-fire, bright as life, visionary open mic array of UW Tacoma creative writing students sharing the hard heart work of shaping the world with their words. Facilitated by creative writing faculty, Dr. Sarah A. Chavez and Prof. Ever Jones. (all ages)
All that you touch You Change. All that you Change Changes you. @ KINGS BOOKS | Please join us for the launch of yarrow, a new zine founded by Aleyda Cervantes, render jemis, and Katharine Threat. Featuring performances from zine contributors, this reading encourages you to welcome the metamorphosis, and find community and inspiration in change. (all ages)
Literary Speakeasy: Love Letters to Tacoma @ DOYLES | Step into Doyle’s cozy snug for a hands-on ode to our city and the storytellers who make it shine. We’ll supply the paper, postcards, and pens, plus twine and tiny clothespins to create a living wall of words. Write a love letter to Tacoma, a note of gratitude to your favorite writer, or a mini-story about this place we call home. Make something, leave something, and help us build a collective keepsake of community voices. (21+)
8 P.M.
Bar Stories @ THE RUSTY GOAT | Bar Stories is not your average night of storytelling. At Bar Stories, there's no sign-up sheet, no roster, and no need to prepare. Instead, it's about bringing your willingness to get inspired and be in the moment. An evening of Bar Stories unfolds organically, like a conversation you'd have in a bar or around the table at a really great barbecue - when one story leads to another and before you know it, you've made some new friends and had a great time. Hosted by Jesi Vega. (all ages)
Caboose Canoodling @ THE MIX | “Cheeky” isn’t just about clever wit, it’s also about butts, and Raissa Peters and Jonah Barnett aren’t afraid to go there. With fearless honesty and playful irreverence, they’ll serve up a reading that revels in intimacy, pleasure, and the hilarity of desire. Expect it to be bold, bawdy, and unforgettably fun. (21+)
Speak Out Seattle presents Spoken Word in the PNW: Black, Indigenous, and Immigrant Voices @THE GRAND | This poetry showcase brings together five local spoken word artists cultivated from the PNW’s underground open mic scene. Hailing from diverse cultural backgrounds and experiences, the five performers offer their unique perspectives on living, creating, and community organizing in the Pacific Northwest. This curated showcase includes live performances of poetry and spoken word, and focuses on representing Black, Indigenous, and immigrant voices. Featured performers include: Darryl Foto, Shyanne Steele, Iz White II, Will Rideout, and Dario Cvencek. (all ages)
Two Poets Laureate Walk into a Bar @ PUGET SOUND PIZZA | Ever wondered what a poet laureate is, how and why they serve their communities, and whether you should apply? Two former Tacoma Poets Laureate, Lydia K. Valentine (2021-2023) and Abby E. Murray (2019-2021), will talk about their experiences, read some poems they're currently hooked on, and answer your questions about Tacoma's laureate program. (all ages)
Literary Speakeasy: Love Letters to Tacoma @ DOYLES | Step into Doyle’s cozy snug for a hands-on ode to our city and the storytellers who make it shine. We’ll supply the paper, postcards, and pens, plus twine and tiny clothespins to create a living wall of words. Write a love letter to Tacoma, a note of gratitude to your favorite writer, or a mini-story about this place we call home. Make something, leave something, and help us build a collective keepsake of community voices. (21+)
9 P.M.
AFTER-PARTY | DOYLE’S PUBLIC HOUSE’S THE SNUG
Meet up when it’s all said and done to connect and conspire with fellow “crawlers” at Doyl'e’s. Some snacks will be available in the Snug (while supplies last - venue is 21+)