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Creative Colloquy Crawl

Join us for our annual literary extravaganza!

3 hours, 7 venues and and over 40 storytellers in a walkable footprint.

6 P.M.

This Poem is Not All That Feeds You: Writing Food in Community | The Mix 

Writers often speak of the ways in which words feed our souls, but that soul doesn't have corporeal shape without the body! And the body doesn't thrive without nourishment. This reading is the result of a workshop and a joyful exploration of food writing (or writing about food) and the ways in which eating/prepping/baking/cooking/recipe learning/abstaining and writing go hand-in-hand. Readers include Sarah A. Chavez, Meghan Feuk, Burl Battersby, Jessica Trujillo, Star Wuerdemann and Chris Ponce.

In the Forest of the Night | The Grand Cinema

Tacoma Tree Foundation and Blue Cactus Press invite you to a dreamscape poetry reading featuring eco-lit poems and short stories by authors from the magical realism eco-lit collection, If the Storm Clears. 
Readers include Katharine Threat, Adela Ramos, Ambalila Hemsell, Lowell Wyse and Sasha Victor.


Meet Me at the Well | Manuscript

The well has long been a symbol of community. It can be a site for seekers of help and healing, as well as wisdom and universal truth. “Meet Me at the Well” features stories of unexpected but powerful places, spaces, and experiences where women have gathered to have hard conversations, pray and seek, fight or love, all in service to a reckoning, redemption, or healing of some kind. Featured readers are Kellie Richardson, Reneé Simms, Gloria Joy Kazuko Muhammad, and Niela Hampton.


Drag Story Time | Kings Books

Cleo Nova & Brassy Aire will be doing readings with performances to follow! This reading is all ages, family friendly fun!

7 P.M.

Come listen to the Poets from Voices of Tacoma: A Gathering of Poets read their work! | The Rusty Goat  

Poets from across Tacoma (and beyond) have gathered to share their work on this leg of your adventure. Partly funded by the Tacoma Artists Initiative Program, Voices of Tacoma: A Gathering of Poets will be released on Saturday, October 12, as part of Tacoma Arts Studio Tour. This anthology of poetry of, about, or inspired by Tacoma, represents the work of more than eighty Poets, and will be available from any bookstore or can be checked out from your local library! Readers include Michael Haeflinger, Christina Vega, Allen Braden, Robert Lashley and more.

A Step in the Right Direction… - True Stories of Being Brave | Manuscript  

For fans of This American Life and The Moth. Four local storytellers will each share a hilarious, heartfelt, and true story live onstage about times they had to be brave (but really didn’t want to). 
Featuring Paul Currington (Fresh Ground Stories, NPR), Emily Pitts (Iceland Fringe Festival, RISK!), Kent Whipple (The Moth, PBS), and Paul Barach (Story Collider, Out There) 

Untold: Fairytales Reimagined | King’s Books

Fairytales are embedded in cultures all over the world. These are the stories that have existed for so long we tend to minimize their importance, take them for granted and even scoff at their quaintness. But these tales contain timeless truths that transcend generations. To get to their sweet and strange cores, we have to fracture the narrative. Our readers will lead us through fanciful reinventions that may stray from familiar paths but will bring us all home to the ever-after.

Dark Incantations: A Suspenseful Reading | The Mix

Join us for a spine-tingling night of literary thrills and terror as three masters of the genre come together to explore the darkest corners of the human psyche. Nicole McCarthy, Jack Cameron and Chris Staudinger of Pretty Gritty Tours will delve into their most chilling works, weaving stories that promise to unsettle, intrigue, and captivate. Whether you're a lifelong horror aficionado or new to the genre, this event is sure to leave you with lingering chills and a newfound appreciation for the craft of suspense.

8 P.M.

Light & Fire: The World We Want to See | The Grand Cinema

Join a rapid-fire, bright as life, 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.

This Sh*t is Bananas: Painting to the Tune of a Story  | Puget Sound Pizza

From the quirky and crazy to the quite literal, some stories conjure the phrase “this sh*t is bananas”. During this line up you’re likely to mutter the words not only due to the content but because artist Julia Josephine will literally be painting bananas, live before our eyes! Readers Include Cat Melaunie, Julie Baldock and Sasha Victor.

Poem Sounds | The Rusty Goat

Strings, synth, and stanzas. Musical stylings by Harrison Zhang, Michelle Lefton, Beautiful Al Mughairy, and Damaris Ibrahim & poetry by Asha Berkes, Render Jemis, Michelle Lefton, and Damaris Ibrahim.

Live Music with Karen Miller | Doyle’s Public House

Join us for a Singer Songwriter Spotlight with the one and only Karen Miller. Good stories set to folk pop melodies.

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 DOYLE'S! SOME LIGHT SNACKS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE SNUG (WHILE SUPPLIES LAST). (21+)


A huge thank you to our community collaborators and venues: King’s Books, Doyle’s Public House, Puget Sound Pizza, Manuscript & Dialogue, The Grand Cinema, The Mix, The Rusty Goat, University of Washington Tacoma, Julia Josephine, Blue Cactus Press, Tacoma Tree Foundation, A Gathering of Poets and more to be announced…

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September 16

Creative Colloquy Open Mic and Literary Reading @ The New Frontier Lounge

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October 26

All Hallow's Eve at Lakewood Gardens