Dear Reader, This, the 42nd issue, marks 3½ years of the 3rd Thursday Newsletter <https://www.beeugenebecreative.com/blog>. It began as a way to share literary events happening in the Tacoma area with our ever-expanding community of art lovers and patrons. Since beginning the current project, Voices of Tacoma: A Gathering of Poets, the newsletter has chronicled the development of the anthology including community-building events. Thank you for following along as we share this narrative! Last Saturday we had a blast at the Tacoma Pride Festival! Thank you to our contributors and editorial board members, Chloe, render, Jean-Pierre, Abbie, Sandy, and Joanna, for stopping by to help and to get selfies with the editor’s copy of the manuscript! This Saturday will be another amazing opportunity to get out in the community and hear bands, and poets, share their work! Sixteen contributing poets will be reading their work at Tacoma Porchfest <https://tacomaporchfest.org/>, starting at 1pm. The Poets on the Porch are: Trevor White, Celeste Schueler, Alexa Hoggatt, Chloe Mohs, Sarah Heavin, Samcori, Mary Bradford, Albert de Santis, Jessika Satori, Tom Nolan, John Kulm, Phil Harty, Jean-Pierre Garcia, Joshua Olver, render jemis, and Robert Lashley! We will be in Dani’s backyard, at 825 S. Anderson Street. Poets will read for fifteen minutes each, starting at 1pm. We’ll take a break at 3pm to participate in the Porchfest Parade and then will resume from 4pm to 6pm. We’ll have a table out front directing folks back, so come join us! I am also very excited to announce that we have been continuing our partnership with Tacoma Arts & Cultural Vitality <https://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_departments/community_and_economic_development/arts___cultural_vitality_division> (our project is generously funded, in part, by the Tacoma Artists Initiative Program), and Tacoma Public Library <https://www.tacomalibrary.org/>. This partnership has sustained us through the development of the project and is now positioned to help us kick-off the anthology. On Saturday, October 12, Voices of Tacoma <https://www.beeugenebecreative.com/gathering-of-poets> will be hosting our launch events at three library branches (Fern Hill Library <https://www.tacomalibrary.org/locations/2/>, South Tacoma Library <https://www.tacomalibrary.org/locations/6/>, and Mottet Library <https://www.tacomalibrary.org/locations/5/>), with activities and readings from over 50 local poets (of the eighty-three whose work is included in the book). This event is in conjunction with Tacoma Arts Month Studio Tours <https://tacomaartsmonth.org/studio-tour/>, and will enable the poets to have an opportunity to read their poems and offer their books for sale at their “studio”, the public library. Stay tuned for more details coming in the next few months for the launch events, and more. In the meantime, thank you again for reading! Burl E. Battersby (he/him) *Voices of Tacoma: A Gathering of Poets* A *Tacoma Arts Initiative Program *Project Be! Eugene Be! Creative <http://beeugenebecreative.com> (206) 406-8838 <http://voice.google.com/calls?a=nc,%2B12064068838> <http://voice.google.com/calls?a=nc,%2B12064068838> <http://voice.google.com/calls?a=nc,%2B12064068838>