The goal of our readings is to bring poets of import to Tacoma to help local poets learn and set goals for their own works. 

 

We also provide a showcase for local poets to share their new work.

                 All venues are free, physically accessible, and open to the public.

 

                 Want more information about "What's Happening" in the poetry realm:

                 email ckwalle@msn.com and ask to be put on the "everything" list.

 

 

 

  Jane Alynn is the author of two collections of poems, Necessity of Flight (Cherry Grove Collections, forthcoming in 2011) and a chapbook, Threads & Dust (Finishing Line Press, 2005). Her poems have appeared in many journals and anthologies. In 2004 she received a William Stafford Award from Washington Poets Association.

 

Small Gods
Sitting outdoors at the neighborhood café,
pen in hand, I scratch on paper
like a bird in winter, trying
to scrape up something to feed that dire hunger,
the burning emptiness from being
unable to find words for so long now.
The mind a mere immensity of nothing.
Then from the gutter a sparrow
drops to my feet, puffed up, beak going
cheep cheep, cheeping loudly for crumbs,
a small fit welled up from emptiness.
Something settles with this divine, adaptive song.
And for a little while, at least, she renews my faith
in a life of radiant poverty.