Here are some events you should have on your radar for the rest of June (& early July 👀):

Why come? Now in its fifth year, this showcase is a dedicated celebration of LGBTQQIA+ voices with stories, essays, & poems from writers in our community. It takes place during Haus of Codec's Pride Art Marketplace, so the energy will already be high (& it’s free to attend!)

Why come? Monica, a fellow poetry pal & my dear friend, is putting her debut poetry collection out into the world so we are showing out & showing up for her! This is a free event, but her book will be available for purchase & signing and there will be poetry performances & an interview portion too! Supporting a poet’s debut collection is one of the most direct ways to invest in the literary scene, so even if you can’t make it, you can pre-order Leaving the Dust and the Weeds right now from Symposium Books. It’s the perfect 2-for-1 way to support a local poet & a local indie bookstore!

Why come? Hosted by Kou Tukala Nyan (yes, the same Kou from the Poets Meetup in April) this rooftop event brings together spoken word, music, & live performance as part of WaterFire's America Unfinished exhibition. The lineup includes Monica D. Vance, Justice Ameer, Chris Collado, Jessi Bankston, and more! The first hour is a phone-free social hour (amazing) and entry is donation-based starting at $10—& for every $5 you donate, you get additional entries into a community raffle, where all the proceeds go directly to the artists!

Resources and digital spaces for the poetically inclined to engage with from home:

Why check it out? Sometimes the hardest part about writing poems is simply carving out the time to sit & write. In this hour & a half, Talicha will leads you in a writing sprint using the Pomodoro technique (timed intervals of deep work followed by short breaks) to help you find your flow & get drafts moving. It’s the perfect low-pressure way to hold yourself accountable alongside other writers!

Why check it out? Writing the poems is only half the journey; learning how to share them with the world & build a personal brand as a poet is the other! This virtual session will cover the basics of building a sustainable online presence that feels authentic to your voice rather than just feeding the algorithm. I’m taking some PD time at work just to be there live in the Zoom room so I hope to see you in there too!

Why check it out? This is the place for us to really get to know each other between newsletters (& for you to see who else actually reads these things from me each month!). I’ve created a few different chats within the digital community space on the app, all with a slightly different purpose: a chat to swap writing prompts, another to share poems that moved you, & an announcements room to get real-time reminders for every TPP partner event from yours truly. If you’re looking for a way to stay connected in the days in between & with more than just me (without the noise of social media) this is where you belong!

Here is how you can get your work out there this summer:

The deadline for July/August consideration is July 10th. I am opening up the taps to share your work with our community because this isn't just about "exposure", it’s about creating a professional archive of the voices that define our local scene. I hope you deem TPP worthy of publishing your work. 🙏

If you prefer to send your stuff to an established literary magazine (no shade, all love), I came across this database created by ChillSubs of over 3,000 literary magazines that are currently seeking poetry. Please go ahead & use this to find a home that’s right for your poems!

Beyond the page, Chris is the founder of the Aspiration Collective, an initiative focused on uplifting marginalized voices & creating sustainable creative spaces. You can catch him performing live at the Ink & Echo rooftop event on July 2nd, but in the meantime, I highly recommend grabbing a copy of his book.