Sitting Down with Three Poets Featured in Mud Flat Verse (an anthology)

From the low tides of Mud Bay in the Pacific Northwest to the lush greenery of Mississippi and beyond, 81 pieces by 19 poets including seven from Thurston County are joined in “Mud Flat Verse (an anthology).” The anthology, published in late 2023, is a creation of Olympia publisher Mud Flat Press.

Hal Schrieve Writes About Getting Over the End of the World

Hal Schrieve, reading from “How to Get Over the End of the World” on Wednesday, October 25th at Browsers Books, grew up in Olympia, now lives in New York City, and works as a children’s librarian. Hir says, “I hope it resonates with people from Olympia! It is very inflected by my own teen years 2010-2014.”

Entertainment Center

“We’re going back to cabaret style. … There’s something about the community feel,” Center Salon organizer Bryan Willis explains. “You’re talking with other people at your table. … There’s just more rapport (between) the actors and the audience.”

Christina Vega and Jonah Barrett

The Return of the Celebratory Center Salon

“I’ve been doing salons for about 20 years through the Northwest Playwrights Alliance,” playwright Bryan Willis explains. “I really love the format.” Happily for Willis, executive director Jill Barnes was eager to host a salon in The Washington Center’s black box theater, a utilitarian space adjacent to its main auditorium. It returns this May after a three-year hiatus.

Excellent Gift Ideas for Olympia Book Lovers

Consider the gift of a fictitious Olympia or Thurston County: a story set in our home, a gift that supports a local author. What’s great about such a gift is showing out-of-state friends and family a part of our home as only a writer can capture it.

Local Author Teams up With Puppeteer Troupe for One-Night Outdoor Performance

By Alec Clayton Update August 23, 2021: “Moss Covered Claws Live!” has been rescheduled to take place at 7 p.m. Sept 12. More details are below. A one-of-a-kind literary and performance event is happening one night only in Lions Park in the Eastside Olympia nieghborhood. Blue Cactus Press is set to present Olympia author Jonah …

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Reptiles, Fairies and Gremlins, Oh My! Local Author Releases PNW Horror Collection

By Molly Gilmore Jonah Barrett wouldn’t be insulted if anyone said their first book was monstrous. That’s because Barrett’s short-story collection “Moss Covered Claws,” dropping March 18, is all about monsters. Barrett of Olympia, a filmmaker, fantasy writer and OLY ARTS contributor, is launching the book with an online reading and talk at 7 p.m. …

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Olympia Searches for New Poet Laureate

By Aigner Loren Wilson Poet laureates have a unique job of melding the ethereal magical art of poetry with the very real struggle of the world around them, the one we all inhabit. By definition, a poet laureate is “a poet appointed to, or regarded unofficially as holding, an honorary representative position in a particular …

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Finding a Sense of Belonging Through Writing Communities

By Aigner Loren Wilson Artist communities have been around since artists have been creating. It is what keeps many artists going through the rough patches in their craft or career. Take the Harlem Writers Guild for example — the longest running forum for Black writers aimed at helping them develop their craft to the point …

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