I read in The Los Angeles Times about the poet laureate of Silicon Valley. It dawned on me that Malibu has no poet laureate. Santa Barbara has one as do many cities. We have a number of very worthy poets in Malibu, Florence Weinberger and Ricardo Means Ybarra, to name just two. April is poetry month and this city, with all its wealth of talent, has no poetry venue. I tried to organize a monthly poetry reading series, but the Senior Center said only seniors could attend and our local bookstore plans its own readings.
I would love to find a venue, perhaps an art gallery, Bluffs Park, someone’s home even, where a monthly poetry reading series could take place. I teach the Emeritus Creative Writing class in Malibu. Many of the participants have developed into fine writers. The reading series could include an open mike as well as an invited guest poet. That would also give newer writers a chance to get their feet wet, reading to an audience. If anyone has any ideas, call me at 310. 457.3585.
Ellen Reich