The City of Malibu will host the 2026 Poetry Summit: Vibrant Cycles on Saturday, May 16, at noon at Malibu City Hall. The city's premier annual poetry event will bring together poets, musicians and artists for an afternoon of spoken word, live music and dance exploring the theme of "Vibrant Cycles."
The event will be hosted by Malibu Poet Laureate Charlotte Ward.
"Malibu's Poetry Summit is a wonderful celebration of creativity, culture and community," said Mayor Bruce Silverstein. "We are proud to support an event that brings people of all ages together through the arts and highlights the incredible talent in Malibu and beyond."
The program will feature readings by local poets including Ann Buxie, Malibu's fourth Poet Laureate; Eileen Fiori; DeForeest Wright III; Pamela Goldsmith; Jolynn Regan; Tracy Katz; Debbie Pommer-Siegel; Malibu's first Poet Laureate Ricardo Means Ybarra; and Patricia Davis, among others. The event will also showcase selected student poets from local schools who have been taught and mentored by Regan, Means Ybarra and former Poet Laureate Nathan Hassall.
The event is free and open to all ages. RSVPs are not required, and light refreshments will be served following the program.
The Malibu City Council approved the creation of the Poet Laureate program in November 2016, following a recommendation from the Malibu Arts Commission. The commission's goal is for the Poet Laureate to keep poetry as an integral part of Malibu's artistic landscape and expand support for poetry within community arts programming.
The Poet Laureate serves as the official Consultant in Poetry to the City of Malibu and the Malibu Library, helping create or participate in an annual Poetry Invitational event. The Poet Laureate also represents the city at literary and poetry events and works with the Laureate Committee to promote poetry and literary arts in local schools and throughout the community.
For more information, visit www.malibucity.org/poetry.
Edited by SMDP Staff