Upcoming Events
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Caffeinated Verse
Malibu Library: 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
23519 West Civic Center Way
· Saturday, September 13: “Eight Women in a Golden State: California Poets at 60 and Beyond,” read from the new anthology: Carol V. Davis, Elizabeth Iannaci, Suzanne Lummis, Leslie Monsour, Anita Pulier, Hilda Weiss, Gail Wronsky, Florence Weinberger
· Saturday, October 11: Mary Ann MacFadden, Ventura Poet Laureate, “We Walk Through Deep Grass”
· Saturday, November 15: Dana Gioia, California Poet Laureate, 2015-2019, “All that Jazz”
· Saturday, December 13: Peg Quinn: “To Any Gods Still Watching”
· Saturday, January 10: Enid Osborn: Santa Barbara Poet Laureate, 2017-2019, “Pedregosa St.”
· Saturday, February 14: Marsha de la O & Phil Taggart, “Love in the Afternoon”
· Saturday, March 14: Leila Chatti, award-winning poet, “Play in the Mind, Play on the Page”
· Saturday, April 11: Timmothy Seibles, Virginia Poet Laureate, 2016-2018, “Treks into the Complicated and Marvelous Territories of the Heart and Mind”
· Saturday, May 9: Lynne Thompson, Los Angeles Poet Laureate, “Blue on a Blue Palette & Other Adventures”
Welcoming those who love the poetic word, the City of Malibu celebrates poetry monthly with Caffeinated Verse, featuring guest readers and open mic for all others who wish to share.
Hosted by Malibu Poet Laureate Charlotte Ward
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Vibrant Cycles Writing Studio
Malibu Library: 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
23519 West Civic Center Way
· Saturday, September 20: Lee Herrick: “Origins”· Saturday, October 18: Charlotte Ward: “Life Purpose”
· Saturday, November 8: Ann Buxie: “Declarations”
· Saturday, January 17: Ricardo Means: “Wit & Humor”
· Saturday, February 21: Charlotte Ward: “Family, Friends, and Lovers”
· Saturday, March 21: Charlotte Ward: “Landscapes, Seascapes, Skyscapes”
· Saturday, April 18: Charlotte Ward: “Time and the Art of Living”
Join us for a generative poetry writing studio where we will cycle with each other’s energies, read and discuss poems to stimulate our imaginations, and write original poems from prompts or personal impetus. This studio environment provided by the City of Malibu is designed for everyone, regardless of experience.
From the vast cosmic cycles—nebulas, galaxies, stars, planets, black holes, deep space, and dark energy—through the earthly cycles of geography, seasons, and all living things—to the very vibration of elementary particles, let us poets explore, express, and celebrate all forms of energy.
Come prepared with pen, notepad, and fervor.
Led by Malibu Poet Laureate Charlotte Ward and Friends
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2026 Poetry Summit
“Vibrant Cycles”
Saturday May 16, 2026
Malibu City Hall Auditorium
23825 Stuart Ranch Rd, Malibu, CA 90265
Past Events
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Changing of the Verse
Malibu City Hall: 4 PM to 5:30 PM
23825 Stuart Ranch Road
Thursday, August 14, 2025
Nathan Hassall will celebrate the conclusion of his term as Malibu Poet Laureate and welcome Charlotte Ward as the 2025-2027 Poet Laureate.
The program will feature poetry readings by former Poet Laureates, an unveiling of Poetry Broadsides, and Charlotte Ward reading her literary works and sharing insight into her new role as the Malibu Poet Laureate.
Refreshments will be provided.
Complimentary, RSVP not required.
Malibu Poet Laureate 2025-2027 Charlotte Ward
Come join the fun of our Poet Laureate programs, the height of wit, the depth of pathos, the beauty of chosen words that sing off the page. Revel in the voices of our guest poets and neighbors and enrich us with your own special words.
Malibu is a poetic community, perhaps because we are enlightened by beauty—from the chaparral to the mountains to the vast blue skies and ocean before us. You may be surprised at how popular our events have become.
The word creative springs from the same root as the word creature. Both words burst with aliveness and possibility for new ways of being. So it is that poetry brings forth new ways of feeling and saying the world.
This year, more than ever before, the Malibu Arts Commission and the Malibu City Council are sponsoring a unique array of renowned poets to please many tastes. We are holding two events a month for our enthusiastic attendees:
Caffeinated Verse features readers who perform their poetry and an open mic where our local poets thrill, amaze, and regale the community with their own work.
For those who want to write and share as they create, we offer a Vibrant Cycles Poetry Writing Studio under the leadership of various Poets Laureate. We encourage all ages, all interests, all levels.
Each event is free. Each will be extraordinary in its own way. We will meet in the accommodating surroundings of the Malibu Library. What will make the difference is your presence.
Charlotte’s #1 Book on Amazon’s New Releases
Twenty years ago we arrived in Malibu seeking a secluded home with a sea view from the Santa Monica Mountain National Recreation Area. We found Meteoros, a Greek-inspired spectacular site reminiscent of the six dedicated UNESCO Metéora mountain monasteries “suspended between heaven and earth.”
Over ten thousand square miles of the Pacific Ocean stretch before us. Solstice Canyon Park spills from our doorway down twelve hundred feet to a sandy beach and rocky shore. The Milky Way, constellations, and planets glide across the vast sapphire canopy.
Uplifted daily by the panorama that unfolds from this singular location, we share our infinite Malibu—our paradise, our inspiration of time and beauty, the natural world that continues to immerse and enthrall us. Every chosen word and image celebrates our decades of life here and the community who protects this remarkable space.
Atmosphere Reviews:
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"Each page is a work of art........the photos and poems are extraordinary. It is quite a calming experience to sit and read it from cover to cover. Such a thoughtful and beautiful gift. I am also thinking it will look beautiful as a coffee table book for my interior design clients."