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Malibu surfside news | April 12, 2018 | 9
Malibu poets share expressive works at library’s open mic
Barbara Burke
Freelance Reporter
Malibu Poet Laureate Ricardo Means Ybarra (right)
introduces Pepperdine student Jacob Wolfe, the first
reader of the day at the library’s Saturday, April 7 event.
Caffeinated Verse: Poetry
Open Mic, a free public series
at the Malibu Library,
launched Saturday, April 7,
and provided attendees with
an opportunity for poets to
gather and share.
Malibu Poet Laureate
Ricardo Means Ybarra
emceed the well-attended
event, which was co-sponsored
by the Friends of the
Malibu Library.
Florence Weinberger,
a longtime, prolific poet,
opened the series by sharing
some of her best poems,
many of which she has
written as she experienced
the ocean, beaches and
mountains near her Point
Dume home. Her voluminous
works have appeared
in many poetry journals
and newspapers, and she
is the author of poetry collections,
including “Carnal
Fragrance,” “The Invisible
Telling Its Shape,” and “Sacred
Graffiti.”
“What inspires you to
write your poetry?” Malibu
Surfside News asked Weinberger.
“Quite literally, everything
I see, feel and touch,”
she said.
Weinberger’s poems often
reflect on life viewed
at the water’s edge. Some
poems touch on something
as ordinary as the glistening
of one’s skin as they emerge
from the ocean. Others
evoke the solace one seeks
as they sit alone, gazing
upon the ocean’s expanse.
Another describes the inquisitive
nature and questions
asked by Weinberger’s
6-year-old granddaughter
about the ocean’s creatures
and the coastal flora and
fauna the child saw during a
walk along the beach.
Weinberger’s work celebrates
the simplicity of nature
seen through the prism
of the everyday, and one
person’s perspective when
glimpsing a fleeting thing.
Her verses give life to her
mind’s screenshots of interesting,
unusual and ethereal
moments.
Some of Weinberger’s
poems celebrated simple
joys of life, while others
brought to the fore the reflective
nature of the haunting
introspective isolation
that one experiences after
losing a loved one. One of
her poems in that vein is
featured in “The Widow’s
Handbook.”
Event attendees were impressed
by her incisive yet
illustrative style of writing.
Other poets came to the
mic, some for the first time,
to give voice to works held
close to the vest for many
years.
Jacob Wolfe, a student at
Pepperdine, shared his poem
“Morning Tea.” This work
also manifested how a simple
act or small thing sometimes
makes the best subject
matter for a beautiful poem.
Complicated things beyond
the control of the everyday
person also find voice
through poetry. That principle
was best illustrated by
Homeira Qaderi, an Afghani
fiction writer and poet who
has published many works
to critical acclaim.
“Today I read just a very
short part of my memoir
‘Khashahi,’ which will soon
be published,” Qaderi said.
“This open mic event is
wonderful because it allows
me — a person from Kabul,
Afghanistan — to have a
voice here in California.
The United States has sent
soldiers into our country to
protect us. Most importantly
in that process is that they
protect the power of women
to have a voice — that they
provide protection over
one’s right to use the pen —
and that they not just provide
protection from war.”
Qaderi’s poem spoke
about how women in her
country are taught to refrain
from showing emotions. Indeed,
women are taught to
cry their tears of sadness,
frustration or anger near rivers
where their emotions are
washed away and not heard
by anyone.
Qaderi’s poetic voice is
the essence of all poetic efforts
and demonstrates why
the event at the library was
so important.
Poetry empowers one
Poet Florence Weinberger poses with her books Saturday, April 7, before sharing
poetry with the crowd at the Malibu Library’s Caffeinated Verse: Poetry Open Mic event.
Photos by Suzy Demeter/22nd Century Media
to write and share one’s
thoughts, memories,
dreams, frustrations, opinions
and objections.
As attendees left, they left
free to celebrate creativity
and collaboration. That freedom
of, and celebration of,
expression was, in the end,
what the event was all about.
Caffeinated Verse: Poetry
Open Mic will be offered
on the first Saturday of the
month from 11 a.m.-12:30
p.m. at the Malibu Library
through June. For more information,
call (310) 456-
6438.