Recommendation to request City Manager to work with the Library Services Department and the Arts Council of Long Beach to establish a Youth Poet Laureate Program in Long Beach.
Please cast your votes. Motion carries cane excited please. We'll go back to item number 12. Communication from Councilmember Richardson. Councilmember Pearce, Vice Mayor Andrews Councilmember your UNGA recommendation to request city manager to work with the Library Services Department and the Arts Council of Long Beach. To establish a youth poet. Laureate program in Long Beach. Well, when I envisioned doing this, I did this already. It would happen when we gave the poems. I promise no poems right now. This basically we thought about this, this idea a couple of years ago, but we waited to get the Michelle Obama library open and we brought it up a year ago. It was wait until after the main library's open. I think it's time that we start this program. Poet laureate programs, you know, 35 cities have them around the country. We have a national poet laureate program. We actually were visiting the keynote speaker at last year's Khj breakfast was the L.A. poet laureate, Luis Rodriguez. It's an amazing program that just lifts up literacy, lifts up art. And by starting with youth, we have a huge opportunity really to really formalize what's already happening in our community. And so so this recommendation and I've spoken with our library folks, I've spoken with the Arts Council. Griselda was here earlier. She sent an email. I think the clerk shared it with you. So this is an idea that I really want to see happen. I want to see a youth poet laureate program, you know, that that recognizes our youth, allows them to, you know, get showcased across the city for their art, be able to add that title to their resume as they grow up, potentially think about scholarships or stipends for them that helps them move and move them along. So I look forward to seeing what we can do with this idea. Thank you. Thank you. Vice managers. Echo to support a. Public comment on this. I just picked. Oh, I'm sorry. I'll go back to Councilman Pierce after the public comment. Go ahead. Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much. I live in Long Beach and my daughter's a poet, which means I drive her all over Los Angeles because they're more engaging. And her poetry at the age of ten took her to London, something I would never be able to afford myself. I'm a single mom also struggling. With where to live and, you know, working in Orange County. It's it's a big deal. But I want to let you know, this kid of mine, fifth grade was at the lowest and reading fluency the lowest. There was not a a slot. She could only get better. And with only three months of going to a nonprofit poetry Saturday class in L.A.. She passed the bar and exceeded reading fluency. So without further ado, I have the highlight of my daughter. Hi. I'm going to lower this a little bit. Let's give her a fresh three. Yeah, okay. Hi. My name is PHILIPPa. I'm in seventh grade and currently studying sustainable world studies. I don't know what the future holds for my generation or this planet with so many safe spaces lost. This poem I'm about to present reimagines Little The Little Mermaid in today's polluted waters. This poem is titled Mermaid Goddess. I shimmer like Hawaiian oceans speak every language of the sea. Lingua Heather. Sally Pavone. Tongue of salt and forgiveness. I've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty, sunken treasures of trumpets and pearls, a sacred coral necklace on the brink of extinction because of rising temperatures. I've got long, dark hair that goes past my shoulders, glows with sunkissed copper highlights. But remember. Mermaid hair don't care. Mermaids got bigger fish to fry. Mermaid goddesses know that climate change is real as our oceans spike a fever from the northeast Atlantic to the Western Pacific. Waves and worries increase kelp, forests dying, plankton poisoned, leaving nothing left to snack on. Don't underestimate bottom feeders for they are critical to life in the ocean. I've got who's it's and what is galore. 13 million tonnes of plastic cigaret. Butts polluting. Our waters shores blocking the airway of sea turtles bags 100 billion used per year. Choking our seals, whales and dolphins. Global warming gentrifying coral reefs no longer read like the tides of our demise. Mermaid goddesses don't care who you love as long as you're happy. Snails are well, starfish and starfish. All of them deserve to be loved. All of them endangered species. So much at stake with all that you take. My voice is 12 times stronger than the fake tan men who won't reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Mermaid goddesses don't lock my children in abandoned caves of the depths of the ocean. So. Did you get the mermaids? Be careful when you ride the waves of the future. Remember your beauty on the inside. Your compassion for the climate. Hope for your home. Have no fear of death as rising sea levels become the new normal. Little ones use your voice. Keep our home healthy. I've got gadgets and gizmos. A penny I've got whose? It's a what? Galore. You want to think about? I've got 20. Who cares? Yes. No big deal. I want more. Are. Please don't call me Little Mermaid. I'm like Ariel. I would never give up my voice for a man. Thank you. Dan. Oh, that's. Great. That was amazing. Very. Gosh, you're so talented. And I wanted to first say that that is my absolute favorite. One of my favorite songs of all time, but still my favorite Disney song ever. Composer written from The Little Mermaid part of Your World. And you did a great riff on taking that piece and making it something completely different on your own, and that was really special. So thank you and took a lot of energy to not like burst out on the mic and join you. So thank you. That was that was that was really, really wonderful. Let me go back to the council and thank you for that. That was that was that was amazing. Councilman Justin, you want to add to that or keep going to. Just one more one more thing. So April 25th, we have a thing called Pop Up Town. It's all this poetry themed that the Michelle Obama Library 530 April 25th will love for you to come out because we're doing a open mic spoken word situation in honor of National Poetry Month. Thank you. And then the last thing I will say is that by partner with our libraries, there's actually a really unique opportunity for these poets to get published early, which is incredibly huge for their career, to be able to be published at a young age for their career. And. Yeah, been there. Done that. Right. How many. More? Absolutely. And and thank you so much, Mom. Great job with your daughter. Vice Mayor Andrews. I can't say any more. I just wish you would have came on earlier because most of the people are now asleep. But you are great, I tell you. Thank you so. Much. Yeah. We're going to we're going to get you to do that piece again. I'm going to think about it. But that's that's a that's a great that was a great piece counts over a period. That was amazing. It's so wonderful to see young artists writing and performing their poetry, and it takes me back like we talk about poetry so often. But I grew up going to these like, you know, late nights all age places where you would do spoken word and drum circles. And that was where I fell in love with music, really. And so you just took me back to how wonderful that spaces. And so thank you for that. I too am going to figure out a place for you to do that. Poetry. There's a song that I want to tell you about. It's called The World on Fire. Have you heard the song? World On Fire by Louis the child. ASH And you will love it if you're studying that, but it's very poetic. But it's about our globalization and our world being on fire and people not noticing. But it reminded me of your comments. We have the main library that's under construction right now. And so I want to thank Councilmember Richardson for bringing this forward, allowing me to sign on to it. Anything we can do to uplift literacy and to bring that into our libraries and our community centers are welcome. And I think that at the beginning of every meeting before we do our Pledge of Allegiance or after, we should have a little poem. I'm just saying, it would really change the mood of our meetings. Thank you, Councilmember Kotsenburg Ringa. It would certainly mellow us out. I want to thank Councilmember Rich to for bringing this forward. But more importantly, that was so wonderful. So beautiful. Could I have a copy of that? Hello. Lou. Can I have a copy of that? I serve. I serve on the council. Commission and everything that you brought out, there are topics that we deal with on a monthly basis about pollution, the garbage patch, clean your beach, beach cleaning. And I'd love for you to give it to me so I could share it with my with my commissioners and perhaps get an opportunity for you to visit us. And one of the places that were located up and down the coast and be able to recite it. Okay. Thank you very much. And the most important thing I like about that, it was bilingual. And thank you, ma'am, for keeping your bilingual and and you stay with it. Councilman Gonzalez. You're so inspiring. I'm supposed to we're all supposed to inspire you, and you're inspiring us, especially as a young Latina. It's very exciting to see you in this capacity. I could never imagine myself. I used to write poems to my parents as Christmas gifts because I didn't have any money, clearly. But this is a real gift for all of us. And I know that there's a lot of things that we're thinking about in terms of where you could speak your art. And I know, you know, Earth Day events. We have one coming up and I know you'll probably be pulled in a million different directions. But I just want to say keep your art, keep it going. And Amazing Daughter means amazing mother as well. And thank you, Councilmember Rex Richardson, for bringing this forward. This is one of the best items I think you've brought forward. Thank you. So with that being actually actually. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. We have to continue on our meeting, but thank you very much. Okay. We have the item. There's a motion in a second. We did have a comment, so please cast your votes. Yes. Yes. Motion carries. Great job. Excellent. And next up is item 13.