ZipOdes

Miami poet Tati Perez uses ZipOdes to explore identity, language and life across the county's neighborhoods.

The movie by local filmmaker Aaron Glickman screens this week at the Miami Film Festival. It invites the viewer to look beyond Miami's reputation as a capital of glitz, glamour, sand and surf — and delve straight into the city's literary soul.

Nathalie Saladrigas didn't think her 'silly' poem about roaches and salsa music was anything special, but the five-line ZipOde strikes at a familiar and relatable experience.

If you're having writer's block, some young poets in Morningside K-8 Academy might help get the gears moving. They recently learned how to write their own masterpieces about the uniqueness of living in Miami.

When the world hit pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, many turned to baking, binge-watching shows or doing TikTok dances to pass the time. But a 12-year-old from Fort Lauderdale found inspiration in her backyard to write a poem about lizard earrings.

Writer Christopher Notarnicola grew up in Broward and was always around the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse. He was inspired by the lighthouse, and life in South Florida, to write multiple ZipOde poems.

In parts of South Florida, it’s not rush hour or construction that brings traffic to a halt — it’s peacocks. The large, colorful birds, protected by law, were the muse for one resident’s ZipOde. WLRN’s Ammy Sanchez spoke with Nick Vagnoni about the story behind it.

A Miami poet discusses her ZipOde poem about buying her own stolen bike, and how she views this as a quintessential Miami moment.

Author and poet Sarah Trudgeon lives in Great Barrington, Mass., but she stays connected to South Florida through poetry: for the last decade, she has served as a ZipOdes judge and editor. "It's really magical," she says.

Beatriz Fernandez was the first person to submit a ZipOde in 2015, about her neighborhood. This year marks the tenth anniversary of WLRN and O, Miami's ZipOdes initiative. "I think the challenges of living here and the diversity of our population and the different cultures coming together are really something that inspires you," she said.

South Floridians share their Zip Odes — five line poems that transform zip code into occasions for place-based, lyrical celebration. Some of the poets will have their work highlighted at the Zip Odes Finale on April 24 at Vizcaya Museum & Gardens.

O, Miami and WLRN's 2023 Zip Odes Finale was one for the books — more than 300 guests joined us for the return of our in-person poetry reading at Vizcaya Museum & Gardens.