Bagels With The Bards

So it came to pass that a couple of poets a a congenially munching their bagels in the spacious basement refectory of a bagelry called Finaglea aa Bagel on JFK in Harvard Square, all the while conjecturing upon the potential mental, spiritual and perhaps even physical salubriousness of occasional social interface with other human beings likewise blest or cused to pursue the word, to ply their craft or sullen art, in isolation a a gave birth to the idea of Bagelbards. - Tomas O'Leary The Bagel Bards, a wide-open and ever-expanding group of writers- including several award-winning poets-have met for coffee, tea, bagels, muffins, socializing, literary gossip, and networking at Cambridge and Somerville cafes. (Their current home is Au Bon Pain in Davis Square, and any writer is welcome.)

So it came to pass that a couple of poets a a congenially munching their bagels in the spacious basement refectory of a bagelry called Finaglea aa Bagel on JFK in Harvard Square, all the while conjecturing upon the potential mental, spiritual and perhaps even physical salubriousness of occasional social interface with other human beings likewise blest or cused to pursue the word, to ply their craft or sullen art, in isolation a a gave birth to the idea of Bagelbards. At any rate, here it is: The First Annual Bagelbards Anthology, in celebration of the first full year of informal weekly Saturday morning gatherings of Bagelbards in the aforementioned spacius basement of Finaglea aa Bagel. Read it, and eat.

The work here is as individual and unique as each contributing Bard. Delighted readers will find a variety of styles and forms, including ekphrasia,prose poems, villanelle, and free form poetry. Between these covers can be found little day-to-day deaths, dreams, and wounds, lost causesand dead ends presented in playful, whimsical, and experimental ways.If you haven’t discovered the Bagel Bards yet, start with their latest anthology. Short of having breakfast with them at the Au Bon Pain, reading the results of their Saturday mornings is the next best thing.— Laurel Johnson Midwest Book Review

So it came to pass that a couple of poets ‐‐ congenially munching their bagels in the spacious basement refectory of a bagelry called Finagle‐a‐Bagel on JFK in Harvard Square, all the while conjecturing upon the potential mental, spiritual and perhaps even physical salubriousness of occasional social interface with other human beings likewise blest or cused to pursue the word, to ply their craft or sullen art, in isolation ‐‐ gave birth to the idea of Bagelbards.

The scene.7:45 AM, Au Bon Pain, Davis Square, Somerville. The lone figure of Dennis Daly, at a table seemingly praying over a poetry book. This is how Saturday morning breaks for the Bagel Bards. By 10 AM there is a cacophony. 90-something Joe Cohen, on his wheelchair, bites into his cheese danish, drinks his black coffee, and shows us his latest photographs. Krikor arrives, tall and regal, looking for all the world like a refugee from a Russian novel. And Harris Gardner, a shock of white hair, an impresario of verse, an Einstein with a bag of books from Salvation Army bins - offers all of us a share of his pastry. And so it goes with Luke and Zvi and Lawrence and Paul - and all the others. We are regulars. We are kibbitzers-old, middle-aged, rarely young. Stumblebums, friends, writers, poets. We cross our stage-give our soliloquies, our Sermon on the Mount, the stunningly bad jokes, the salient points. Then...we call it a day... and drift away....

The Bagel Bards (or Bagels with the Bards) (are) a group of poets varied in age, race, gender meet, share poems, discuss poetry, drink lots of coffee, chew a bagel if so desired, sometimes sell their books. The atmosphere is generous and open to all, and you don't have to be a poet to attend. What I find most exciting about the Bards, people here are not conscious of reputation and achievement, but love the poem and good friendly unpretentious talk. That doesn't mean that pretensions don't exist if that's what you desire, but the coffee is strong, the people sincere and are publishers of small press magazines, pamphlets and books. If you want to be in an atmosphere that is intelligent without self-involved, convoluted literary talk of people who need to prove themselves and announce themselves as artists, here is a place to and the pleasure that good literary company may offer. - Sam Cornish

The Bagel Bards is a group of poets and writers founded by Doug Holder and Harris Gardner thirteen years ago. Writing poetry can be an isolating experience. Poetry is not exactly the go-to arts and entertainment experience for most Americans. We don't honor our poets the way they do in Latin America where poets are appointed as diplomats. Anyway, the Bagel Bards meet each Saturday morning at Au Bon Pain in Davis Square, Somerville, MA. There, we discuss everything from poetry to basketball, and in doing so, foster a community of writers. One of the bards, Gloria Mindock, is the current Poet Laureate of Somerville. Another, Zvi A. Sesling, who edits this anthology, is the Poet Laureate of Brookline. What all these poets have in common is a love of language and poetry and within these pages, you'll find a wide range of poems that manifest that.