Bagel Bards in Poets and Writers Online

A literary guide for Boston was penned by Ifeanyi Menkiti, the owner of the Grolier Poetry Bookshop and a well- respected poet. It is on the Poet and Writers Website. The Bagel Bards got a nice section of the piece. To see the full article go to:

http://www.pw.org/content/boston




7/18/2011

Boston

by Ifeanyi Menkiti

City Guides

7/18/2011

Literary Groups

Bagel Bards, a seven-year-old group cofounded by Douglas Holder of Ibbetson Street Press and Harris Gardner, is not a writing workshop—though those who come can, if they wish, bring work to share and receive feedback from other members—but rather a dedicated group of area poets and writers who meet every Saturday morning for company and support in Somerville’s Davis Square at the Au Bon Pain (18-48 Holland Street). (They even have a permanent symbolic home at the coffee shop, as management has allowed members to have a plaque in the corner where they meet behind the muffin case.) Important parts of the meetings are recorded for future reference by a designated member with the title of “Word Catcher.” There is no fee to belong or join the Bagel Bards. All that is needed is a willingness to bring oneself to Davis Square on Saturday mornings, maybe purchase a bagel or two, or a steaming cup of coffee, so as to keep the management happy. Last year poet Clayton Eshleman paid a surprise visit to the Bards while he was in town and had warm things to say about the group and its spirit. Other prize-winning authors such as Kathleen Spivack, Afaa Michael Weaver, and Gloria Mindock can be found holding court there. A Bagel Bards anthology is also published annually.

Bagel Bard Anthology 6

To order Bagel Bard Anthology 6 and others go to: http://www.wildernesshousepress.com/p/bagels-with-bards.html




*****From the Introduction – Kathleen Spivack


The Bagel Bards are a loose group of local writers, many of them
poets, who meet once a week at the welcoming coffee shop Au Bon Pain in Davis Square, Somerville, Massachusetts to share coffee and bagels.But most importantly, they share information about the writing trade. They are a networking group for writers in the area.

The brain child of at least four superb and conscientious writers,
Doug Holder, Harris Gardner, Steve Glines and Irene Koronos, the
Bagel Bards have been meeting weekly for years, providing a haven
for local writers and publishers engaged in the solitary practice of the
wordsmith profession. Writing and reading are the shared passions.
Bagel Bards range in age from 19 to 94-plus...



************ Kathleen Spivack has been a visiting professor of American Literature/Creative Writing (one semester annually) in France since 1990. She has held posts at the University of Paris VII-VIII, the University of Francoise Rabelais, Tours, the University of Versailles, and at the Ecole Superieure (Polytechnique). She was a Fulbright Senior Artist/Professor in Creative Writing in France (1993-95). Her poetry has been featured at festivals in France and in the U.S. She reads and performs in theatres, and she also works with composers. Her song cycles and longer pieces have been performed worldwide.

Three Somerville Bagel Bards Win " Must Read" in Mass. Book Award

(Krikor Der Hohannesian-- GHOSTS and WHISPERS)








(Tam Lin Neville- TRIAGE)













( Ruth Kramer Baden--East of the Moon)






The Massachusetts Book Award will announce next month that three Somerville, Mass. members of the "Bagel Bards" have won "Must Read" designations: Krikor Der Hohannesian for his poetry collection " Ghosts and Whispers," (Finishing Line Press), Tam Lin Neville " Triage" (Cervena Barva Press), and Ruth Kramer Baden "East of the Moon" (Ibbetson Street Press). The Bagel Bards is a literary group founded by Doug Holder and Harris Gardner in 2004 in the basement of "Finagle a Bagel" in Harvard Square. When that eatery closed they eventually moved to the Au Bon Pain in Davis Square, Somerville. The Bards meet every Saturday at 9AM--all are welcome. Previous Bards who have won a "Must Read" have been Robert K. Johnson "From Mist to Shadow" ( Ibbetson Street Press) and Bert Stern"Steerage" (Ibbetson Street Press). An interesting note--two of the small presses that published two of these winning titles are based in Somerville, Mass: Cervena Barva Press http://cervenabarvapress.com and Ibbetson Street Press http://ibbetsonpress.com.

To learn more about the Bagel Bards go to http://bagelbards.com And look out for the new Bagel Bard anthology to be released in May 2011.


For more info. about Mass. Book Award go to http://massbook.org

A Poetic Feast with the Bagel Bards May 14, 2011-- Mass. Poetry Festival---

A Poetic Feast with the Bagel Bards May 14, 2011 12 PM




Go to: masspoetry.org for more information

Speakers
Lawrence Kessenich
Doug Holder
Harris Gardner
Kim Triedman
Irene Koronas
Kathleen Spivack
12:00 - 1:30pm on Saturday, May 14 in Coven of Salem Café

Every Saturday from 9-noon for six years, 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.) This group of six poets is a representative sample of the Bagel Bards' diversity. Come have a free bagel and at the same time enjoy a feast for your ears!

Bagel Bard Tino Villanueva included in The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature

Bagel Bard Tino Villanueva has three poems in "The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature" (2010) Congratulations!


Also I found out recently that Bagel Bard Pamela Annas' essay on Slyvia Plath was in the Norton's Introduction to Poetry (9th edition.)

Bagel Bard Philip Burnham, Jr. wins New England Poetry Club Award

Philip Burnham, Jr., Bagel Bard and in the current issue of Ibbetson Street has won the Gretchen Warren Award, for the best published poem by a member of the New England Poetry Club. President Diana Der-Hovanessian called this the most prestigious award granted by the Club.

Bagel Bard Anthology 5 is alive!

The new Bagel Bard 5 anthology is alive! It has an introduction from Boston Poet Laureate Sam Cornish, as well as notes from the founders Harris Gardner and Doug Holder. Julia Carlson edited this edition, and Steve Glines designed and published it through the ISCS Press.



"The Bagel Bards are a friendly group of poets, writers and artists
who meet — or should I say, gather — each Saturday at the
Somerville, Mass. Au Bon Pain. A group writers and poets who like to drink coffee and talk to each other, they share a love of poetry and a warm,friendly word for those who want to join them and talk. No dues are required, and publication is not important. They’re not interested in awards, grants or pedigree. Most of them have been around since the early days of The Grolier Book Shop and the Plough and the Stars, when they met to drink and name-drop like young men and women fresh out
of writing programs will do. They don’t do that anymore. Now, they
are making room at the table, and the writing community they have
created is friendly and experienced. This is their latest anthology, which
is probably as varied and as surprising as they are as a group. I have not seen any of these particular poems, but I’ll say that, from having read
their previous volumes and anthologies, you can expect work without
pretension or slavish adherence to a current, fashionable school. These
are individuals, and each poet has his/her own voice, so have a cup of
coffee, step outside for a smoke, lean back and read slowly. The Bagels
Bards have a poem for you."


— Sam Cornish-- First Boston Poet Laureate