On Becoming a Bard
Friday night, I went to a well-attended reading at Monet's Garden in Beverly, MA. It's a great little cafe that I've had the privilege of reading at not too long ago. But this night was a wonderful mix of poetry, fiction, and music. It was so good, in fact, that it's given me ideas for the New and Emerging Writers Series (NEWS), the series I co-host, starting up again in the fall.
And today I became a Bagel Bard! On a dismal Saturday morning, I drove into Somerville to have tea with a group of poets and writers from the Boston/Cambridge area. Eclectic doesn't cover this group of poets and writers, and the pictures I took are terrible and do not do them justice.
Boston's Poetry Laureate Sam Cornish speaking with Bagel Bards cofounder Doug Holder (in hat).
The Bagel Bards has been gathering on Saturday mornings around the greater Boston area for more than three years. From 9 a.m. to noon, people drift in and out, chit-chatting, catching up with friends, and hearing what fellow poets are doing locally. Also, they have produced three anthologies, which emphasizes the power of the collective voice. Bards come and go, but the core comes out every week to keep the momentum going! I was pleasantly surprised and grateful for their generosity of spirit.
You just can't tell me that poetry is not popular because I've been to two events within 14 hours of each other that prove otherwise.
Do you have events like these going on in your community? If so, tell me about it. If not, start one in your area!
What's on tap for Sunday? Writing a poem. Maybe two. I have to write something before month's end!
Comments
Sounds like some great poetry fellowship there at the Bagel Club. Dunedin as far as I know has never been without its poets and poetry gatherings ... it's always been a poetical city. Even in the middle of its characteristically grey and cold winters.