Book excerpt: 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.