Happy New Year y Gracias to the Writers of Bar None Group for 2016!

Just another night in paradise.

What an incredible year!

The first moments of 2016 were spent restless in Mexico. The last moments of 2016 were spent watching fireworks on the shores of Long Beach, California putting down roots once more. Warm wishes extend to all of you who have read, contributed, inspired and shared the words within the pages of the Bar None Group in the last year.

Happy New Year to:

The Eight Most Popular Poems and More from 2016

May the blessings be.

These are the poems, essays and more that resonated the most with you our readers in the past year.

Memory: A Poem of the 15 year-old Frida Kahlo

I had smiled. Nothing else. But suddenly I knew

In the depth of my silence

He was following me. Like my shadow, blameless and light

In the night, a song sobbed…

On the Second Day of... Good King Wenceslas

After a busy day, Santa and friends enjoy the Feast of Stephen.

Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Gath'ring winter fuel

Charles Bane Jr.'s The Chapbook — The Sabbath Bride

The Central Synagogue in New York City.

I am at synagogue tonight and
when we turn to face the Sabbath Bride,
I am walking with your elbow in my palm
to the corner restaurant.

A boy came past and
cursing, muttered, "Dirty Jew."
I wheeled and punched and
he fell to the sidewalk.
He had a bloody mouth.

23 décembre : Noël au Québec

Une chanson de Noël de méchanceté et de souvenir.

J'ai dans la tête un vieux sapin, une crêche en dessous
Un Saint-Joseph avec une canne en caoutchouc
Etait mal faite pis j'avais fret
Quand je r'venais d'passer trois heures dans un igloo
Qu'on avait fait, deux ou trois gars, chez Guy Rondou

Christmas on the Streets

More than 2.5 million American children were homeless at some point last year.

Happy Holidays to all
and to all a good night
Especially those on the streets
Who fight for life

Just another day
for you and me
Don't be upset
if there's no smile to be seen

Huron Christmas Carol

Canada's oldest Christmas hymn was written in the Wyandot language of its Huron First Nation people in 1642.

'Twas in the moon of winter-time
When all the birds had fled,
That mighty Gitchi Manitou
Sent angel choirs instead;
Before their light the stars grew dim,
And wandering hunters heard the hymn:
"Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born,
In excelsis gloria."

Brown Santa

No little boy or girl is too far away for this little brown sleigh.

Breaking my hump for the UPS
Making some coin for Christmas Day
Running down streets
and running up stairs
Placing little brown parcels
in doorways, on porches

Once Upon a Time at Christmas

She once made mulberry jam and cinnamon rolls,
She once rode horses and milked cows,
She once sang in the choir and planned Christmas programs,
She once taught school and played the piano at church,

Jingle Barra

Cascabeles, cascabeles, tra la la la la...

Jingle bells,
Ocean swells,
Riding Barra breakers
onto our beach...

Reinhold Niebuhr's Serenity Prayer

Reinhold Niebuhr Place is there for a reason.

        God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
        Courage to change the things I can,
        And wisdom to know the difference.

Sometimes referred to offhandedly as the Facebook Prayer for it's ubiquitous presence on the social media app the Serenity Prayer is more than one sentence long.

I Had to Peek

Two sips into the first cup,
I am the sun returning from a long journey
As seen glinting through palm leaves
Where there has never been a road.
I write this to see what's there
Behind that wispy veil.

I Call Her Esperanza

The Virgin of Guadalupe is celebrated on December 12.

I do not know anything but that slow
fall aurora over the world and
all the things my love contemplates;
lilies beneath pillow dreams
when rain sounds and

Que ofrecer

Un mundo
No diferente si no real
Un camino
Seguirlo para guiarnos
Escucharnos el uno al otro

My Daughter — A Poem of a Mother's Love

For Lexi.

My daughter
My reason
My pleasure and pain
My laughter and sadness
My sunshine and rain
My lessons and answers
My gives and my takes

Library Walk: Willa Cather, Willa Cather, Willa Cather

Willa Cather is born this day in 1873.

Gregg LeFevre's playful, repetitive take on a famous passage in Willa Cather's O Pioneers! is immortalized on Library Way across from the New York Public Library.

The actual quote reads:

First Lines Second Thoughts — Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones

First Lines Second Thoughts is a look at the first lines of well known literary works. On second thought, do these opening words stand alone as poetry? Today, on December 6, we look at the opening lines of Alice Sebold's debut novel, The Lovely Bones.

In the Bleak Mid-Winter with Christina Rossetti

Snow had fallen, snow on snow...

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;

On The Road: Finding Bécquer by the Sea in Mexico

Literally, poetry on the road...

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer is considered to be the most widely read Spanish writers after Cervantes. The Bar None Group came across his poetry on a mural of the history of Barra de Navidad, Jalisco, Mexico. Is it coincidental that Bécquer's poem is found in Christmas town? The author himself died Christmas week in 1870.

Known as Rima XXXVIII, Bécquer's poem in Barra de Navidad is one of three pieces of poetry that encapsulates the sea as a central theme.

Her Name is Barra

Cristo del ciclone watches over the faithful in Barra de Navidad.

Predawn bottle rockets calling the faithful to prayer.
The thunderclap of surf meeting sand.
The first glare of sun offering promise of warmth
A choir of magpies singing in a papaya tree

The warm ocean breeze runs her fingers though my hair.
She whispers in my ear and her name is Barra.

Tania Bruguera — The Cuban Artist and a Mouth with Nails

Tania Bruguera's Untitled (Mouth with Nails) / Sin titulo (Boca con clavos), 2003.

While it is her art that Tania Bruguera is known for, it is her words that have struck a chord. Her words that have resulted in action and her words that have landed her in jail in her native Cuba. It is her words that we read at the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach in the days after the death of Fidel Castro that stay with us still.

Ode to a Pumpkin Pie

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Pumpkin Pie is talking to me
From the other side of the kitchen table
The table that at this time of day is my office
Where I check my emails, catch up on the day's news
and map out my day of plans and procrastination.

It was Yesterday for Aïcha Amara

An artist's hues.

On Eid Al Istiqulal — Morocco's Independence Day — we cast a glance at Moroccan poet, Aïcha Amara.  C'était hier — It Was Yesterday — is from her 1996 collection of themed poems, Mogador fille d'aylal — Mogador: Daughter of Aylal. We came across Aïcha and her poetry in the coastal community of Essaouira, Morocco in 2011 and have been captivated by her words ever since.

Charles Bane Jr.'s The Chapbook — Countless Nights

Supermoon over Long Beach, California.

Countless nights
I’ve covered you
in clouds and
slept nearby.

I dream
you are stoking stars within
and forming constellations
of a universe
that rushes to my arms.

A Regular Sort of Guy — Eugene O'Neill Enters American Poets Corner

American Poets Corner enshrines Eugene O'Neill in 2016.

Eugene O'Neill is being celebrated tonight with his induction into the American Poets Corner at Saint John the Divine in New York City. The author of 32 full length plays and 21 one act plays is probably best known for his four Pulitzer winning plays: Beyond the Horizon (1920); Anna Christie (1922); Desire Under the Elms (1924); Strange Interlude (1928) and; Long Day's Journey Into Night (1957).

America's only Nobel winning playwright — Eugene O'Neill — never thought much of his poetry. More than sixty years after his death we still do not have the definitive collection of his poetry. Though attempts have been made.

Palms in Marriage

Its a warm desert night
That is dark and still
We'll howl at the moon
Whats left of it anyway

Paul Wilhelm, War, Poetry and an Oasis in the Desert

The view from Paul Wilhelm's Vagabond House.

So let me live where I may hear
The silken whisper of the sand
The singing music of the sphere
The light-wing feet, the unseen hand
Of pressing winds that murmur near
The pulsing spirit of this land!

Paul Wilhelm (1909-1994) described himself as "a naturalist who lives in Thousand Palms Canyon" in the postscript of his articles for the Indio Daily News. The plaque at the Paul Wilhelm Palm Grove dedicated to him reads, "This magnificent desert fan palm oasis is dedicated to the memory of Paul Wilhelm, desert writer, poet and naturalist. Paul devoted his life to the protection of these palms and the surrounding desert. Through his writings and conversations with visitors, he opened his arms and heart, passing on his deep love of the desert and its history for all who listened."

It was the part about his being a poet that piqued our interest.

And Yet There It Is!

CONFIRMED: The sun rose again. November 9, 2016 Long Beach, California.

It is the morning after
the night before
and I had filled up my mug
with my favored brown elixir
to walk the block to the beach
in the predawn light
illuminated by the moon, the stars
the sodium lamps
to stand by the shore of the Pacific Ocean
to sip and wait
— a man and his mission.

The Day Before the Election 2016

"The heart holds it all."

I ride my bicycle to the store,
through this tiny village,
far from my birthplace,
that collective mind thing
called country, ourselves,
divided from the rest of humanity
by the flimsiest of imaginary boundaries,

On the Road: A Garden of Poetry in Palm Springs

One day she woke up...

We came across this poem and painting at a catered event in Rancho Mirage, California. The harried server didn't know the origins of the poem or the painting but said that there was someone who did. He turned to ask, but that person was no longer there.

Research would need to be undertaken to discover the artist. The poet.

Steve Goodman's Go Cubs Go Song Hits Home Run on iTunes

The ivy covered bleachers at Wrigley Field.

Hours after ending an 108 year World Series drought the theme song of the Chicago Cubs written by local legend Steve Goodman has cracked the Top 15 on iTunes. Go Cubs Go was one of the last songs written and recorded by Goodman before he died in 1984, two weeks before he was scheduled to throw out the opening pitch of a Cubs baseball playoff game.

First Lines Second Thoughts — William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist

First Lines Second Thoughts is a look at the first lines of well known literary works. On second thought, do these opening words stand alone as poetry? What better time of year than Halloween to take a second look at the opening lines of William Peter Blatty's spine-tingling novel, The Exorcist.

The novel that changed the face of horror and has been scaring readers since it was first published in 1971. In as much as satanic clowns lurk around every corner in 2016, the urban legend of young girls in the 1970s defiled by Satanic cults can trace their genesis to the popularity of The Exorcist. Novel and film.

The Dead of Terlingua

The cemetery at Terlingua, Texas.

The dead of Terlingua
call out to me
from under
weathered, wooden crosses
as I carefully tiptoe
between their souls
and the candles left behind
to remember them
from past Días de los Muertos.

A Migrant Poem

Planting crosses in the desert to mark dead migrants.

One October day, dark and weary
We looked for migrants lost and weary
Through the desert we searched
Seeing many hawks and ravens perched
But of migrants there were none

Russell Rosander's Boogey Man

Taking the lid off from our fears.

That ambiguous specter
who creeps up,
  from beneath our beds
  to clutch our hearts
in the darkest hour of the night,
the invader of our restful slumber,
  spoiler of dreams,

Charles Bane Jr.'s The Chapbook — In A Little Room

In a little room like this, long ago,
phantoms were slain in the dark.

I stared into an abyss and
after I was less afraid.

Word Salad — Playing Bob Dylan's Tarantula

It's time to play Bob Dylan's Tarantula!

The object of the game is to complete an eight line poem of eight syllables each by reaching into a bag and grabbing 64 syllables and arranging them into a poem. The only words that are available for use in the game are culled from the 264 words that make up the titles of the poems in Bob Dylan's first book of poetry — Tarantula — published in 1971.

An alternate version of the game involves the use of any eight words per line regardless of syllable count. This could either sped up your play or slow your play depending on your play...or state of mind.

Bob Dylan's Tarantula (Pointless Like a Witch)

A witch in Central Park.

In being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2016, Bob Dylan's first and only foray into published poetry, Tarantula was invoked as an "experimental work."

Written at the height of his fame in 1965 at the age of 23, Dylan was given the galleys of Tarantula in June 1966, for his final approval before publication.

Times They Are A Changing — Bob Dylan Wins Nobel Prize in Literature

"Dylan has published experimental work like "Tarantula" (1971)."

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 was awarded to Bob Dylan "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".

Bob Dylan was born on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota. He grew up in a Jewish middle-class family in the city of Hibbing. As a teenager he played in various bands and with time his interest in music deepened, with a particular passion for American folk music and blues. One of his idols was the folk singer Woody Guthrie. He was also influenced by the early authors of the Beat Generation, as well as by modernist poets.

Mexican Rendezvous

El jardin is a popular meeting place in Barra de Navidad.

Latina cuties stroll the square
Abuelitas trail close behind
Protecting from the bad boy's stare
Macho bad boys, you know the kind

Big Rock Candy Mountain Is Not the Children's Song You Remember

One evening as the sun went down
And the jungle fires were burning,
Down the track came a hobo hiking,
And he said, "Boys, I'm not turning
I'm headed for a land that's far away
Besides the crystal fountains
So come with me, we'll go and see
The Big Rock Candy Mountains

Poetry Shortlist for 2016 National Book Award Announced

Chicago is the setting for the shortlisted poetry of Daniel Borzutzky.

The shortlists for the National Book Awards were announced today and the nominees for the poetry award are: Daniel Borzutzky; Rita Dove; Peter Gizzi; Jay Hopler and; Solmaz Sharif. Tree Swenson who spent ten years as executive director of the Academy of American Poets leads a panel of five judges who will decide the 2016 honoree.

Ginsberg, Whitman, Banned Poetry and a Supermarket in California

A supermarket in California.

Two of the more famous examples of banned poetry in America are of Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsberg. Whitman's Leaves of Grass was banned in 1855 for it's homoerotic overtones. Ginsberg's Howl and Other Poems was cited for obscenity upon it's publication in 1955. It was deemed not to be obscene in a court of law two years later.

The Sky Looks

The sky looks...
The sky looks the color
Of what the sky typically looks like
Standing on the Second Street Bridge at dusk
Looking south
It is the first evening
Of the first day
Of the first full month of autumn

Top 10 Banned Books of Banned Book Week 2016

The Banned Books Week Coalition is a national alliance of diverse organizations joined by a commitment to increase awareness of the annual celebration of the freedom to read. The Coalition seeks to engage various communities and inspire participation in Banned Books Week through education, advocacy, and the creation of programming about the problem of book censorship. The 2016 celebration will be held September 25-October 1.

Road Songs: Big Sur and the Songs of Hotbox Harry

The welcoming front porch of the Henry Miller Memorial Library in Big Sur.

A recent trip up the California Coast to rediscover wandering roots took a detour at the Henry Miller Memorial Library in Big Sur. Tucked away on a curve of the Pacific Coast Highway the library came to be following the death of Miller in 1980 in the cabin of his longtime friend Emil White. One makes their way down a path — a piano in the woods to the left, Jesus on a cross of computer monitors to the right. Keep walking and turn right at the ping pong table and enter Emil's old cabin.

In among the books that you would expect to find in a library named after one of America's most polarizing authors — including a play by Jack Kerouac first published in 2005! — there was an apparent anomaly unto itself. A CD of music — Songs Hotbox Harry Taught Us.

Welcome Autumn! My Heart Soars by Chief Dan George

A Native American poem for the change of season.

The beauty of the trees,
the softness of the air,
the fragrance of the grass,
speaks to me.

The summit of the mountain,
the thunder of the sky,
the rhythm of the sea,
speaks to me.

Last Call — Barbara Foote's Sly Dancer

Well, I'm sitting in a cozy palapa bar
Listening to grand Mexican music
Live!
A friend returns to the long table
Dancing
I chair dance in response.

Charles Bane Jr.'s The Chapbook — Come Beloved

Upon the west...

I am hungry; come soon.

I looked tonight at flames
like you upon the west
and jewels winging home.
I hold you in my eyes
when I see what cannot be stamped again.