Bagels with the Bards #17

This edition of the Bagel Bards Anthology is dedicated to Krikor der Hohannesian, who passed away on November 29, 2023. He was a much-beloved participant in our quirky circle of poets, philosophers, novelists, journalists, and other various and sundry writers. Krikor made that circle a little more quirky and a lot more interesting. He cut a figure in our motley group first by his height and his lean physique, then by his shock of white hair, untamed by style or convention - this lent him an almost saintly aura, a kind of halo enshrouded his long, wise face. He had a twinkle in his eyes and an impish chuckle that communicated both a deep knowing and also bemusement at the comic absurdities and delightful oddities of life. He was proud of his Armenian heritage and could wax elegiac, pondering the fate his ancestors suffered at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. Their immigrant odyssey to America was Krikor's backstory, which we regularly glimpsed in his weekly conversations. His grandfather established the first Armenian-American newspaper in the USA. He came from a large family of talented artists; his sister was a musician who played for The Boston Pops, and Krikor himself was a distinguished poet and author of several books of poetry. Their father, Garabed, had been chair of the Design Faculty at The Rhode Island School of Design (RISDI), where he taught painting. He was on familiar terms with the whole generation of American Expressionist painters from Willem de Kooning to Frank Stella. Not long before his death, Krikor discharged the filial duty of finding people who would care for the legacy of his father's paintings and drawings, many of which are on display in museums across the country. He freely distributed these treasures to those in our group who would care for them, and we are blessed to have them adorn our walls - a lasting memento mori of Krikor, his friendship over the years, and his kindness and generosity (photos included in this volume).