why is your face familiar

The character actor and the major poet were both trying to get recognized in the local bar. The character actor won.

bad piano

The poet often feels like some poor composer who has bought a beaten piano from a closed bar. A few of the keys stick and a couple when struck make no sound at all. For those he must hear the sound in his head.

unread and not ready

Too much speaking about poetry without due study.

chin up

A first line so strong that one can feel the whole poem straining to get its chin up over the bar.

petty criminals

The backroom of the bar was a haven for prostitutes and their pimps, con artists, addicts and dealers, poets and other petty criminals.