Ross Hickerson, Nebraska poet.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, June 19, 2013: Ross Hickerson

Omaha, Nebraska poet Ross Hickerson features. Open poetry slam in the 8×8 series.

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Cantab Recap for Wednesday, June 12

Sweet mother of kiwifruit! We got to hang with Eliel Lucero all night last night and now you know: trying to tell the poetry crowd that Eliel is a DJ is like trying to tell them that Adam Stone is a bartender (a pursuit Eliel is also known for, by the way). This hard-working NYC …

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Tips from the Bar: SlamCenter on the Hour

Find, and write about, an event or pursuit even less deserving of SlamCenter-style play-by-play than poetry slam.

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Cantab Feature for Wednesday, June 19, 2013: Ross HickersonCantab Recap for Wednesday, June 12Tips from the Bar: SlamCenter on the Hour

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, June 12

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Cantab recaps

Sweet mother of kiwifruit! We got to hang with Eliel Lucero all night last night and now you know: trying to tell the poetry crowd that Eliel is a DJ is like trying to tell them that Adam Stone is a bartender (a pursuit Eliel is also known for, by the way). This hard-working NYC mainstay endeared himself to the crowd immediately and rocked a raucous and intensely-listening room. Maybe we can blame that intensity for the moment the slam almost went off the rails (pro tip: bring more than one poem if the slam is more than one round, readers!); after a surprise resurrection from the first round and having edged out Alex Erhardt in a tie, Phoenix Bunke took the win over a still-smiling Ed Wilkinson.

Next week: doom metal! Powerlifting! Super-sensitive poetry guy! Ross Hickerson, who doesn’t tour, has come to us from Omaha, Nebraska just because we asked so nicely. We’ll finish the night with the next slam in our 8×8 series.

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Cantab Recap for Wednesday, May 29 AND Wednesday, June 5

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Cantab recaps

Time flies when you are planning the National Poetry Slam, folks! But don’t worry: we are still rocking the stage at the Cantab Lounge every Wednesday with the Boston Poetry Slam.

Just a few weeks ago, in fact, we put aside four rounds of slam to select our Individual World Poetry Slam representative for 2013. We’ll be sending just one poet to IWPS in Spokane, Washington this October! After narrowing the field to just eight poets in the semi-final round, we asked the audience to hold fast to their seats for a roller coaster ride of hilarity, tragedy, and ties, ties, ties until we got down to just two poets in the final round! In a startling upset, 2013 team member Omoizele Okoawo fell in the head-to-head round to BPS regular-yet-rookie (and member of the 2013 Mill City Slam team) Bobby Crawford! Huge congratulations to Bobby, who will travel across the country to try his hand at the 72-poet competition this fall.

The next week (that’s just last Wednesday for those of you keeping track) we welcomed Vancouver poet and organizer Lisa Slater to our stage. This thoughtful queer artist dredged up some heavy feelings, interspersed with some lovely light moments. Our slam that night was won by Mill City Slam Team (there’s that name again!) captain Nathan Comstock.

Tonight, tonight, tonight: we’ll be back, of course, with the famed poet-DJ-bartender Eliel Lucero from NYC. We’ll also finish up the night with another open slam. See you there!

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Cantab Recap for Wednesday, May 22

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Cantab recaps

Hot damn! Marshall “Gripp” Gillson showed off all his poetry chops last night, ranging from short vignettes to slam work to some all-out a capella rap. If you missed your chance to grab one of his free mini-chapbooks, you can still purchase his album, Head in the Clouds, at his personal website. The seven-poet-slam got weird fast, with slammers cutting loose every which way: Deif Maquena signed up phonetically in the hopes of breaking the Snake Eyes Curse, but was dispatched in the final round by a livestock-hating, randomly Russian-accented Sean Patrick Mulroy. Money well spent indeed!

Next week: WHOA, WE ARE TOTALLY PICKING OUR IWPS REP! The top eight slammers from May 1 (click here to see the list) will slam off in four rounds, including one long-form four-minute round, to see who we’ll be sending to the Individual World Poetry Slam this October in Spokane, Washington. Remember that it’s a $5 cover to help raise the money for our rep!

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Cantab Recap for Wednesday, May 15

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Cantab recaps

We had a packed house last night for a really solid open mic, featuring poets new and old and including a special spotlight from London birthday girl Rachel Rose Reid. Then we had a sweet feature from April Penn! Our beloved every-week open mic standout brought us a solid selection of some lesser-heard, longer work, as well as a brand-new chapbook (Notebook girl) for us to enjoy. Awesome! Our slam was packed with really excellent work: at the end of the night, Ken Green rose to the top with Zeke Russell, with Zeke edging out newcomer Ken in the final round.

Next week: Marshall Gillson started in Providence, moved down to Atlanta, and then came to live with us in Boston… On the way he developed his performance poetry voice, hip-hop oeuvre, and a host of nerdy references that he secretly really wants you to get. Come hang out with us for his feature, sandwiched right between our weekly open mic and an open 8×8 poetry slam.

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Cantab Recap for Wednesday, May 8

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Cantab recaps

We’ve actually been waiting years to welcome back 2011 Boston Poetry Slam Team member Rachel McKibbens. One of our favorite writers, performers, and home-team slammers, Rachel put together a remarkable set for us, absolutely packed with poetry, emotion, and that feeling of reward that comes with new ideas. As always, her feature left us tingly, weepy, and energized to write. We followed up with a solid slam where Melissa Newman-Evans pulled out all the stops to defeat a very strong Dave “Snake Eyes” McKenna in the final round, earning the ten dollars and the first qualifying spot for the 2014 slam team. What a great night!

Next week: we welcome long-time local favorite April Penn to the feature slot, and our 8×8 open slam series continues. See you there!

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Moonlighting Recap for Thursday, May 2

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Moonlighting recaps

The second-ever Moonlighting, Boston Poetry Slam’s new monthly LGBTQ reading, was a success, thanks to a high caliber open-mic and the formidable presence of nationally renowned poet Tatyana Brown. Those in attendance were wowed by never-before-seen work as well as familiar hits as Brown wielded a rare range of emotion, blending poignancy, humor, and uncommonly distilled confession to the stage. Now heading into its third month, Moonlighting is proving to be a top-notch safe space for the LGBTQ community and their allies to enjoy and relate to one another through poetry, before sitting back and experiencing some of the art’s most talented performers!

Moonlighting takes place on the first Thursday of every month at Fazenda Coffee Roasters, 3710 Washington St. in the Jamaica Plain area of Boston. An open mic begins at approximately 7:00 p.m. and the headliner follows the open mic. The show is all-ages with a suggested $3 donation. The next Moonlighting show will take place on Thursday, June 6, featuring Casey Rocheteau.

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Cantab Recap for Wednesday, May 1

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Cantab recaps

Fifteen poets packed into the slam this past Wednesday in the hope of becoming the next Boston Poetry Slam representative at the Individual World Poetry Slam this October! With only eight slots available in the May 29 World Qualifier Finals, poets were pulling out all the stops… But they only had two rounds and a total of three minutes –that’s a two-minute round and a one-minute round– to do it.

We kicked off with stellar sacrifices from Nora Meiners and Tom Slavin, then we were off for another thirty (!) speedy poems! When the dust cleared, some very decisive, independent judges had made it clear who they wanted to see advance. Final rankings after two rounds were:

  • 1. Jade Sylvan* 52.7

  • 2. Sean Patrick Mulroy 52.6
  • 3. Omoizele Okoawo 52.1
  • 4. Bobby Crawford 52

  • 5. Kieran Collier* 50.6

  • 6. Michael Monroe 50.2
  • 7. Sophia Holtz 49.6
  • 8. Zanne Langlois 49.3
  • 9. Meaghan Ford 48.9
  • 10. Ed Wilkinson 48.7

  • Nathan Comstock
  • Eddy Martinez
  • Zeke Russell
  • Brenna Kleiman
  • Dave McKenna

*Jade Sylvan and Kieran Collier have dropped from Finals, bringing the ninth- and tenth-ranked poets back into the competition.

Thanks so much to everyone who competed, and also to our judges: Chris and Michelle, Andrea and Aradice, Greg, David, and Charlotte! Remember, we’ll be back with those top eight poets on May 29 for the World Qualifier Finals, where we’ll go four rounds to select just one poet to represent us in October.

But wait: what happened to the rest of May? Don’t worry, folks… There is lots of poetry happening between now and then, starting up with Rachel McKibbens this coming Wednesday. We’ll also kick off the first slam in the latest 8×8 championship series. See you there!

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Cantab Recap for Wednesday, April 24

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Cantab recaps

National Poetry Month has just ended at the Boston Poetry Slam, folks, and we went out on a high note. First, Marty McConnell led a workshop to kick off a big night, and the venue responded in kind with a super-solid and interesting open mic. Marty replied with a feature (kicking off with a brand-new-to-everyone poem, by the way) that had folks tripping over themselves to get a copy of her newest book, wine for a shotgun. Awesome!

But wait, there was more: six folks showed up for the Champion of Champions slam, all with a new poem in their back pockets designed to challenge the reigning champ, Zanne Langlois. To honor the close of our spring speed slam series, we started the slam with a one-minute round that saw the end of the night for previous winners Nathan Comstock and Dave McKenna. Zeke Russell and Keiran Collier were respectively eliminated in the two-minute round, leaving the final battle between CUPSI wunderkind Bobby Crawford and Cantab old-schooler Tom Slavin! Tom took the round, the win, and the challenge to compete against Zanne in the one-off new poem round… And swept the night in a major victory. Congrats to Tom on his new title, and a round of applause for Zanne who held it for almost a full year.

Next week: you like slam? We hope you like slam. We’ve got slam in our name, so we’ve just gotta: on Wednesday, May 1, join us as we begin to narrow the field to determine who will represent us at the Individual World Poetry Slam this October. It’s the massive 20-poet World Qualifier Speed Slam, with all 2- and 1-minute poems, top poets invited to return at the end of the month, and a $5 cover to help raise money to send the eventual winner to the big competition. Sweet!

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Cantab Recap for Wednesday, April 17

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Cantab recaps

We can confirm it: last week’s workshop leader and feature, Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, is the classiest class act who ever acted classy, hands down. After a difficult week in Boston, we were ready to laugh, grieve, and take poetry as seriously as possible this past Wednesday; our open mic community showed a lot of sensitivity and support as we struggled to write and listen about the events rocking our city. After the break, we were so fortunate to have Cristin, the founder of NYC-Urbana and author of Hot Teen Slut, in town for a chance to listen our cares away. We took a break from slamming last week to just have a chance to be together, and were thankful once again for the strength of our local and national poetry community.

Next week: deft and talented writer Marty McConnell offers an early-bird writing workshop (doors at 5:30 for a 6:00 start), the last of our National Poetry Month special events. She’ll then also perform as our featured poet for the evening. The night will close with a speed version of our famed Champion of Champions slam, wherein Zanne Langlois will defend her title against the last eight slam winners. Whoa!

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Cantab Recap for Wednesday, April 10

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Cantab recaps

It was a sweet welcome back for the long-lost Artie Moffa this week. First, Artie welcomed us to a well-attended workshop on iambic pentameter (don’t forget that we’ve got two more early-bird workshops planned for National Poetry Month). Then, after an excellent open mic, we brought Artie up on stage for a full feature: Artie’s set was jam-packed with limericks, parody, musicality, meter, rhyme and, yes, even some free verse work (thanks to a historic prompt from Adam Stone). Special thanks also go to Kevin Spak, who reprised his famous group piece with Artie as the centerpiece of the set. Our final slam in the 8×8 series was won by Kieran Collier, fresh back from CUPSI, who defeated Sean Patrick Mulroy in the final round.

Next week: we’re back with a workshop on publication by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, then a full feature from this Urbana-NYC slam founder and NEA fellow. We’ll also hold our Last Chance Speed Slam to see who the last poet will be to qualify for our annual World Qualifers. Whoohoo!

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