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FYI: Our show this Wednesday 5/14 is at Pandemonium Books, located at 4 Pleasant St in Cambridge, one block from the Cantab lounge. This is an all ages show!
It was another unique night at the Cantab this past Wednesday, with a batch of new regulars on the mic, and a set of highlights that approached familiar topics from surprising angles. Side note: I (Michael) am writing this recap from abroad (🇮🇹) so expect March Penn at the door in my absence the next 2 Wednesday nights!
Open Mic Highlights
First timer Jecha showed great taste by covering Ross Gay, which led to a funny moment when host Myles (who has a tattoo of a Ross Gay line) had to contemplate “kicking” Ross Gay off the open mic at the 3 minute mark, or letting us hear just a few lines more.
The open mic returns of Sam Bucci and Allie Burke, who both wrote about loss and breaking up in very different ways.
Aparna’s persona poem from their plant that needs watering and Amy’s persona poem from their dislocated shoulder.
Grace D utilized the ghosts prompt from last week and wrote beautifully about her late friend Sarah. The poem ended with the beginning of a letter to Grace by Sarah herself, which was one of the most moving moment I’ve heard on the open mic this year.
On the other end of the spectrum, there was the EXPERIENCE that was David F, who continues to somehow be able to successfully ride the line between being darkly funny and very uncomfortable in a way that leaves us speechless. How else to describe a poem that was performed while reading from a children’s book about bears, yet also went into great detail about the father bear’s sex life?
Memorable Open Mic Lines Out Of Context:
“(I’m) Dressed for the job I want, not the jabberwock I’ve become” – Bailey
“March presents to me an open mouth, a bargain” – Lily K
“I prayed something beautiful would crawl out of my ribs and collar bone” – First timer Charlotte
Feature
Lauren Singer gave us a beautifully human set of poems that was a tour through their house, with each poem being located in a different room of their place. The poems cast a melancholy spell, offering up dry wit, wisdom, and the many-pronged consequences of long term relationships ending. For such a somber topic, Lauren delivered them all with an understated grace, an invitation to their truth that was more attractive and relatable than one might initially think. A lot of our audience left with a copy of their new book, Raised Ranch! Thank you Lauren.
Coming Up This Wednesday
It’s the return of the Nerd Slam! Poets will face off with poems about their specialized niche knowledge, and will also be tested with some trivia regarding their area of expertise! This special show will not be taking place at the Cantab, but down the block at nerd-haven Pandemonium Books, located at 4 Pleasant St in Cambridge. Same time, same Wednesday night, but this is an ALL AGES SHOW!
See you then!
MFG
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