Send us feedback anonymously or via email
Open Mic Highlights
• Dave Mingolla’s poem about “quietly interrogating the universe until it speaks”
• First timer Rob M with a short and surprising poem about ladybugs
• The open mic debut of recent BPS feature Kelsey Bigelow, on the road from Iowa
• Donovan’s tribute to Andrea Gibson and Will S’s mantra that “You will not die on Route 1”
• Connor’s awkward-yet-endearing tales of failed and non-existent second dates, which was a very close cousin to John Lee’s wryly funny-but-also-uncomfortable poem about autism
• Sue Savoy’s exploration of the lobster emoji that went so many dark and hilarious places that we had to stop to catch our breath afterwards!
Feature
This week we had our 2nd-ever tag team slam! Teams of two came up to the mic to each do one individual piece in the first two rounds, and then perform a group piece together in the final round. After the novelty of a Sue Savoy/Michael F. Gill (aka me!) group piece sacrifice, we heard a lot of tried-and-true individual poems, with some surprises with Mary S’s “I’m a closed book” poem and Edie revisiting their proposition on why we should all streak down Massachusetts Ave. Fireworks did happen the group piece round, with Kaitie D and Ilse writing about being accidentally locked in the Kmart overnight, Ilse and Mary taking on what might be called “the lesbian gaze”, and Myles and Aparna deliberately going over time with a deconstructed tale about what happens after they get a “boy body” delivered in the mail. But the big winners were the powerhouse duo of Jen Martinez and Amy Argentar, who once again left the audience stunned with their piece on woman and gossip. Thanks to everyone who stayed late for this very fun slam that really builds to a crescendo as it goes on!
Coming Up This Wednesday
This week’s feature is Jess Yuan! Jess Yuan (she/her) is a poet, educator, and architect. She is the author of Slow Render (2024), winner of the Airlie Prize, and Threshold Amnesia (2020), winner of the Yemassee Chapbook Contest. Jess holds an MFA in Poetry from the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars and has received support from Kundiman and Miami Writers Institute. Her poems appear in Best New Poets, Tupelo Quarterly Review, jubilat, Beloit Poetry Journal, and elsewhere. She is a licensed architect and Director of Intermediate Studios at Boston Architectural College.
See you later!
– MFG 🚪
Our upcoming features
First timer? Looking for show info? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions!
Sign up for our Newsletter
Boston Poetry Slam Online