Cantab Feature for Wednesday, February 14, 2018: Ariana Brown and the NO ROMANCE Open Mic

For Valentine’s Day this year, the Boston Poetry Slam will not offer a specific Erotic Open Mic for the Wednesday closest to the “holiday;” instead, the reading presents a NO ROMANCE open mic, at which the one-off stylings of would-be Casanovas shall be soundly mocked. Proper erotica (note that “consent” is a non-negotiable component of erotica), fanfic/shipping, or professions of aromantic love to your best friend, dog, or favorite comfy sweater will be warmly welcomed.

Our headlining feature for the evening is exempt from the preceding condition:

Ariana Brown, Academy of American Poets Prizewinner. Photo by Christopher Diaz.

Ariana Brown, Academy of American Poets Prizewinner. Photo by Christopher Diaz.

Ariana Brown is a Black Mexican American poet from San Antonio, Texas, with a B.A. in African Diaspora Studies and Mexican American Studies. She is the recipient of two Academy of American Poets Prizes and a 2014 CUPSI champion, and can moonwalk better than anyone in this room. Ariana writes a lot about what it’s like to exist in her body and how to unlearn the shame that sometimes comes with it. She is lowkey a curandera and primarily interested in using poetry to validate black girl rage in all its miraculous forms; highkey the yungest abuela you will ever meet. She is currently earning an MFA in Poetry at the University of Pittsburgh. Follow her on work at arianabrown.com and on Twitter & Instagram. You can purchase her work directly from the artist here.

This show in our weekly Wednesday series takes place at the Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge. Doors for the show open at 7:15. The open mic begins at 8:00 and the feature performs at approximately 10:00. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.