Cantab Recap For Wednesday, April 19th, 2023

It was another heated Wednesday night at the Cantab, as the room, open mic, and waitlist were packed to the brim before the show even began! Once things got going, there was a great serendipitous moment when Eli Kane read a poem about naming their OCD “Frank”, and the next reader happened to be open mic favorite Frank, shading the resonance of their two poems in surprising ways. Other highlights included a pair of response poems by Gabby and Hallie Carton, the fun philosophical musings of Kat Gunther, and a couple of great first timers (shout out to Jonathan H) who were inspired to read their first poems ever in front of our eager audience.

📒Shenanigans😳this week involved the continuing saga of the two Niks! Last week one Nik had to leave early, so the other Nik spontaneously took their place on the open mic. This week, the opposite happened! Will there be a third Nik next Wednesday?!

At the end of the open mic, we had another extended haiku slam. When the seventeen syllabes of dust had cleared, Lynnette took the win in the final round over March Penn, and will advance to our Haiku semifinals later in the year. Our feature, Albany’s E.L. Evelyn, warmed our hearts with singing, shouting, and simmering poems off the dome and into our spring-loaded ears. Thank you E.L. for making us all feel like old friends after only 30 minutes!

Oh my! Coming up this week is our TEAM SELECTION FINALS. Nine qualified poets will compete for the chance to represent the Boston Poetry Slam this season at the Massachusetts Poetry Festival, NorthBeast Regional Slam, and beyond. Competing poets will be bringing their two most polished poems under 3 minutes, and the top five scoring poets will comprise the 2023 Boston Poetry Slam Team. Finals will be hosted by Zeke Russell and feature sacrificial poems from Jade Kleiner and Meaghan Ford.

The lucky competitors are:

-Arielle Gray
-Nayeli Mzin
-Kai Wallin
-Charlie Vicens
-Logan Lopez
-Skylar Sweetcheeks
-Raechel Segal
-Amy Argentar
-Aparna Paul

First place will also be invited to perform the first poem of the NorthBeast Regional during Opening Ceremonies. Wish them luck as they battle it out for the honor of representing the place they call home! Please note that for this special fundraising night, our entry fee will be $6 instead of our normal $4.

– MFG 🚪

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All shows take place at the Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, with one flight of stairs to access the basement room (click for directions and accessibility information). The show is 21+ (ID/Proof of Vaccination required) and doors for the show open at 7:15. The open mic begins at 8:00 PM and the feature begins at approximately 10:00 PM.