Hello Cantab! We are back with another night of tales from the basement. There was a bangin’ open mic, a team qualifying slam, and your typical shenanigans. There were great performances from newbies like Elizabeth (about shaving your head and the absence we all feel) and Bubbles (on adoption and conflict). We also had Ben Tolkin with not only a memorized poem on Roman ruins and war, but memorized with alternating lines between the original Latin (Middle English?) and the English translation. So impressive!
The ✏️Line of the Wednesday ✏️ comes from an unbelievable piece by the poet Daniela: “The bees don’t have knees / So I say give them a joint”
The shenanigans this week occurred when one of our fancy new scoring signs, handed out to judges before the slam, proved to have a bit of a defect, and a score of an 8.5 was almost recorded as a 5.8! Rest assured; all scores were accurate despite some unruly plastic number signs. Whew!
The slam, hosted by the incomparable Aparna Paul, went smoothly and swiftly, with the following competitors doing what poets do and spilled their inner lives out onto the mic:
- Kelsey Kessler
- Kai Wallin
- Kaye
- Kat Anderson
- Eddy Martinez
- Keaton
- Logan
- Sam Noel
We heard about heartbreak, incredibly introspective voicemail surveys (or was it?), mental health, and the infamous Horse Walks Into A Bar poem from Eddy Martinez. It was close, it was very close, but in the end staff member and renowned social-media-er Kat Anderson claimed the victory and the $50 after going head to head with runner-up Eddy Martinez! Congratulations Kat and as always thank you to the poets, our judges, our host, and math master Michael F Gill.
This week, we have the one, the all-powerful, the great and the good, your curator, MYLES TAYLOR as your feature!
Myles Taylor is a transmasculine writer, organizer, award-winning poetry slam competitor, food service worker, Capricorn-Aquarius cusp, and glitter enthusiast. They are the current Producer of the historic Boston Poetry Slam at the Cantab Lounge. Their first full-length collection, Masculinity Parable, is out with Game Over Books. Their list of publications can be found at myles-taylor.com, and their neuroses can be found on social media @mylesdoespoems.
Not only will Myles be featuring, but they are hosting a workshop before the show.
In this generative workshop, we will analyze and write through the concept of naming, both the act of naming and the weight of carrying a name. We will read works by Danez Smith, Franny Choi, Robbie Dunning, and others. Directive prompts will be provided, and there will be an opportunity to share your work at the end. No one will be required to share. Workshop admission: Sliding scale $10-$20.
See you then!
-Amy ✈️
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