Hello Cantabbers! We had a great show this past Wednesday, with open mic highlights galore. March Penn gave us a poem leading with “I’m trying to have a kink, but it’s hard,” Cameron brought a PSA on forgiveness, newcomer Erica Garcia did an extended look into modesty panels, and Sam Bucci moved us all with a piece for her forthcoming chapbook, “Poems My Dad Will Never Read.” Special shoutout to regular reader Kim, who is leaving us for L.A., but gave us a farewell poem where she actually hoped for an MBTA train delay, so she could lengthen and savor her last day in Boston. Come back whenever you are back in town, Kim!
The ✏️ Line of the Wednesday ✏️ is “Today I could not / tie my shoelaces / I was too busy / making a map of loneliness / at the edge of the darker forest” by veteran Cantabber Charlie R.
Right after the open, we had our monthly haiku slam. Or should I say dirty haiku slam, since there was a lot of sexy haiku happening tonight! Highlights include Dakota and Juliet, who read a group piece on the open mic about their bedroom, and then returned to read a group piece haiku, the shy-but-trembling intensity of Allie’s work, and March Penn’s odes to non-genital sex, which received a haiku response by Kat Gunther. In the final round, Allie Burke snuck up to win the $17 prize over Kat Gunther, and both will advance to the haiku tournament later this year!
Our feature was Legacy Thornton, a poet with incredible stage presence who gave us a great set of new and polished work, mostly off-book. Her featured was perfectly paced, with the poems and the banter between them entwining as one. Each piece was given plenty of room to breathe, preferring pauses to speed. The overall effect was like watching a slowly undulating and unraveling sky filling with stars that opened up as time went on. Thank you Legacy!
This Wednesday (tonight!) we have the first-ever Contrapuntal Slam! (At least) eight poets will be able to read the left side of their contrapuntal in the first round, and the right side in the second round, but only the final two poets will be able to read the full poem to the audience to win the coveted $50!
Come on down!
– MFG 🚪
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