Hey Cantab! Hope everyone had a wonderful week. I’m writing this recap from Ireland, making this the first official Recap from Overseas™️. Last Wednesday was a busier Wednesday than most, with a crowded open mic list and bar, making for a crowded basement! As several of our regulars were competing in the slam, it left a decent amount of room on the mic for newcomers, such as Will (first time ever reading!), Leilani (from New York, promoting her own open mic with a sensational poem about the infamous “would you rather be left in the woods with a man or a bear” question), and Larry (who killed it from the wait list!). Another highlight was Kai, performing the highly anticipated audience participation version of their NorthBeast poem, which resulted in a chorus of the pivotal line “WHAT DOES ‘APPOINTMENT’ MEAN?” We also had your usual moving and heartfelt performances from Otto, Kaitie, and Nick Roberts, whose poetry I am trying to channel during my vacation in Ireland. Lastly, we had David F’s poem about his experience with bidets – I guess since the point of a bidet is to cleanse, then I hope no one will mind if I call that poem exceptionally… holy.
There were some shenanigans during the smoking section, as Kimi introduced her work as “a happy poem,” and host Michael F. Gill later announced that he misheard it as “a hockey poem.” Then, two poets later, AK announced that their pre-planned piece was…a hockey poem! One of the funniest bits of poem manifestation we have seen this year🔮
Then, we had our CAMP SLAM, hosted by myself and Aparna. Two teams – team Junk Bunk and team Mother Bunkers – battled head-to-head over seven themed rounds, while Aparna and myself provided half-improvised and half-scripted commentary, making for some typical Cantab Chaos. Highlights from the slam include Cameron’s dial tone poem, having the audience harmonize a dial tone sound; Mary and Edie’s piece that was a cento of their indie poems, that functioned almost as a conversation between the two pieces; uniquely beautiful memory-focused poems from Briana, Logan, and Lila; Edie doing a very impressive “instant blackout” for the surprise round (where teams were given five minutes to do a blackout of a previously read poem), and a literal “talent show” from team Mother Bunkers at the finale, highlighting the strengths of each camper.
After each bunk traded wins round-by-round, Mother Bunkers claimed the victory, winning homemade friendship bracelets and $15 each!!! It was a wacky, wonderful slam. Thank you to all slammers, judges, and audience members!
THIS WEEK! Our feature is Live Mammone. Liv Mammone (she/her) is an editor and poet from Long Island. Her poetry has appeared with Button Poetry, The Poetry Foundation, The Medical Journal of Australia, and in many places. In 2017, she competed for Union Square Slam as the first disabled woman to be on a New York national poetry slam team. She was also a finalist in the Capturing Fire National Poetry Slam in 2017. A Brooklyn Poets Fellow and Zoeglossia fellow, she is currently an editor at Game Over Books. In 2022, hers was one of the top ten most read poems at Split This Rock’s poetry database, The Quarry. Her first collection is forthcoming in 2025. Follow her on Instagram @mammoneliv.
See you then!
– Amy ✈️
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