Send us feedback anonymously or via email
One of the greatest things about our long open mic is not only its diversity and unpredictability, but the intensely personal work that is trusted to the audience, with a kind of blind faith that people will stop and listen for each other. There were a lot of personal demons, traumas, and familial ghosts exorcised on the open mic this week, yet the overall tone of the was uplifting, a cry of togetherness in a 2025 that hasn’t felt the most hopeful for a lot of us.
Open Mic Highlights
Erica Garcia’s “Texas was once underwater,” remembering a Texas devoid of dads.
Daivd F’s “Don’t check my browser history” poem that was interrupted by an advertisement read by Cameron, and then was immediately followed on the mic by Cameron’s satirical advertisement for the Calm app.
Gel’s poem about wanting to answer the phone despite the litany of “spam risk”/robocalls they receive, a desire that’s been complicated by the unexpected loss of a friend.
Mugs Myers gave us one of the bravest and most direct pieces about past trauma that I have heard on the mic in a long time, and it also included a line/reference to a previous Myles Taylor poem as a beacon of hope and perseverance.
Shout out to the large number of poets bringing memorized performance pieces to the mic this week: Jenn, Kaitie D, Will L, Myles, Ilse, and Bailey. Thank you!
First Timers Section!
Ali J read an excellently nuanced and winding take on the frayed edges/intersections of intimacy, therapy, the past, and feminism.
I’m not sure if this is a direct quote, but I have written down “Remember loving me at the corner of St. Botolph and West Newton?” for Laura R’s first time on the mic, and it feels like a good encapsulation of her piece.
Lisha gave us an intense extended metaphor/allegory about bees, buzzing, being touched, and disarming and detonating bombs.
Memorable Open Mic Lines Out Of Context:
“Mount me nicely. Bark.” – Aidan
“I’m attempting to raise my dopamine levels by eating mango popsicle sticks” – Portia*
“Cast your ballot for the dirty smell” – Tom Fowler
*I think most of our patrons are attempting to raise their dopamine levels by listening to poetry!
This month’s HAIKU SLAM was won by Kai over Cam S! Honorable mention goes to open mic regular Juliet, who humorously titled their first-round haiku “I always lose the haiku slam,” and their second-round haiku, “I never make it to the 2nd round”.
This week’s WRITING PROMPT comes courtesy of our feature Emmanuel Oppong-Yeboah:
Start with a place in the city you are familiar with. How does it see you. What does it have to say about you. Imagine it loves you. It does. Write a love poem in its voice about you. Your working title is [Insert location in they city] romanticizes [Insert Your Name].
Feature!
Our feature was the NEW Poet Laureate of Boston, and long-time local writer/organizer Emmanuel Oppong-Yeboah! Emmanuel opened by asking the audience to think about a childhood belief that they strongly believed but was later debunked. He then asked each person to discuss this belief with the person sitting next to them, and we got to hear some wild examples from the crowd after the discussion was over. Emmanuel’s own poetry shone brightly with fervent detours, including a revised January 6th poem that probes the meaning of culpability, a piece for student activist Mahmoud Khalil who was taken from his apartment by ICE, and the excellently titled “Poem In Which I Mouth Myself into A Caucus of Crows”. Be sure to check out Emmanuel’s new book, not without small joys, out now on Game Over Books.
This Week!
Come celebrate the end of National Poetry Month! We will be capping off the month with our annual FRESH INK SLAM. Have at least 3 poems prepared that are BRAND NEW TO THE STAGE. If you did a 30/30 for the month of April, this one’s for you! If you did a 3/30, this one’s also for you. Sign-ups are first-come, first-serve. $50 prize for the winner of the slam.
See you soon,
– MFG 🚪
Our upcoming features
First timer? Looking for show info? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions!
Sign up for our Newsletter
Boston Poetry Slam Online