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Open Mic Highlights
• Ember’s “My Body Is Not A Temple—It’s A Dive Bar Bathroom”
• Jack’s “Health Scare Boyfriend” who may or may not have erroneously convinced him that he had cancer
• Roxy’s returned with an advertisement for their coffee roaster cafe that turned into a poem, and Cameron came back in persona as a Charles Bukowski-esque character
• Elaborate contrapuntal-ish work from Mugs Myers and Kelsey Kessler
• First timer Victor’s funny poem about being on a Greyhound bus while someone was having sex in the background that resonated with a lot more audience members than you would have thought
• We had our penultimate haiku slam of the year! There was fun stuff by Will S, who wrote haiku about their competitors, and great written-on-the-spot haiku by first-timer Victor. The final round was led by the sensual-and-stinging work by Briana, and the off-kilter quietude/freakiness by Oliver, both longtime regulars. Oliver took the win, and both finalists qualify for next month’s Haiku Tournament!
• Heartbreaking poems by Kai (on familial neglect) and Amy (meditating on the middle of their body)
• Myles’ dumpster-diving/Allston Christmas poem that some serious swift flow/rhythmic cadence to it as it went on
Feature
Our feature was local poet/teacher/open-mic & slam regular Otto Vock! Reading from their new chapbook as well an older “angstier” one (by their own admission), Otto Vock ran through both established performance favorites and some great new material. Highlights include persona poems in the voice of Plastic, a conversation between humankind and The Sky (told from the voice of the Sky), and a poem in which they become an architect instead of a poet. We also heard moving material about the aftermath of being positive during the 2024 election cycle, the experience of trying to get a gig / be a teaching artist in 2025, and an ode to Yukie, a rather scrappy and not-always-so-nice dog (“she was easier to love when toothless”). Thank you Otto!
Coming Up This Wednesday
This week’s feature is poet and friend-to-BPS Tatiana Johnson-Boria!
Tatiana Johnson-Boria (she/her) is the author of Nocturne in Joy (2023), winner of the 2024 Julia Ward Howe Book Prize in Poetry. As an educator, artist, facilitator, and mother; she uses her writing practice to dismantle racism, reckon with trauma, cultivate healing, and to explore the complex magic of mothering. She has received fellowships and awards from Tin House, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, MacDowell, the Brother Thomas Fellowship, and St. Botolph Club Foundation, among others. Tatiana is a 2017 Pushcart Prize nominee, and teaches at GrubStreet and Framingham State University, among other institutions. Find her work in The Academy of American Poets, Ploughshares, Kenyon Review, and more.
See you around!
– MFG 🚪
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