Coming right on the heels of a feature from one of the greatest slam champs of the modern era, the Boston Poetry Slam @ the Cantab Lounge will take another shot at narrowing the field for the National Poetry Slam. The top dozen poets from the April 4 Team Selection Preliminaries will enter the second of three nights designed to build the best possible slam team from the all-stars the venue has to offer. After two rounds of serious semi-final fun, the top poets will advance to the April 25 Team Selection Finals.
Special guest Erin Jackson will host tonight’s slam! This coach, competitor, and 2007 National Poetry Slam Individual Finalist from Worcester has enough slam cred under her belt to keep both the wily slam veterans and the cocky rookies in line. And with only three poets to eliminate tonight, you can expect some wild strategic risks from all the poets hoping to save enough poetic ammunition to survive the Finals.
Qualified to slam in Semi-Finals (first round will run in this order):
12. Sam Teitel
11. Meaghan Ford
10. Ed Wilkinson
9. Sophia Holtz
8. Melissa Newman-Evans
7. Mckendy Fils-Aimé
6. Omoizele Okoawo
5. Maya Phillips
4. Antonia Lassar
3. Simone Beaubien
2. Christian Drake
1. Kemi Alabi
Sacrificial poet: Matthew Richards.
Wondering where our third-place winner from last week’s slam went? Well, it turns out that Bobby Crawford will drop out to compete at the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational that week. Good luck to Bobby and the whole Emerson College team at CUPSI!
Doors for the show open at 7:15. A shortened open mic begins at 8:00 and the slam begins at approximately 9:30. An open poetry slam in the 8×8 series will follow. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $5; proceeds will go toward sending the team to the National Poetry Slam this August.
Boston Poetry Slam Online