Cantab Recap for Wednesday, May 23

Last night’s packed house was treated to an incredibly strong feature from long-time Cantabber Tom Slavin. Tom came to the stage holding nothing but a glass of water and his heart in his hand, and new and old listeners alike were wowed by his polished, sincere performance and striking turns of language and story. It was a beautiful night to honor both the history and future of the Cantab, and the 2012 Boston Poetry Slam Team would especially like to thank Tom for donating all proceeds from his feature (including his CD sales) to the team’s travel to the National Poetry Slam.

Our open slam was won by Melissa Newman-Evans, who got a good run for her money from a surprisingly strong mid-spring field of competitors… Including finalist Marshall Gillson, an Atlanta slammer who’ll be spending his summer in Boston with us. Welcome (and welcome back) to all the folks who’ll be enjoying the warm months with us this year!

Next week, the Boston Poetry Slam will cut loose with bartender Adam Stone hosting the Box of Doom Poetry Slam, one of the best ways we could think of to celebrate the end of the academic year. Poets may sign up at the door to present the worst poetry on the face of the earth, combined with the most over-the-top, singin’est, dancin’est, biggest-est performance they can muster! Expect a rowdy audience and a rollicking good time at this over-the-top event, which we’ve commemorated with a special t-shirt design (yup, in men’s and women’s cuts) by Gary Hoare.