Cantab Feature for Wednesday, October 31: Dead Poets’ Slam

Some people already can’t think of anything scarier than a night at a poetry show. Why not celebrate Halloween with the world-famous Boston Poetry Slam at the Cantab Lounge? On Wednesday, October 31, the Cantab will host a real fright fest: more than sixteen dead poets will present their work in a team poetry slam in honor of Halloween night. The deceased will haunt a team-based poetry slam where members of the audience judge who is really the best of all time— at least for this year’s All Hallow’s Eve.

The slam is full, and our competitors have been assigned to teams based (loosely) on The Four Humors of Hippocratic medicine. All poets will be performing in character, and you can expect to see old favorites like Ginsberg, Plath, Dickinson, and Whitman, but also some surprise deep cuts from Kathy Acker, Deborah Digges, Wislawska Szymborska, and Shel Silverstein. Audience members are encouraged to dress as their favorite departed poet, and the night will kick off with an open mic: bring your own dead poet if you dare!

This show in our weekly Wednesday series takes place at the Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge. Doors for the show open at 7:15. The open mic begins at 8:00 and the poetry slam performs at approximately 10:00. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.