Featured poet Alvin Lau
Alvin Lau is a Chicago native, writer of poetry and prose, and proud son of Chinese immigrants. An avid competitor in poetry slams, he is the highest ranking Asian-American slam poet of all time and has won more high stakes poetry slams than any other poet in the world. He is a two-time champion of Louder than a Bomb: the Chicago Youth Poetry Slam, two-time champion of Brave New Voices: the National Youth Poetry Slam, a four-time regional slam champion, a five-time national finalist and 2006 and 2011 individual runner-up, a Pushcart Nominee, and in 2007 he was named “Poet of Conscience” by Amnesty International.
His work has appeared across various media, including Rattle Magazine’s Tribute to Slam, the Poetry Foundation online, National Public Radio, numerous literary journals and anthologies, and the fifth and sixth seasons of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. He has shared stages with Nikki Giovanni, Talib Kweli, and Buddy Guy, and performed at hundreds of colleges across the country, including Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, and Sarah Lawrence College. Favorites include mangoes, tequila, and Lupe Fiasco.
Doors for the show open at 7:15. The open mic begins at 8:00 and the feature performs at approximately 10:00. An open poetry slam in the 8×8 series will follow. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.
Boston Poetry Slam Online