Cantab Recap for Wednesday, March 6

The Association of Writers and Writing Programs is in town, and you know what that means… 10,000 writers want to get into the Cantab, that’s what! Our co-founding SlamMaster Patricia Smith was back for a visit last night, and she brought about ten AWP folks along with her who are just as comfortable on the slam stage. The house regulars rocked a two-part open mic, then Patricia performed with her own posse, including Angel Nafis, Anis Mojgani, Daemond Arrindell, Jon Sands, Sara Brickman, Jan Beatty, Lauren Alleyne, Tyehimba Jess, Glenis Redmond, Saeed Jones, and Tim Seibles. HOLY HECK, that is an amazing line-up! And they’re all here in town for the week at AWP, so if you missed your chance to buy a book straight from the author, you can head to the free session of the book fair on Saturday and track ’em down.

Of course, some of you may have felt something was missing from last night’s open. Where were the judges, you asked? The heckling and high-pressure performance? The seemingly random numbers assigned to valuable and personal art after each round? Well: as much as we’d like to welcome some of last night’s features to our 2013 Boston Poetry Slam Team, there are only nine finalists qualified to take the stage at next week’s Team Selection Finals. It’ll be a slightly shorter open mic and a $5 cover to see three rounds of the hottest competition this side of the National Poetry Slam.

Oh, but there’s more: want a preview of the poets performing next Wednesday? Need your member jogged about the triumphs and tragedies of the February Team Selection Semi-Finals? Never fear, SlamCenter is hear! Hosted by Kevin Spak and Zeke Russell (and produced by a crack team of other poets you know), this is the first release of an all-poetry, all-slam sportscast that will be featuring full coverage at the 2013 National Poetry Slam. Check SlamCenter out here, and check back next week for the recap of Finals!

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