Cantab Feature for Wednesday, February 19, 2014: Team Selection Semi-Finals

The Cantab’s Team Selection Slams are the venue’s biggest, wildest poetry slams of the year. This February, we continue our selection process with the second night of three, the Team Selection Semi-Finals!

Team Selection Slams go for three nights at the Cantab, with the top five poets after seven rounds comprising the venue’s National Poetry Slam Team. The 2014 Boston Poetry Slam Team will travel to the National Poetry Slam across the mainland in sunny Oakland, California.

The top twelve poets from the January 22 Preliminaries advance to this February show. Qualified poets will perform in the following order in the first round, pending confirmation of all competitors:
1. Allison Truj
2. Michael Monroe
3. Mckendy Fils-Aimé
4. Marshall Gillson
5. Meaghan Ford
6. Melissa Newman-Evans
7. Sean Patrick Mulroy
8. Sierra Lister
9. Princess Chan
10. Janae Johnson
11. Bobby Crawford
12. Omoizele Okoawo
sacrifice poets: Ed Wilkinson, Sophia Holtz

With two poems behind them and five to go, competing poets are likely to be reaching deep into their pockets on this particular night, or even trying out untested work in hope of saving some major ammunition for Finals on March 26… Making Semi-Finals just possibly the most interesting night of the selection series.

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. A SHORTENED open mic begins at 8:00 and the slam begins at approximately 9:15. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $5; proceeds will go toward funding the team’s travel to the National Poetry Slam this August in Oakland.