Okay, so we can agree that poets don’t need tragic things to happen to create great work… But, in the case of Ariel Baker-Gibbs’ farewell feature last night, both the open mic and the feature herself rose to the occasion with sweetness, sadness, and the snark we’ve come to love and expect from Ariel’s presence. This very smart soon-to-be-no-longer-local only has two Wednesdays left in town, so if you missed picking up So Far, her chapbook, catch her before she flies west in early August, possibly to a venue that has working air conditioning.
After Ariel’s feature, eight slammers took the stage in the hopes of riding the bittersweetly humid wave to the ten-dollar prize… Josh Elbaum and Zeke Russell both started strong from opposite sides of the 8×8 bracket, but when the smoke cleared, Josh was left standing victorious! Josh is the sixth winner of eight who earns an invite to the Champion of Champions Slam, scheduled for August 19.
Next week: MOAR POEMS!!!1!!111!!! The excellent Aziza Barnes is scheduled to visit us from NYC, and we’ll have the seventh poetry open slam in the 8×8. Come early! Stay late! Bring a fan!
Boston Poetry Slam Online