Cantab Feature for Wednesday, March 16, 2016: Team Selection Finals

The Cantab’s Team Selection Slams are the venue’s biggest, wildest poetry slams of the year. The venue’s late-winter selection is one of the earliest in the country, which gives them extra time to prepare for this year’s National Poetry Slam in Decatur, Georgia this August.

The top nine poets from semi-finals qualified to advance to the show. The following poets have decided to continue to finals, slamming in the following order in the first round (and drawing randomly for second and third round order):
1. Bobby Crawford
2. Meaghan Ford
3. Manvir Singh
4. Joshua Elbaum
5. Neiel Israel
6. JR Mahung
7. Mckendy Fils-Aimé
8. Simone Beaubien
9. Zeke Russell
Sacrifices: 1. Nora Meiners, 2. Marshall Gillson

The slam will be hosted by special guest Sean Patrick Mulroy and bout managed by venue favorite Tom Slavin.

After three previous slams in the last two months, already requiring four pieces to slam plus a brand new poem, you can expect hot competition, tense strategic moves, and the most finely-polished performance work of the slam season. The top five poets at the end of the evening will comprise the 2016 Boston Poetry Slam Team.

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 9:00. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $5; proceeds will go toward funding the team’s trip to the National Poetry Slam in Georgia this August.