Cantab Recap for Wednesday, June 22, 2016

And just like that, the longest day of the year AND the first summertime 4×4 team slam are both in the books! After sixteen poems in a wicked hot Nationals-style bout, the dust cleared to reveal the following scores:

    1. House Slam 113.4
    2. Boston Poetry Slam 110.3
    3. Northampton Poetry Slam 108.4
    4. Union Square Slam 107.6

Drawing the first spot in the slam proved to be no problem for the House Slam, reigning national champs, who jumped out to a commanding lead with the first poem of the night. Noho and the BPS were neck and neck in the first round, with Union Square leapfrogging up in the rankings in round two… With House well ahead in round three, the other three teams laid down poems separated by only 0.1 each, making it a three-team battle for second in the final rotation. With a strong showing to finish up, the Boston Poetry Slam captured second place, with Northampton closing out the competition big to take third place. That means the Best Poets Award for the night goes to Union Square, who not only traveled the furthest (all the way from NYC!), but also presented the only group piece of the night. A grand thanks to everyone who came out to slam and perform their hearts out, and a special hat tip to our crack hosting/managing team: Dawn Gabriel and Tom Slavin.

Loved watching this 4×4? If you can’t make it to the National Poetry Slam in Decatur this year, then you might want to mark the dates of our two remaining team slams: those will be July 6 and July 20, with a whole host of other visiting teams.

Next week: we’re back to our regular open mic, feature, and open slam schedule, with headliner Nicole Shantè from the Midwest bringing a full set to the heart of the night. See you there!