Oh, summer. A time for friends at the barbecue, late moonlit nights and, of course, reuniting with your long-lost bartender in a dirty Cambridge basement? You betcha: redheaded wildchild Melissa Newman-Evans came home last night, ready to tear down the walls with her characteristic volume and– is that uncharacteristic tenderness we detect? What has Denver done to our poet! For real, friends, if you’ve been missing The Hyphen in your life, she’s around for the weekend with no more shows, but a few more unique, Cantab-only chapbooks that she doesn’t need to pack back to the mountains: reach out through her website if you want one of your very own.
As you might have expected, after the close of the feature, the slam was topped by two strong-voiced non-dudes, as Nora Meiners and Anna Binkovitz faced off in the final round. Despite strong new work by Nora, Anna won the day, earning $10 towards another year’s lease in the Boston area. Thanks to our judges, staff, and stuffed-to-the-gills crowd who made for a great midsummer sold-out show.
Next week: did someone say Sold Out Show? Yup, and you’d best arrive early next Wednesday to see feature Tatiana M.R. Johnson, a House Slam favorite and a rare and glorious sighting on this side of the river. Tatiana hits the stage around 10pm with her new chapbook, “for the love of black girls,” but you just might want to get here early to catch an open mic spotlight from Bay Area mainstay and turn-of-the-millennium west-coast slam champ SevanKelee (a.k.a. “Lucky7”) Boult. Night owls can stick around for the eighth and final open poetry slam of the 8×8 series that will close the night. Come on out!
Boston Poetry Slam Online