After the grand send-off of our 2017 National Poetry Slam team two weeks ago, followed by RebeccaLynn retaining her title at a walloping Champion of Champions last week, it could have been tough to get back into the regular swing of open mic/feature/open slam… Fortunately, Madeline Maienza and Evan Cutts were in the house to ease us back into reality. These two nationally ranked last chance slammers brought us a sweet spotlight each, fresh off their performances at the National Poetry Slam. Looking for more of these poets? No sweat: you can reach out to Venmo Madeline Maienza for their online chapbook, or email Evan Cutts to get a hold of his paper, in-the-world collection.
As for our first open slam in a minute: it filled up with a vengeance last night, as open mic’ers flocked to fill the last available spots after the feature. Rising to the top were Wheelock newcomer Julissa and committed regular Lip; Julissa might have taken the first two rounds by score in the slam, but fell in the finals to our clean-slate format and Lip’s unwavering performance. Congrats to Lip, who takes home the $10 and the first win in our final 8×8 series of the year.
Next week: Boston’s first-ever Poet Laureate, Danielle Legros Georges, will be in the house. Will this basement clean up and act nice, or be the most Cantab we’ve ever been? No need to answer here; the house should be packed next week, so come by early next week to get heard and listen up.
Boston Poetry Slam Online