Cantab Recap for Wednesday, May 9, 2018

There’s really something about May, Cantabbers: maybe folks are finally getting outside after a long winter’s nap. Maybe folks are free of finals, or the seats at their favorite local bar are finally up for grabs… Whatever the reason, it seems like we see some of our most welcoming and wonderful open mics in the month of May. Thanks to all the folks who brought such positive and supportive energy to this Wednesday’s mic, then stayed checked in all night to witness and woot for an excellent feature from Chen Chen. This poet with a knack for the impossible brought tenderness to the forbidden, unspoiled sweetness to the objectively awkward, and a crush of happy nods to the room of listeners. Why, yes, Chen Chen’s book, When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities, is indeed beautiful, and also available from BOA editions.

Our Last Chance Speed Slam was a hotly contested five-poet melee, buffeted by a power triad of judges seated near the front of the room. At the end of the third round, Myles emerged victorious over Karen, after an intense and lovely three rounds from the field. That’s it for our speed slam season, folks! We’ll be back to three-minute rounds in all our open shows until January…

Oh, wait, except for ONE MORE SPEED SLAM: that’s the semi-finals of the World Qualifier, this Wednesday on May 16! A murderous joyfest of poets is qualified for the show, which will be just two rounds of 2- and 1-minute poems. Don’t blink / don’t miss out on which eight poets will rise to the top and the Finals on June 6. Next week’s show will be a $5 cover to help send the eventual World Qualifier winner to the Individual World Poetry Slam in San Diego this October.