Cantab Feature for Wednesday, November 19, 2014: Carrie Rudzinski

Carrie Rudzkinski returns to the Cantab Longe. Photo by Rich Beaubien.

Carrie Rudzkinski returns to the Cantab Longe. Photo by Rich Beaubien.

Named Best Female Poet at her first national poetry competition in 2008, Carrie Rudzinski has since performed her work across the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and India. Ranked 4th in the world at the 2014 Women of the World Poetry Slam and 7th at the 2013 Individual World Poetry Slam, Carrie has represented Boston, Denver, and Los Angeles over the course of 11 national poetry competitions. She accepted a part-time faculty position teaching Poetry and Performance at California State University Northridge for the Spring 2014 semester. Her most recent book, The Shotgun Speaks, was published in 2013.

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. The open mic begins at 8:00 and the feature performs at approximately 10:00. An open poetry slam in the 8×8 series will follow. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, November 12, 2014

We told you. We told you that Manvir Singh was going to be outrageous and wildly original, that he was going to take you on journeys you had never experienced before, that he was going to do it with love and brilliance and that JUST MAYBE (okay, we didn’t tell you this part) there would be a tiny dance party at the end of the show… And you believed us! Our thanks to the droves of folks who visited us for Manvir’s feature last night, and special hat-tips to those who waited patiently at the door for our tiny room to make space for all his fans. If you were left out in the cold, you can of course purchase books from this remarkable artist: we always recommend you purchase directly from the poet, but if you fear you won’t cross paths in person again, you can also get two of his doodlebooks from Amazon.

After our little sold-out dance party wound down, by the way, we of course brought ourselves back to the slam. A competitive eight took the stage with plans to take home a ten-high pile of damp (don’t ask) dollar bills, and two emerged from the fire into the final round: Eddy Martinez and Ed Wilkinson. Both brought strong showings, but Ed’s lambasting of hope (perhaps a riff off a poet in an earlier round?) took top honors and the win.

Next week: she’s lived in Denver, New Zealand, and Los Angeles, but we always like to think that one-time Emerson grad Carrie Rudzinski is coming home when she walks into the Cantab. Carrie will bring new work from her many travels and we’ll serve up the third poetry slam in this season’s 8×8 series.

Tips from the Bar: The James Tate Prompt

Imagine offering the sort of advice that you never thought you would have to give to another human being.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, November 12, 2014: Manvir Singh

Manvir Singh, world-traveling poet and eater of cookies.

Manvir Singh, world-traveling poet and eater of cookies.

Manvir Singh lives in Cambridge, Mass., where he eats cookies and pursues a doctorate. He writes short stories that become poems, because something– maybe a monster– bites off their heads, exposing their gooey innards to fungi and demons.

Manvir has participated in six poetry slams as the only English-speaker. He almost represented Copenhagen in the 2013 Danish Poetry Nationals, but ended up coming in second to a lady who did rhyming stuff about ladyparts. He has twice shared a Pushing the Art Forward Award. He won his first-grade spelling bee, or at least tied for first with Neta Raanan.

This show coincides with the release of his newest doodle-zine, Death & Rabbits.

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. The open mic begins at 8:00 and the feature performs at approximately 10:00. An open poetry slam in the 8×8 series will follow. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, November 5, 2014

A break in the October/November rain came just in time for Wednesday poetry tonight, and we had great turnout for the delightfully unapologetic Cheryl Maddalena. This lady from Boise has sass, moxie, and also a poem to make you feel that your penis is beautiful, just in case you hadn’t thought about it lately. You are the luckiest! (But if you missed her, no worries: you can head north and catch her at Slam Free or Die in Manchester tonight.)

Speaking of moxie: only six poets gathered up enough to slam in the show last night, but they were a fearsome six! The finals came down to Catherine Martin and Emily Carroll, who skillfully (but almost reluctantly) took the win, the ten-dollar prize, and the first spot in January’s Champion of Champions slam.

Next week: we’re back with surreal and mid-expanding storyteller Manvir Singh, as well as another open slam. But wait! You can cure today’s post-Cantab-gray-day blues by binging on the rest of your Halloween candy and heading over to Fazenda TONIGHT to catch gaelle win robin at Moonlighting, hosted by Emily while she’s fresh off her slam win. See you there!

Tips from the Bar: Double-Header

To make up for last week’s lack of prompts…

Good Luck, Mr. Grodsky
Deconstruct (or invent) an urban myth.

The Josh Elbaum Prompt
Write a realistic resume for yourself as person.

Moonlighting: A Queer Open Mic and Reading Series on November 6, 2014

This reading is part of our monthly LGBTQ series, Moonlighting. Click here for more information about this recurring show.

The featured reader for November 6 is gaelle win robin.

Northern Maine poet gaelle win robin. Photo by Amie E. Cohenour (Miklovich).

Northern Maine poet gaelle win robin. Photo by Amie E. Cohenour (Miklovich).

Gaelle win robin is a queer poet, writer and stylist for jacktar207.com, assistant editor of ninjournal.tumblr.com, designer, model and performance artist from a small town at a crossroads, home is in the heart of Portland, Maine. Their writings have appeared in Vagabonds: Anthology of the Mad Ones, and they are the author of a number of self-published chapbooks. Their work can be found at gaellerobin.tumblr.com or oncomehell.wordpress.com, a collective queer writers’ blog based in the northeastern U.S.

This show in our monthly Thursday LGBTQ series takes place at Fazenda Coffee Roasters, 3710 Washington St. in the Jamaica Plain area of Boston. An open mic begins at approximately 7:00 p.m. and the headliner follows the open mic. The show is all-ages and a $3 donation is requested.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, November 5, 2014: Cheryl Maddalena

Bay-gone-Boise poet Cheryl Maddalena. Photo by Cody Spanbauer.

Bay-gone-Boise poet Cheryl Maddalena. Photo by Cody Spanbauer.

Cheryl Maddalena is a poet, mommy, engineer, and psychologist… But not all at the same time. SlamMaster of Boise, she has reached the National Poetry Slam, Individual World Poetry Slam, Group Piece, and Women of the World Poetry Slam Finals stages as a competitor, backup dancer, and opening act. She has also made top four at the NUPIC underground indies, been featured as part of the Slam Legends Showcase, and has been Haiku Deathmatch Champion. Cheryl chalks up all of her successes to her unparalleled attendance record since 2001 – no still-competing poet in the world has been to more consecutive National Poetry Slams. Gold star!

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. The open mic begins at 8:00 and the feature performs at approximately 10:00. An open poetry slam in the 8×8 series will follow. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, October 29, 2014

The nights are getting longer, Cantabbers, which means the slams are getting feistier! All eight of our past season’s slam winners turned out for last night’s Champions of Champions Slam, each looking for a chance to depose Bobby Crawford from throne. The open mic was filled with solid work, including a few returning newcomers, and great enthusiasm from a supportive crowd.

Although a last-minute scheduling snafu kept Nate Marshall from making it to his feature, that just meant the Champion of Champions match took over the feature spot for the night! Any one of these eight poets would rate a full feature at the Cantab, we think, but some of them only got the opportunity to slam one poem before having to pack it in and go back to the bar. After an on-page sacrifice by Bobby Crawford, performance was the name of the game for the first round, with poets pulling out all the stops just to try to survive. The final season match-up came down to two on-fire performers, Mckendy Fils-Aimé and Sean Patrick Mulroy, with Sean’s momentum just edging out Mckendy’s warm reception from the crowd.

Did Sean decide to let his $50 season championship prize ride all the way to the next round? OF COURSE HE DID. In the final Champion of Champions round, Sean and Bobby faced off with new-to-the-Cantab work, each with a poem held back specifically for this very match-up. A remarkably consistent set of five judges was painfully divided on the vote, but challenger Sean’s decision to memorize crowdwalk just might have outstripped Bobby’s good look in laurels: by 3-2, Sean Patrick Mulroy was crowned our new Champion of Champions!

Next week: open slams start again for all you upstarts gunning for Sean’s tiara. Oh, and we’ll finally have a feature from Berkeley-Boise slam legend Cheryl Maddalena! See you there!

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, October 29, 2014: Nate Marshall and the Champion of Champions Poetry Slam

Nate Marshall, prominent Chicago slammer.

Nate Marshall, prominent Chicago slammer.

Originally from the south side of Chicago, Nate’s work has been featured in many prominent literary journals, on HBO, BET, OWN, and in the award-winning full-length documentary, Louder Than a Bomb. He is a former poetry slam champion and a graduate of University of Michigan’s Helen Zell Writers Program. Nate is also the founder of the Lost Count Scholarship Fund that promotes youth violence prevention in Chicago.

Tonight also marks the final night in our current 8×8 poetry slam series! Eight slam winners will slam off for the season championship and the opportunity to challenge reigning Champion of Champions Bobby Crawford.

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. The open mic begins at 8:00 and the feature performs at approximately 10:00. The Champions of Champions Slam in the 8×8 speed slam series will follow. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.