Cantab Recap for Wednesday, July 31

Harlym125 silences the crowd between judging sessions. Harlym125 founded the national version of NUPIC in 2009. Photo by Marshall Goff.

Harlym125 silences the crowd between judging sessions. Harlym125 founded the national version of NUPIC in 2009. Photo by Marshall Goff.

Harlym125 in the house? HELL, YEAH! At the NorthBEAST NUPIC last night, we took Harlym’s format to the concrete floor at the Cantab, pitting eight New England all-stars against one another in an epic battle. The eventual champ will go on to compete at the NUPIC (that’s National Underground Poetry Individual Competition) at the National Poetry Slam in just a few weeks!

Kayla Wheeler, representing Manchester's Slam Free or Die at the NorthBEAST NUPIC. Photo by Marshall Goff.

Kayla Wheeler, representing Manchester’s Slam Free or Die at the NorthBEAST NUPIC. Photo by Marshall Goff.

Huge love goes out to TLove from Portland RC, Rudy Cabrera from the Lizard Lounge, Ellyn Touchette from Portland PV, and Sarah Sapienza from Worcester Poets’ Asylum: these four best poets repped strong for their venues, but fell after a single poem each. Love their work? Live in their city? Check out the links on the right for more info on their NorthBEAST slams… Or find them at their scheduled bouts coming up in the preliminary round of NPS.

Christopher Johnson, NorthBEAST NUPIC rep from Providence, takes the stage in the final round. Photo by Marshall Goff.

Christopher Johnson, NorthBEAST NUPIC rep from Providence, takes the stage in the final round. Photo by Marshall Goff.

Hometown heroes Bobby Crawford (for Mill City) and Ed Wilkinson (the home rep) fell in the semi-final round, leaving a wicked pairing for the finals: Kayla Wheeler from Slam Free or Die took the stage against Christopher Johnson from Providence Poetry Slam. After THREE suspenseful recounts, Christopher Johnson took the title!– he’ll go on to the big super-secret show on August 16. Congrats to Christopher and to all our poets for rocking the mic!

Next week: JUST ONE MORE SHOW UNTIL THE NATIONAL POETRY SLAM, PEOPLE! Aaaaaaaaaaaand this one’s a doozy: your home team from the Boston Poetry Slam will present an extended feature.

That’s Ed Wilkinson, Omoizele Okoawo, Jade Sylvan, Nora Meiners, and Sean Patrick Mulroy in a full hour to show off what they are taking to NPS. Heads up: it’s a $5 cover this week to help raise the last of the funds to make this the best National Poetry Slam ever. Come celebrate our team!


If you missed the show, you can thank official photographer Marshall Goff for capturing some of the action for you last night. Here are a few gallery selects, fresh from the camera:

Tips from the Bar: Worst Nostalgia Ever

Write about being terrorized by something you loved as a child.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, July 31, 2013: NUPIC Qualifier

Boston Poetry Slam

Every August at the National Poetry Slam, a cadre of competing poets gathers at a secret location to hold a head-to-head, no-holds-barred, crowd-response-only poetry slam. We won’t say exactly what we know about the National Underground Poetry Individual Competition when it comes to Boston this year, but we can give you an idea what a slam judged by a basement full of poets sounds like… This year, we’ll invite eight poets from around the NorthBEAST to compete in our very own NUPIC-style head-to-head event, sanctioned by founder Harlym125 himself, who’ll be on hand to resolve any troublesome ties. The winner gets a paid spot in the official NUPIC!

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. A slightly shortened open mic begins at 8:00 and the slam begins at approximately 10:00. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $5.

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, July 24

This past Wednesday was an exceptionally fun one at the Cantab, folks. Our feature was the inimitable Steve Subrizi, fresh out of the studio and just weeks away from the launch of his fall tour. Steve brought his classic self-effacing wist to the stage, earning the hearts of the audience and one enthusiastic standing ovation. Steve heads out on tour this fall and just might be coming to your favorite town: he’s available for bookings nationwide.

Steve’s set only marked the beginning of this all-star night, though, as the third act of the show presented the all-star Champion of Champions slam. Consider this: any slam where Melissa Newman-Evans, Nathan Comstock, Phoenix Bunke, and Jenn C. are eliminated just in the first round has got to be mad craziness. The semi-final round saw the fall of Zeke Russell and TLove, leaving Sean Patrick Mulroy and Princess Chan to go head to head for the season championship. Sean pulled out the win in the final round and held the nights top honors for one shining moment! However, on the challenge to the champ, Tom Slavin came to the new poem round with a top-notch performed sestina and took the decision 4-1. Congrats to Tom, who retains the title of Champion of Champions for another season! (And congrats to all our slammers, whose summer wins qualify them for the 2014 team selection slams.)

Next week: we’re back with the NorthBEAST NUPIC Qualifier. Which New England all-stars will be repping the eight NorthBEAST venues? Sorry, but it’s a hyoooge secret! You’ll just have to get ready to yell your faces off for whomever catches your fancy at this totally crazy crowd-response pit-fight slam, while volume judge Harlym125 makes sure you are getting it right.

Tips from the Bar: the John Waters Prompt

Write about how someone generally considered to be a bad influence was a positive influence on you.

Cantab Feature for July 24, 2013: Steve Subrizi and a Champion of Champions Poetry Slam

Poet-musician Steve Subrizi. Photo by Ernest Estime.

Poet-musician Steve Subrizi. Photo by Ernest Estime.

Steve Subrizi lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, and has read poetry and played music across America by himself; along with Emerson College’s first slam team, the Gringo Choir, which also included Carlos Williams, Carrie Rudzinski, and Maxwell Kessler; with his good friend, former New Hampshire slammaster Sam Teitel; and with his band, the Crazy Exes from Hell, a duo with Kirsten Opstad. He just put out his solo project, called Home Alone Forever.

Tonight will also mark the next installment in the Champion of Champions! Tom Slavin will defend his title against the winner of this season’s 8×8 slam series.

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 series will follow. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, July 17

The National Poetry Slam is creeping even closer, folks, and that means we’re bustin’ out slam all over. This past Wednesday, we hosted a NorthBEAST 4×4 that welcomed the Worcester Poets’ Asylum, Port Veritas, the Providence Poetry Slam, and the Lizard Lounge teams to our dingy little basement.

If you’re looking for a scouting report, here it is: Providence and Port Veritas battled for the best-poetry title in a vicious battle that was decided by less than a point. Providence gets the fourth-place title, but Port Veritas can claim the honor of bringing the only group piece to this otherwise solo-heavy bout. Meanwhile, Worcester and the Lizard Lounge were fighting for the top score in the match. Despite strong showings in the later rounds by Worcester, no one could catch the high bar the Lizard set in the first round, so our sister slam takes the win with a big ol’ 106.9. Congrats to everyone!

This coming Wednesday, we get a brief competition breather with a feature from Steve Subrizi, local poet, musician, and intern, who’ll be leaving us to tour in a few short months. But wait, there’s more: Steve’s feature will be capped by the Champion of Champions Slam, where reigning champ Tom Slavin takes on the survivor when we pit the the last eight slam winners against each other. There’s money AND bragging rights riding on this one, folks: you should plan for a sweet night where you chill with Steve, then heckle the heck outta this high-stakes slam.

Tips from the Bar: the Meaghan Ford with a Twist Prompt

Your parents meet. A disaster occurs. Tell us why you almost didn’t exist.

Cantab for Wednesday, July 17, 2013: NorthBEAST Regional 4×4 Part Two

Boston Poetry Slam

It’s our second and final NorthBEAST Regional Team Slam of the summer! The 2013 National Poetry Slam is coming to Boston this August, and we are serious about getting ready… For this feature, four more of the eight teams from the NorthBEAST region will face off in a NPS-style bout. Bragging rights are on the line for this show featuring our cross-town rivals from the Lizard Lounge, the Worcester Poets’ Asylum, the Portland Poetry Slam, and 2011 Finals-finishing Providence Poetry Slam. Yowza!

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. A slightly shortened open mic begins at 8:00 and the slam begins at approximately 10:00. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.

Moonlighting: A Queer Open Mic and Reading Series on Thursday, July 11, 2013, featuring Tom Slavin

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

Note that this month’s Moonlighting takes place on the SECOND Tuesday of the month due to the July 4 holiday.

Tom Slavin, 1994 and 1995 Boston Poetry Slam Team member.

Tom Slavin, 1994 and 1995 Boston Poetry Slam Team member.

Tom Slavin has been a National Poetry Slam team finalist in 1994 and 1995, representing Boston in Ashville, NC with Brian Comisky in 1994 and in Ann Arbor MI with Patricia Smith in 1995, and is the reigning Champion of Champions at the Boston Poetry Slam at the Cantab Lounge. A university administrator by trade, he holds Master’s degrees in Higher Ed Administration Mental Health and Addiction Counseling. One of our favorite poets and queer voices in the community, he is a gay man who survived the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 80’s and 90’s, and a recovering alcoholic who has been clean and sober for 30 years. Come join us for another warm, funny, sex-positive open mic and a feature performance that promises to span the emotional, the hilarious, and the edifying.

Tonight’s show will also feature a special spotlight appearance by touring U.K. poet Sophia “Fanny” Walker! Sophia Walker was once arrested in Vietnam for performing a poem. Apparently she is a threat to Vietnamese national security. A short little English girl based in Edinburgh, she is the BBC Scottish National Slam Champion and is usually found touring in Germany, Italy, Holland, France and the UK with a backpack and some battered notebooks. She has taught poetry in universities and high-schools from Vietnam to the UK, but far prefers teaching in prisons and psychiatric facilities. Sophia’s work as a theatre instructor in Uganda, was profiled in the documentary Ikland (winner ‘Best Content’ at the Boston International Film Festival 2011), but slam is her passion. Her work has been commissioned by organizations such as Million Women Rise UK, the British Council, and the Refugee Council Scotland.

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.