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
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 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.
Cantab Recap for Wednesday, July 10
HARLYM125 IN THE HOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUZZZZZZZZZZZZEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
Oh, excuse us. Did you miss the party? A big-talkin’, explosive-performin’, complex-writin’ major player took the stage for us last night: Harlym125. Did he rock the mic? He did. Were there singalongs and special guests and surprises? There were. Did he change your life? I guess we’ll know next week, since some of us might show up with our hair still blown back and smiles still plastered across our faces. Ladies and gentlemen, the champion of your hearts, Mister One Two Five.
We were so pumped up to slam after Harlym’s feature, and it was a wild one: the slam was almost evenly split between Boston and Portland competitors, fighting it out for honor, glory, and a special supplementary $20 prize (thanks to the generosity of our feature!). In just the first round we saw a Champion of Champions and a World Qualifier winner ousted, and the second round featured a wicked tie that catapulted Adam Stone (circa 2004) to the final two! In the final head-to-head, Adam ultimately fell to Rhythmic Cypher SlamMaster TLove, who takes the eighth spot in this season’s Champion of Champions series, scheduled for July 24.
Next Wednesday: the National Poetry Slam is less than five weeks away, and we’ve got some regional preparation to do! Number one on our list: invite all the NorthBEAST teams over to slam at our house! This next iteration of the NorthBEAST summer regionals will feature a 4×4 NPS-style slam with Worcester, Port Veritas, Providence, and the Lizard Lounge.
Can’t wait until next Wednesday for your poetry fix? No problem! You can check out Tom Slavin at Moonlighting over in JP tonight, Thursday, July 11. This monthly GLBTQ reading also will feature a spotlight feature from the inimitable Sophia “Fanny” Walker.
Cantab Feature for July 10, 2013: Harlym125
Harlym125 performs at the Cantab Lounge. Photo by Marshall Goff.
Jamele “Harlym125” Adams is, hands-down, one of the most powerful performance poets in the country. A onetime NPS finalist with the Boston Poetry Slam team back in 2008, he now is one of the leaders of the Lizard Lounge Poetry Jam, bringing a fiery rivalry and his shouts of “TEN! TEN! TEN!” to many a local bout. A mover for social justice, an enthusiastic educator and communicator, and a commanding writer to boot, he serves as Brandeis University’s Dean of Diversity and has been featured up and down the east coast. He founded the annual NUPIC slam at NPS and his last Cantab feature included a dance break. This show is not to be missed.
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 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 3, 2013
Very occasionally, the stage staff at the Boston Poetry Slam mentions that the feature did not happen to bring any product– CDs, chapbooks, or the like. If that makes you shift in your seat a little, wishing you could have Krysten Hill‘s words all to yourself, we on staff would like to remind you: sometimes the feature’s thirty minutes on stage at the Cantab are all you can get, so be glad you were here… Because they will be AMAZING. Krysten rocked the house with incredibly solid and crafted work. If you were there, consider yourself lucky: you can say you knew her when.
We finished up the night with a pretty hot slam, welcoming a few new faces with very strong voices: the finals came down to an out-of-town match-up! When the dust (and the time penalties) cleared, Portland’s Jenn C. edged out her carpool buddy, TLove, for the $10 and the win.
Next week: you think you’re ready? Trust us: there is no way to be ready for Harlym125‘s feature next week. Gird your poetic bits and strap in for a wild ride with Associate Dean Adams. We’ll close out the night with the last open poetry slam in this 8×8 series.
Cantab Feature for July 3, 2013: Krysten Hill
Krysten Hill, UMass-Boston MFA candidate.
Krysten Hill is a recent graduate from the MFA programat UMass-Boston from Kansas City, Missouri. She has featured at Literary Firsts, U35, Stone Soup, Breakwater Reading Series, Write on the DOT, and the first Somerville Encyclopedia Show. She is published and forthcoming in apt, Write on the DOT, and Amethyst Arsenic. Her greatest desire is to form a collective of women poets who travel around teaching the power of voice to the girls on front porches who wonder what that aching in their chests is all about.
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 slam in the 8×8 series will follow. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.
SlamCenter Recap for the 6/26 4×4 Is Here!
SlamCenter is a sports-style show featuring the latest poetry slam news highlights and analysis. Boston Poetry Slam co-host Kevin Spak, Mill City SlamMaster Zeke Russell, and a cast of reporters and analysts bring you the ins, outs, and overtimes of the National Poetry Slam and select NorthBEAST events. Produced by Andy Locke and Tom Dodson.
Hey, did you miss the big slam at the Cantab this past Wednesday? No problem! SlamCenter, the world’s first slam recap podcast, has got a full recap with all the highlights right here.
Don’t want to miss an episode? Want to catch up with previous recaps? Check out SlamCenter’s podcasts at iTunes!
Boston Poetry Slam Online