Cantab Feature for Wednesday, October 30: Jack McCarthy Memorial Slam

This night is an installment in the Boston Poetry Slam’s “Sober October,” a month-long series of shows and readers selected to celebrate the sober and recovering artists in our scene.

The late Jack McCarthy performing at his last Cantab feature on June 15, 2011. Photo by Richard Beaubien.

The late Jack McCarthy performing at his last Cantab feature on June 15, 2011. Photo by Richard Beaubien.

“For me, the live audience is really the only audience I ever think about… When I put something down on paper and publish it, my highest hope is that someone somewhere will pick it up and read it to a third party. My sense of audience does not stop with the person who reads the poem. I hope the poem goes on to another life.” –Jack McCarthy, speaking to the Boston Globe, December, 2012

The Dead Poets’ Slam, a show dedicated to performing the works of long-gone artists, traditionally falls on the Wednesday closest to Halloween. This year, we will move the apostrophe back in order to honor just one: a friend of the Cantab lost in the past year. Please mark your calendars for the first-ever Jack McCarthy Memorial Slam.

All-star performers from the New England scene will perform work from the late, great, and much-missed Jack McCarthy, and they will be scored by a selection of judges, resulting in a landslide win for, well, everyone. Folks familiar with Jack’s work can expect very few of the standbys; Jack wrote thousands of open mic poems over years of performance and some still-hidden gems will have a chance to shine tonight. If you’ve never heard Jack, then this is your best chance to enjoy his work as it was meant to be: live on stage, and delivered with love.

Confirmed performers:
TEAM 1: Tom Slavin, Kieran Collier, Mckendy Fils-Aime, Sue Savoy
TEAM 2: Brian Comiskey, Marshall Gillson, Allison Truj, Kevin Spak
TEAM 3: Richard Cambridge, Kemi Alabi, Cassandra Euphrat Weston, Christopher Clauss
TEAM 4: Mark Palos, Caroline Harvey, Sophia Holtz, Sam Teitel
Sacrifice: Sean Patrick Mulroy

Open mic poets are also welcome to cover Jack at the show. However, we ask that you time your performance (Jack didn’t always stay under 3 minutes on the open, but you still have to!), and that you consider consulting with the SlamMaster to make sure the poem you have selected isn’t already scheduled for the slam.

To learn more about Jack, see his Wikipedia page, local obituary, or the website maintained by his family.

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 featured slam begins 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, October 23

Last night, Omaha poet Andrew Ek knocked it out of the park at the Cantab. If you missed his series of perceptive, poignant, and scientific stories, you may be out of luck: this was his one and only show on his trip to New England! He’ll be in Manchester on the open mic tonight, but if you want to order one of his sold-out chapbooks, you can contact him through his blog.

After Andrew’s feature, we rolled right into a crazy-all-star Champion of Champions Slam! It was a full line-up waiting to challenge returning champ Tom Slavin, including Bobby Crawford, Marshall Gillson, Meaghan Ford, Melissa Newman-Evans, Mckendy Fils-Aimé, Sophia Holtz, Ed Wilkinson, and Kieran Collier… With more than a few not-so-secret grudge matches in that mix. Marshall and Ed rose to the top of the big eight, with Marshall taking the season championship! His triumph was short-lived, however, when despite a great new-poem effort in the title round, Tom Slavin dispatched him on a unanimous decision. Tom retains the title until his next match in January of 2014: in the meantime, we’ll start up a new 8×8 series, the last before our team selection slams for next year.

Next week: we’ll close out our Sober October with our very favorite sober artist… It’s the first-ever Jack McCarthy Memorial Slam. Some of our favorite locals will be slamming Jack’s work in this show, including Brian Comiskey, Richard Cambridge, Kemi Alabi, Mark Palos, Cassandra Euphrat Weston, Alison Truj, Sue Savoy, Kevin Spak, and our recently re-crowned champ, Tom Slavin himself.

Tips from the Bar: the Other Other Other Adam Stone Prompt

What’s the worst pickup line anyone’s ever used on you… that worked?

[example redacted: come to the Cantab on a Wednesday if you want Adam’s war stories]

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, October 23: Andrew Ek and the Champion of Champions Poetry Slam

This night is an installment in the Boston Poetry Slam’s “Sober October,” a month-long series of shows and readers selected to celebrate the sober and recovering artists in our scene.

Andrew Ek, Omaha LTAB co-director.

Andrew Ek, Omaha LTAB co-director.

Andrew Ek is a writer, teacher, and performer who lives in Omaha, Nebraska. He is the Education Director for the Nebraska Writers Collective, a literary non-profit which sends writers into middle and high schools across the state and which puts on the Louder Than a Bomb: Omaha youth slam poetry festival every year. Andrew also co-hosts the Encyclopedia Show: Omaha with Katie F-S, has been on and coached teams representing Nebraska at the National Poetry Slam (including the 2008 team which placed 9th nationally), teaches computer programming at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, teaches math to high schoolers during the summer, makes really delicious smoothies, and plays a lot of tennis. You can read more of his writing at http://andrewcek.wordpress.com.

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, October 16, 2013

Red Sox game? Janelle Monae concert? Poetry vs. Comedy Showdown? Sure, there might be three other shows in town on a Wednesday night, but that doesn’t stop us from filling the room for Chad Anderson, New Jersey performance poet and long-time LoserSlam coach. Chad brought us a (nearly) banter-free set, closing with a sweet cover that brought all of us in the audience back… Waaaaay back. The slam filled with a motley assortment of competitors, but came down to a scrappy finals pairing of Eddy Martinez and Kieran Collier. Kieran took the win, netting him the coveted final spot in the 8×8 series standings.

Next week: Sober October continues with deft talker and thinker Andrew Ek from Omaha, then an all-star-packed Champion of Champions slam wherein Tom Slavin defends his title. Awesome!

Tips from the Bar: the Morris Slavin Prompt

Write an instruction manual for a procedure that does not yet have one (or need one).

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, October 16: Chad Anderson

This night is an installment in the Boston Poetry Slam’s “Sober October,” a month-long series of shows and readers selected to celebrate the sober and recovering artists in our scene.

Chad Anderson, Jersey performance poet and coach.

Chad Anderson, Jersey performance poet and coach.

Chad Anderson is a poet and teacher from the Jersey Shore. His work has been published in The Barbershop Chronicles (Penmanship Books 2009) and Aim for the Head (Write Bloody 2011). Excerpts from his poetry have recently been quoted in The New York Times. In 2009, he coached the first National Poetry Slam team to ever consciously choose to drop out of semi-final competition.

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, October 9, 2013

It just wouldn’t be Sober October without Carrie Rudzinski in the house, folks! This world-traveling poet (and recent Individual World Poetry Slam Finalist!) came home to roost with us for just a short while, celebrating her travels and tribulations with our room. If you missed her feature, you’ll have to track her down to get her live CD of performances from the Boston Poetry Slam… But she does have a couple of books available on Amazon if you find yourself stranded and in need.

Our slam that night got off to a rousing start, with more than one out-of-towner making the trip especially to compete on the Boston stage. The last two standing were Portland’s Robin Merrill and Manchester’s Ed Wilkinson! We think Ed just might have put down a few local roots over the years, though, as he eeked out a win over Robin in the finals with great work performed from all parties.

Also this week… The Encyclopedia Show continued with the season’s second episode, all about SERIAL KILLERS. The art was heavy and the jokes were fast and furious; fortunately, all announcements of deaths were premature and the entire cast lives for another day. Extra-special thanks to our performing artists from the poetry scene: Patrick S., Lauren Elma Frament, Wes Hazard, and Megan Thoma, all hosted flawlessly by Kevin Spak and Aimee Rose Ranger. Did you miss the show? No worries: we’re back on Monday, November 18 with all poems and art about THE ZODIAC. See you in Davis Square!

Tonight, of course, the poetry cavalcade continues in Cambridge with Chad Anderson, New Jersey performance poet and coach. We’ll finish up the night with the eighth and final open slam in this season’s Champion of Champions series!

Tips from the Bar: Travelog

Imagine a landscape that is familiar or important to you. Create a poem that is a map of that visual space.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, October 9: Carrie Rudzinski

This night is an installment in the Boston Poetry Slam’s “Sober October,” a month-long series of shows and readers selected to celebrate the sober and recovering artists in our scene.

Carrie Rudzinski brings a new poem to sacrifice for the 2012 team slams. Photo by Marshall Goff.

Carrie Rudzinski brings a new poem to sacrifice for the 2012 team slams. Photo by Marshall Goff.

Named “Best Female Poet” at the 2008 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational, Carrie Rudzinski has since performed her work for audiences across the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and India. She represented the Boston Poetry Slam at the 2010 Individual World Poetry Slam, twice at the National Poetry Slam (2010/2011), and ranked 14th at the 2011 Women Of The World Poetry Slam. At the 2011 National Poetry Slam, she took 2nd place at the coveted Underground Individual Competition, where poets are judged by an audience of their peers.

Most recently, Carrie represented Denver’s Mercury Cafe at the 2013 Women of The World Poetry Slam. Her work has been published in such collections as Words Dance, Muzzle, OnMag, and Alight. Her newest book, The Shotgun Speaks, was released 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 slam in the 8×8 series will follow. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.