You only know one sentence in a foreign language, and it is dangerous to you. What is it?
Cantab Feature for Wednesday, April 24: Marty McConnell
Marty McConnell, NUPIC champion and author of wine for a shotgun.
Marty McConnell transplanted herself from Chicago to New York City in 1999, after completing the first of three national tours with the Morrigan, an all-female performance poetry troupe she co-founded. She received her MFA in creative writing/poetry from Sarah Lawrence College, and for nearly a decade, co-curated the flagship reading series of the New York City-based louderARTS Project. She appeared on both the second and fifth seasons of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. She returned to Chicago in 2009 to co-found Vox Ferus, an organization dedicated to empowering and energizing individuals and communities through the written and spoken word.
A member of seven National Poetry Slam teams representing New York City and Chicago, McConnell is the 2012 National Underground Poetry Individual Competition (NUPIC) Champion. In 2011, she completed her first European tour and debuted her one-woman show, “vicebox.” She is a two-time recipient of the Community Arts Assistance Program grant from the City of Chicago’s Office of Tourism and Culture, and received a 2013 grant from the Illinois Arts Council.
Marty’s latest book is wine for a shotgun, available at EM Press. You can visit her at martyoutloud.com.
In addition to her feature, Marty will also present an early-bird generative poetry workshop called “Stranger Than Fiction.”
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. A speed version of the Champion of Champions poetry slam for the current 8×8 series will follow. (There is no open poetry slam tonight.) The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.
Workshop for Wednesday, April 24: “Stranger Than Fiction” with Marty McConnell
Marty McConnell, workshop leader for April 24. Photo by Lux Camena.
Join Marty McConnell, the night’s scheduled feature, for an early-bird workshop at the Cantab Lounge before the show. Marty will be offering a generative poetry workshop called “Stranger Than Fiction.” From the workshop leader:
“In this workshop, we will discuss how poetry allows us– and sometimes requires us –to be stranger than fiction by examining and discussing two poems that push boundaries with purpose, then doing a bit of writing of our own.”
Doors open at 5:30 for workshop participants only: the workshop runs from 6:00 to 7:00. Cover charge is $5, which includes admission to the evening show. The venue is 18+ and a photo ID is required.
Cantab Recap for Wednesday, April 17
We can confirm it: last week’s workshop leader and feature, Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, is the classiest class act who ever acted classy, hands down. After a difficult week in Boston, we were ready to laugh, grieve, and take poetry as seriously as possible this past Wednesday; our open mic community showed a lot of sensitivity and support as we struggled to write and listen about the events rocking our city. After the break, we were so fortunate to have Cristin, the founder of NYC-Urbana and author of Hot Teen Slut, in town for a chance to listen our cares away. We took a break from slamming last week to just have a chance to be together, and were thankful once again for the strength of our local and national poetry community.
Next week: deft and talented writer Marty McConnell offers an early-bird writing workshop (doors at 5:30 for a 6:00 start), the last of our National Poetry Month special events. She’ll then also perform as our featured poet for the evening. The night will close with a speed version of our famed Champion of Champions slam, wherein Zanne Langlois will defend her title against the last eight slam winners. Whoa!
Cantab Feature for Wednesday, April 17: Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz
Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, Urbana-NYC slam founder.
Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz is the author of five books of poetry (Dear Future Boyfriend, Hot Teen Slut, Working Class Represent, Oh, Terrible Youth and Everything is Everything) as well as the nonfiction book Words In Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam, which Billy Collins wrote “leaves no doubt that the slam poetry scene has achieved legitimacy and taken its rightful place on the map of contemporary literature.” On the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) podcast Art Works, host Josephine Reed introduced Cristin as being “something of a legend in NYC’s slam poetry scene. She is lively, thoughtful, and approachable looking to engage the audience with her work and deeply committed to the community that art (in general) and slam poetry (in particular) can create.” Cristin’s most recent awards include the ArtsEdge Writer-In-Residency at the University of Pennsylvania (2010-2011), a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry (2011) and the Amy Clampitt Residency (2013). Her sixth book of poetry, The Year of No Mistakes, is forthcoming on Write Bloody Publishing in Fall 2013. For more information, please visit her website at www.aptowicz.com.
In addition to her feature, Cristin will also present an early-bird workshop called “Getting Ink”: all about researching, writing cover letters, and selecting poems for publication.
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 Last Chance Slam, an open speed to select the final poet in the World Qualifier Speed Slam, will follow. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.
Workshop for Wednesday, April 17: “Getting Ink” with Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz
Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, April 17’s workshop leader.
Join Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, the night’s scheduled feature, for an early-bird workshop at the Cantab Lounge before the show. Cristin will be offering a workshop on publication called “Getting Ink.” From the workshop leader:
“Are you interested in getting your poetry published in magazines, journals, and anthologies? Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz’s workshop GETTING INK is designed to help you get your work out into the world in print. Topics discussed will include research, resources, strategies and techniques, cover letters, and how to select poems for submission. Poets working in all styles are welcome, including humorous work, traditional forms, performance-focused writing, and more.”
Doors open at 5:30 for workshop participants only: the workshop runs from 6:00 to 7:00. Cover charge is $5, which includes admission to the evening show. The venue is 18+ and a photo ID is required.
Cantab Recap for Wednesday, April 10
It was a sweet welcome back for the long-lost Artie Moffa this week. First, Artie welcomed us to a well-attended workshop on iambic pentameter (don’t forget that we’ve got two more early-bird workshops planned for National Poetry Month). Then, after an excellent open mic, we brought Artie up on stage for a full feature: Artie’s set was jam-packed with limericks, parody, musicality, meter, rhyme and, yes, even some free verse work (thanks to a historic prompt from Adam Stone). Special thanks also go to Kevin Spak, who reprised his famous group piece with Artie as the centerpiece of the set. Our final slam in the 8×8 series was won by Kieran Collier, fresh back from CUPSI, who defeated Sean Patrick Mulroy in the final round.
Next week: we’re back with a workshop on publication by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, then a full feature from this Urbana-NYC slam founder and NEA fellow. We’ll also hold our Last Chance Speed Slam to see who the last poet will be to qualify for our annual World Qualifers. Whoohoo!
Cantab feature for Wednesday, April 10: Artie Moffa
Artie Moffa performing at the NorthBEAST Regional. Photo by Marshall Goff.
Artie Moffa never sought out a publishing deal, but somehow his limericks have been sold at tastemaking poetry boutiques such as Wal-Mart, Target, and the Apple Store. He never wanted to be an “activist” poet, but somehow his economic manifesto spent three weeks on YouTube’s top 100 and was the first performance piece to be panned by the vaunted literary critics of Consumer Reports. He started a company to publish more light verse, formalism, and comic strips…and his most successful releases have been Sam Teitel and Carrie Rudzinski. He has never competed at NPS or IWPS, yet here he is featuring at the Boston Poetry Slam during National Poetry month, of all things. Most of Artie’s successes in poetry have been unplanned, but when you see him perform on stage, you’ll realize that every line, word, or syllable of his poems is exactly where he wanted it to be.
In addition to his feature, Artie will also present an early-bird workshop at the Cantab before doors open for the show.
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 speed slam in the 8×8 series will follow. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.
Boston Poetry Slam Online