Cantab Feature for Wednesday, April 17: Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz

Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz, Urbana-NYC slam founder.

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.

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!

Tips from the Bar: The Preying Mantis Prompt

There’s a preying mantis on your pillow. How did it get there? What does it want from you?

Cantab feature for Wednesday, April 10: Artie Moffa

Artie Moffa performing at the NorthBEAST Regional. Photo by Marshall Goff.

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.

Workshop for Wednesday, April 10: “Your Heartbeat Has Been Telling You For Years” with Artie Moffa

Artie Moffa, workshop leader.

Artie Moffa, workshop leader.

Join Artie Moffa, the night’s scheduled feature, for an early-bird workshop at the Cantab Lounge before the show. Artie will be offering a workshop called “Your Heartbeat Has Been Telling You For Years.” From the workshop leader:

“Sonnets have rhyme schemes, dramatic turns, stanzas, …but they DON’T have to have convoluted speech patterns. The false idea that sonnets sound ‘weird’ can dissuade people from trying them. But the real heart of a sonnet is no more exotic than your own pulse: ba-Dum, ba-Dum, ba-Dum, ba-Dum, ba-Dum. Master that simple rhythm and everything else falls into place. Miss it and the tightest rhymes you’ve got won’t save you. Learn to spot iambic pentameter in everyday speech, and then learn how to write genuine sonnets using conversational English, all from the guy who once hosted an entire Cantab open slam speaking only in iambic pentameter, without anyone noticing.”

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.

Moonlighting recap for Thursday, April 4

The grand opening of Moonlighting was a huge success! An excited crowd packed the house at our new JP venue, Fazenda Coffee Roasters. The open mic hosted by Sean Patrick Mulroy and Michael Monroe was filled with bold new voices (in addition to some of our favorite familiar faces), and the room felt raw and intimate. Many in attendance expressed their excitement at having a poetry event dedicated to the queer community.

After the open mic and a bevy of lattes, we were wowed by a feature from the Bay area’s Denise Jolly, whose lyrical, wrenching, and raunchy work addressed many of the questions of identity and sex-positive messages explored during the open mic. We’re so excited to see the warmth and energy of our first JP event and hope the reading will flourish! The next Moonlighting event will occur on May 2nd at 7:00 p.m. For more information contact Sean Patrick Mulroy.

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, April 3

It was a tight night at the Cantab this past Wednesday, folks, as we tried to squeeze in all the poets we had planned! Our thanks go to the Cambridge Arts Council for providing our feature, the finalists for the Poet Populist Program: those were Tom Yuill and Lo Galluccio, who read head-to-head in the final public reading to help decide the post. Cambridge residents can vote here for the poet they’d like to represent the city for the next two years! Our feature slot was closed out by outgoing Poet Populist Toni Bee, who has served two solid years for the city and will be moving on to her next big thing. Then a quick speed slam, hosted by 2013 Boston Poetry Slam Team member Sean Patrick Mulroy, came down to Chloé Cunha and Simone Beaubien in the final round. Simone took the top score with her one-minute poem and went home with the big ten-dollar prize.

Next week: National Poetry Month continues! Artie Moffa will work extra-hard for us on Wednesday with both an early-bird workshop ($5, doors at 5:30 for a 6-7 show) and then a full feature set. We’ll also have the final slam in our 8×8 speed slam series as we gear up to select our 2013 Individual World Poetry Slam representative!

Tips from the Bar: the Christopher Clauss Prompt

Does it seem like there’s a German word for everything? Adam couldn’t find one for “the offensive houseguest,” so he invites you to do so in a poem.

Moonlighting Feature for Thursday, April 4, 2013: Denise Jolly

Denise Jolly, debut feature at Moonlighting: a queer open mic and reading series presented by the Boston Poetry Slam.

Denise Jolly, debut feature at Moonlighting: a queer open mic and reading series presented by the Boston Poetry Slam.

THE DEBUT OF OUR LGBTQ MONTHLY SERIES, MOONLIGHTING! Click here for more information about Moonlighting, or join our Facebook event.

Denise Jolly is a member of Salt Lines Spoken Word Collective, has served as Executive Director of Seattle Youth Speaks, co-host and facilitator of the Seattle Poetry Slam, Poetry Curator for The Round (a live multidisciplinary collaborative arts show), Eleventh Hour Productions Board of Directors and Vice President of Stronghold Productions. She was the 2009 San Francisco Grand Slam Champion and member of the 2009 San Francisco Slam team who ranked third in the nation. She has performed, taught, and/or collaborated in venues as large as Coachella and as small as Cook County Detention Center, Cleveland High School, and Seattle Youth Speaks writing circle. She likes doing great things with amazing people and being moved by art, community and how the two work together.

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.