Write about the last failed kiss before your first successful one.
Cantab Feature for Wednesday, Feburary 13: Erotic Poetry Night PLUS Love vs. Death Slam
For some reason, the Wednesday closest to Valentine’s Day is likely to see a wave of romantics flooding into the Cantab Lounge, suddenly struck with the notion that an open mic poem to a date is the best way to express love on this annual Hallmark-fest. Not to worry! To stem the tide, we present Awkward Date Night (or, as we call it for the newspapers, Erotic Poetry Night). Whether it be deeply sensual or casually raunchy, our extra-long open mic welcomes all erotica, from the lightly titillating to the downright dirty. Bring your loved one(s) at your peril: if they last the night, maybe it was meant to be.
If you’ve got the stamina to last the open mic, then you’ll want to stick around for the Boston Poetry Slam’s first-ever Love vs. Death Poetry Slam! Produced by host, open mic regular, and game designer Kevin Spak, this head-to-head slam will pit poets slamming on the side of Love against poets supporting the side of Death (that’s right, two classic Valentine’s Day themes):
| TEAM LOVE | VS. | TEAM DEATH |
| Kemi Alabi | vs. | Sam Teitel |
| Michael Quigg | vs. | Michael Monroe |
| April Penn | vs. | Zeke Russell |
| Meaghan Ford | vs. | Marshall Gillson |
| Nathan Comstock | vs. | Patrick S. |
| Chloé Cunha | vs. | Gemma Cooper-Novak |
| Sean Patrick Mulroy | vs. | Sophia Holtz |
Inspired by our monthly Encyclopedia Show, competing poets will be offered subtopics on their respective teams in order to create brand-new work for the slam. In the spirit of this event, we’ve of course threatened the Love team with Death if they lose… And the Death team with the only fate worse: Love. See you there!
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. An erotic-themed open mic begins at 8:00, and the Love and Death slam (advance sign-ups only) will begin around 10:00. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.
Jack McCarthy Memorial: POSTPONED
For those planning to attend the memorial for Jack McCarthy this weekend, please note that it has been postponed to SUNDAY at a slightly later hour.
From Jack’s website: “The Northeast memorial will take place on Sunday, February 10, 2013 at the Follen Unitarian Church in Lexington, Massachusetts at 3PM. The service will be followed by a reception at the church and an open mic at 6:30PM at the Chelmsford Public Library.”
Stay safe in the snow, folks.
Cantab Recap for Wednesday, February 6
Whoa, semi-finals! It was a super-hot room at the Cantab last night, folks, as thirteen of our top slammers faced off to see who would secure the coveted nine spots at the upcoming Team Selection Finals in March. After two rounds of slam, much of it filled with brand-new work from our performers, the field was officially narrowed. Check out the final rankings for surprises of both the heart-wrenching and heart-warming variety:
1. Melissa Newman-Evans 56.0
2. Omoizele Okoawo 55.6
3. Mckendy Fils-Aimé 55.1
4. Danger Ranger 54.6
5. Nora Meiners 54.5
6. Ed Wilkinson 54.1
7. Adam Stone 53.6
8. (tie) Jade Sylvan 53.5
8. (tie) Sean Patrick Mulroy 53.5
10. Meaghan Ford 53.3
11. Kayla Wheeler
12. Sam Teitel
13. Zanne Langlois
DNS: Marshall Gillson. Scorekeeping by Jamei Bauer.
Extra thanks to our judges, who showed endurance and awesomeness throughout the night: Sara(h) Jane, Michael M., Kelly, Josh, and Joey and Tatyana.
Poets in bold all advance to the Team Selection Finals on March 13! …Danger Ranger has opted out of the Finals, so we’ll be welcoming her to a sacrifice spot, as well as a round of hosting. Yowza! What a night!
Next week: after a tense and competitive night, we’ve decided to cut loose with whole bunch of poems about sex. Yes, you read that right: next week is our annual Erotic Poetry Open Mic, and it’ll be punctuated by the first ever Love Vs. Death Poetry Slam, produced by Kevin Spak. Kick back, relax, and watch the first-date Valentines get awkward at this annual show.
Cantab Feature for Wednesday, February 6: Team Selection Semi-Finals
The Cantab’s Team Selection Slams are the venue’s biggest, wildest poetry slams of the year. This February, we continue our selection process with the second night of three, the Team Selection Semi-Finals!
The top twelve poets from the January 9 Preliminaries advance to this February show, with all competitors hoping to place high enough to continue to Finals on March 13. Competing poets will appear in the following order in the first round:
- Omoizele Okoawo
- Jade Sylvan
- Sam Teitel
- Zanne Langlois
- Nora Meiners
- Mckendy Fils-Aimé
- Meaghan Ford
- Kayla Wheeler
- Melissa Newman-Evans
- Danger Ranger
- Sean Patrick Mulroy
- Adam Stone
- Ed Wilkinson
Due to a tie in the preliminary slam, thirteen poets will compete in this show.
Sacrifice poets: 1. Michael Monroe, 2. Brenna Kleiman
With two rounds under their belts and three to go, competing poets are likely to be reaching deep into their pockets on this particular night, or even trying out untested work in hope of saving some major ammunition for the next round… Making Semi-Finals just possibly the most interesting night of the selection 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. A SHORTENED open mic begins at 8:00 and the slam begins at approximately 9:15. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $5; proceeds will go toward funding the National Poetry Slam this August in Boston.
The Encyclopedia Show: Somerville for Monday, February 4 — S1V5: THE FUTURE
Encyclopedia Show: Somerville — S1V5: THE FUTURE
Monday, February 4
The Davis Square Theatre
255 Elm St. in Somerville
7pm doors, 8pm-10pm show
all ages, $10/$7 sliding scale
click for Facebook event
The Boston Poetry Slam and Simone Beaubien present the next installment in a new monthly series!
The Encyclopedia Show Somerville is an event franchised from the original series founded in Chicago in 2008, wherein invited artists from a variety of performance disciplines present all-new, original works on sub-topics of a single theme. A recurring cast of hosts and characters welcomes the artists with open arms and minds, while the resident Fact Checker is charged with maintaining the integrity of the Encyclopedic Truth of the show.
Our theme for this month’s show will be THE FUTURE! Presenting all-original guest performances from local artists, plus work from our recurring cast members:
- Aimee Rose Ranger and Kevin Spak provide deft and earnest CO-HOSTING
- The Michael J. Epstein Library offers MUSICAL SUPPORT
- Death-defying food writer Chef Bro presents FOOD FROM THE FUTURE
- And Intern Steve Subrizi somehow still has a job.
Live Fact Checking is reluctantly provided by Jack van Sly from the Institute of Human Knowledge and Hygiene.
We encourage you to visit our Facebook event for the most up-to-date information on invited artists.
This show in our monthly Encylopedia Show: Somerville series takes place at the Davis Square Theatre, 255 Elm St. in Somerville. Doors and the theatre bar open for a pre-show welcome party at 7:00. The show begins promptly at 8:00 and finishes at 10:00, including a short intermission. This is an all ages show! Admission is $10, or $7 for students, teachers, or guests in Prohibition-era dress.
Cantab Lounge Bids a Sad Goodbye to Bartender Judy Griffin: 1939-2013
Judy Griffin behind the bar around 2007. (Judy’s shirt is from the 1999 National Poetry Slam.) Photo by Caroline Harvey.
With a heavy heart, the Cantab community is sad to share that the Boston Poetry Slam’s beloved bartender, Judy Griffin, passed away on Tuesday, January 29. Judy served as bartender from the second year of the slam’s twenty-years-and-counting tenure at the Cantab Lounge, dispensing complementary drinks, on-point heckling, congratulations on a win, or no-nonsense advice, depending on her no-punches-pulled assessment of the poem.
Whether business was slow or brisk, Judy was as much an audience member as a bartender, and a poet could mark a great night at the Cantab by a gruff nod from under the red lights, sometimes accompanied by a little extra in the glass. She worked the entire room from the back of the bar; no matter who was organizing what was happening on stage, Judy was always the boss. Any number of poets called her “the grandmother I never had,” although she was nearly as likely to be hailed as “the grandmother I want to be.”
Many of our regular poets were carded and served their first legal drink by Judy, some remarking that a real twenty-first birthday only happens on a Wednesday. Respectful of our sober poets’ boundaries, she was also known to have mixed and named an eponymous all-juice drink for Jack McCarthy, and she welcomed all of-age soda-drinkers to pull up seats at the bar. To our knowledge, she never took the stage… Unless you count the bar as the stage, in which case she served up more poetry than anyone else in the room.
Her son Gordon extended a specific invitation to the poets of the Cantab to attend services for Judy. Visiting hours are Sunday, February 3, from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the DeVito-O’Donnell Funeral Home, 1145 Mass Ave. in Arlington (77 MTBA bus line). A service will be held at the same location on Monday at 11:00 a.m.
Attendees are invited to bring flasks to the Monday service only, as Judy’s wishes were said to be that “no one be sober and crying.”
Cantab Recap for Wednesday, January 30
It was another packed house downstairs for Miles Walser, CUPSI- and Write-Bloody-poet extraordinare. Miles brought a set that showed off his great range, from powerful slam voice to nuanced short work. His book is forthcoming in April, so keep an eye on the website for details! Our slam was packed as well and super-fun, with first-time slammers and returnees battling for the favor of some especially difficult-to-please judges. At the end of the night, Zeke Russell took home the ten bucks, edging out Melissa Newman-Evans in the final one-minute round.
Next Wednesday: bring an extra couple of bucks for a $5 cover charge, because it’s Team Selection Semi-Finals! Thirteen poets (that’s right, due to a tie, we have a bonus plus-one) will perform two poems each in the hope of surviving to the Finals in mid-March. It’s the shortest and most unusual night of the series –competing poets often pick their quirkiest poems to spend at this second night of three– so you won’t want to miss out. Click the link above to see who’s performing, as well as the order for the first round, so you can arrive in time to catch your favorite performer. See you there!
Boston Poetry Slam Online