Cantab Recap For Wednesday, April 12th, 2023

What an incredible Wednesday we had at the Cantab! The fresh spring weather encouraged our open mic poets to absolutely bloom all night long. It was an emotional roller coaster of a night, but one I would definitely wait in line for again and again! Highlights include not knowing when Eddy Martinez’s first poem ended and second poem began, but knowing one was about farts, and Danny Riordan starting their piece by miming throwing a tampon wrapper into the trash. Danny, by the way, is running the Boston Marathon today in the first ever non-binary division!

The 📒Shenanigans😳 of the week included first-timer and waitlister Nik going up to the mic just to say hi, getting handed an Emma Lazurus poem from TJ, and then fearlessly performing it in front of everyone with no preparation. What a way to make an entrance! 

This week’s ✏️Line of the Wednesday ✏️ is from our all-bangers-all-the-time poet, Ryan Phung: “it must be the human ego that thinks the universe sees us as an object of desire. i guess that makes me the alien.”

Patrick Roche was our feature, and after leading us all on a breathing exercise, performed a generous, beautiful, astounding set. He performed new pieces, famous pieces, and imparted wisdom throughout. He even performed an entire pieces as Stitch and yes I was in tears. 

Next week: join us for our fabulous feature, EL Evelyn (she/he/they). EL is a poet, activist and social worker from New Jersey who is currently living and loving in Albany NY. EL was the president of Phenomenal Voices, a performance art group at UAlbany in charge of two showcases per year, and is now the Community Engagement chair for the alumni performing arts group PV What’s Next. They were on the Capital Region slam poetry team, Capcity Slam, where they traveled around the country performing poetry in both features and competitions. They currently co-host Cafe Euphoria’s open mic and slam. Bring your best spring fever energy and come thru!

P.S. I’d like to use this space to pay some respect to Sam Bucci, a beloved regular, who lost her father last weekend. He was a great man, father, and grandfather and will be dearly missed. We love you Sam!

– Amy ✈️

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All shows take place at the Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, with one flight of stairs to access the basement room (click for directions and accessibility information). The show is $4 / 21+ (ID/Proof of Vaccination required) and doors for the show open at 7:15. The open mic begins at 8:00 PM and the feature begins at approximately 10:00 PM.

Cantab Recap For Wednesday, April 5th, 2023

Happy Wednesday! This week was especially chock-full of amazing material from our open mic. One highlight was a hilarious and hard-hitting piece by Frank, who may not be good at flirting but is certainly good at impeccable similes and dropping bars. Other poets brought similarly powerful pieces, commenting on gun violence, gender, and self-consciousness. During our smoking section, host Aparna delivered yet another stellar and spontaneous “after” haiku, usually written during the mic.

This week did not have particularly shenanigan-y🎙️Shenanigans✍️ but I’ll take this space to shout out the increasing number of newcomers brave enough to share some of their first EVER poems in the space! Keep it up!

Our feature was the incredible and heartwarming Karen G, who passionately performed a beautiful set of pieces about grief, love, self-expression, and truth. Learn more about them on Instagram @kgarrab. 

Finally, this week’s ✏️Line of the Wednesday✏️ goes to Frank, with this second-half of a simile:  “like a romantic mute version of Stephen King’s IT”. Please utilize whenever you see fit. 

Coming up: 

Drumroll please… this week’s feature is Patrick Roche!! This esteemed and renowned poet is coming to a Cantab basement near you this Wednesday! He is an award-winning queer poet, performer, mental health advocate, and Carly Rae Jepsen superfan. Videos of Patrick’s work have amassed over 9.5 million views on YouTube. His solo stage show was featured on BroadwayWorld and was selected for Dixon Place’s HOT! Festival celebrating LGBTQIA+ theater and art. Patrick has shared stages with Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of RUN DMC, Pitch Perfect star Brittany Snow, and Abbott Elementary star Tyler James Williams.

Patrick is the author of A Socially Acceptable Breakdown (Button Poetry, 2021), which was named a Finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award for Excellence in Independent Publishing. His work has appeared in or been published by Button Poetry, UpWorthy, Buzzfeed, The Huffington Post, NBC LX, MSN, Freezeray Press, Voicemail Poems, and his mom’s fridge. Stop by this week to snag a seat to see this great poet!

Last but not least, we also want to wish a very happy birthday to our beloved March Penn, a very remarkable and consistent poet in our community. 

See ya!

– Amy ✈️

Our upcoming features
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First timer? Looking for show info? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions

All shows take place at the Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, with one flight of stairs to access the basement room (click for directions and accessibility information). The show is $4 / 21+ (ID/Proof of Vaccination required) and doors for the show open at 7:15. The open mic begins at 8:00 PM and the feature begins at approximately 10:00 PM.

Cantab Recap For Wednesday, March 29th, 2023

We like to think every Wednesday at the Cantab is unique, where anything can happen on the open mic or in the slam, and the thrill of that unpredictability is one of the reasons our audience keeps returning, and listening closely to the poetry that is happening in real time. And so, during this week’s open mic, we were treated to a number of exceptional poems and readers who were in town for one-night-only, or who had just showed up to read their “first poem ever,” but ended up leaving the audience breathless. Special shout-out to waitlister Allie (@allieburke_ on instagram), who returned after a six-year gap to perform an enchanting poem shoeless and seemingly off-the-cuff.

Following the open mic, our last chance slam was filled with plenty of drama, including two rounds that were decided by one-tenth of a point! How beautiful and devastating was it to hear Aparna’s extended poem about her mother on her deathbed, and to see long-time regular Raechel Segal finally make it to the last round? Or to watch one of our favorite hosts Briana Crockett take home the big win with three new pieces? Words fall short, but huge thanks to everyone in the audience who stayed with us until the end. Raechel and Briana will be advancing to our big team selection slam later this month, which promises to be one of our biggest slam nights of the year.

This week’s ✏️Line of the Wednesday ✏️ is from first-time open mic-er Paige S: “My mind is an unfinished poem”

Featuring for us this coming Wednesday is veteran slammer and all-around fan of YOU, Karen Garrabrant! Karen Garrabrant aka Karen G co-founded C/literati, a womxn/queer/gender outlaw open mic, was a founding board member of Grrl’s Rock Camp ATL & slam manager of the Art Amok Slam, and operated as a poet & organizer in Atlanta for 20 plus years. She’s been a clock holder, score keeper, MC, bout manager, tournament director & PSI secretary, with a streak of attending every big event from 2004-2017, except for one. She writes about love, grief, loss, and experiences that the late Gabrielle Bouliane described as “all of this is true, none of this is real.” She’s famous for hugs & being a loud cheerleader because life is short. Punk is their gender, Q is their sexuality, they answer to she/they pronouns. Email them at kgarrab@gmail.com or follow them on instagram @kgarrab.

– MFG 🚪 (filling in for Amy)

Our upcoming features
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First timer? Looking for show info? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions

All shows take place at the Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, with one flight of stairs to access the basement room (click for directions and accessibility information). The show is 21+ (ID/Proof of Vaccination required) and doors for the show open at 7:15. The open mic begins at 8:00 PM and the feature begins at approximately 10:00 PM. Due to a current inflation tax on transactions at the Cantab, the door charge will be $4 until further notice.

Cantab Recap For Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023

Happy Cantab Wednesdaverssary! One year ago, the Cantab re-started its Poetry Night after closing for two years due to the pandemic. This one-of-a-kind space would not be possible without the pure dedication and love of our wonderful staff and committed regulars. It’s a community unlike any other and an oasis for creativity and security alike. Happy anniversary, Cantab!

During this week’s open mic, I feel compelled to shout out and commemorate Eli Kane’s late cat, Nugget, whose spirit was with us through a beautiful piece by Eli himself. This was also one of those lucky weeks where Michael F. Gill hosts a haiku slam! The winner of the famed $17 this time was Logan Lopez, very narrowly beating out Sue Savoy with their funny and witty haiku. Logan, you may have the same name as an airport, but you always fly high in our hearts!

This week’s 🎬Weekly Shenanigans🎤 were likely due to the moderately high amount of 3-minute-time-limit pushers, with many a significant look given to passionate poets occupying the stage for more than their allotted 180 seconds. I myself may or may not have contributed to this, but who can blame me for wanting to tell the story of my prom night in a series of 19 limericks? (Editor’s note: it was a wild ride, but please time your poems beforehand!)

The feature this week was the remarkable Catherine Weiss!! They brought such a genuine energy to the room, reading from multiple books and performing on profound paleontology. Did you know they can guess which band instrument you played in middle school with very high accuracy? Regardless if you got to see them and their many talents, please check out Catherine’s website here: http://www.catherineweiss.com!

To top it off, this week’s ✏️Line of the Wednesday ✏️ is from the great March Penn, who is always bringing the heat, with this line:  “I keep asking vulnerability for less fire and more wood”

Coming up next: It’s a (last chance) open poetry slam, with the winner getting $50! For the last time this season, the top two contestants will qualify to be in our team selection slam coming up next month. Bring your best material if you plan on competing, otherwise bring your best energy to the audience and hype up our amazing poets! See you then!

– Amy ✈️

Click here to see all our upcoming features.
Click here to take our community survey! Your input will help make our show better.

All shows take place at the Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, with one flight of stairs to access the basement room (click for directions and accessibility information). The show is 21+ (ID/Proof of Vaccination required) and doors for the show open at 7:15. The open mic begins at 8:00 PM and the feature begins at approximately 10:00 PM. Due to a current inflation tax on transactions at the Cantab, the door charge will be $4 until further notice.

Cantab Recap For Wednesday, March 15th, 2023

Amidst the cold, Cantabbers brought some spring fever energy to poetry night! The open mic had some wonderful first timers, with one poet debuting the first poem they ever wrote! We had an incredible love poem from the feature’s partner, a Weird Al-inspired poem from Skylar Sweet Cheeks, and, in a true redemption arc, the great Danny Riordan got through a poem that he was not able to complete last time (because he was laughing so much). 

The night wouldn’t be complete without some 🐷Weekly Shenanigans🏝️ and for the second time in a row, host Jimmy’s banter brought something memorable to the stage. Between introducing poets, Jimmy read Google’s “people also ask” suggestions that come up when you search “Pig Island.” For those who don’t know, Pig Island is an island in the Bahamas home to a clan of feral pigs. Turns out, people have a lot of questions about these pigs. To top it off, Michael F. Gill found the answers to these questions and read them in succession as a found poem later in the night. Truly anything can happen on a Cantab Wednesday. 

Our highly anticipated feature this week was the one and only Jarvis Subia! He opened his set by crowd-walking down the aisles of folding chairs, and performed work from multiple chapbooks, spanning topics from relationships to masculinity to beauty. His effervescent delivery had the audience feeling all the feels. Learn more about Jarvis on his website, www.flowerboywrites.com! 

This week’s ✏️Line of the Wednesday✏️ is from our astounding feature, Jarvis Subia, from his piece “Stay with Me”:
“If we always try to outrun our horizons, we will never make it to daylight.”

This Wednesday: our feature is Catherine Weiss! Catherine is a poet and artist from Maine. Their poetry has been published in Tinderbox, Up the Staircase, Fugue, Taco Bell Quarterly, and Flypaper Lit. Catherine is the artist behind the collaborative poetry chapbook/card deck I WISH I WASN’T ROYALTY (Game Over Books, 2020). They are also the author of chapbook-length poem FERVOR (Ginger Bug Press, 2021), full-length poetry collections WOLF GIRLS VS. HORSE GIRLS (Game Over Books, 2021), and GRIEFCAKE (Game Over Books, 2023). More at catherineweiss.com. See you then!

– Amy ✈️

Click here to see all our upcoming features.
Click here to take our community survey! Your input will help make our show better.

All shows take place at the Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, with one flight of stairs to access the basement room (click for directions and accessibility information). The show is 21+ (ID/Proof of Vaccination required) and doors for the show open at 7:15. The open mic begins at 8:00 PM and the feature begins at approximately 10:00 PM. Due to a temporary inflation tax on transactions at the Cantab, the door charge will be $3.15 credit or $4 cash until further notice.

Cantab Recap For Wednesday, March 8th, 2023

Happy International Women’s Day from The Boston Poetry Slam!! This week, the packed room brought especially eccentric energy to the open mic, with so many poets bringing their best work yet again. There were poems in German, poems in Spanish, poems about time machines and traffic lights, and poems that make you question everything. We also had the pleasure of hearing the tales of host Jimmy’s recent freelancing adventures, and a smoking section filled with haiku and shoutouts by our lovely staff.

Our feature this week, longtime Lowell poet and organizer Ricky Orng, showcased his heartfelt work and captivated everyone with his cadence and wordplay. Come back soon, Ricky! Follow him on Instagram @rickyorng to stay updated on his many projects!

This week’s ✏️ Line of the Wednesday ✏️ is actually not from a poem, just something our own Eddy Martinez said to me organically that I had to write down:
“I find that I am sometimes too accepting of mysteries.”

Coming up this week, our feature is our very own beloved regular, Jarvis Subia!! Jarvis is a latinx, queer, flower-loving poet who is born and raised in San Jose’s Seven Trees neighborhood. He is the 2019 Poetry Foundation and Crescendo Literary’s Incubator Fellow, the recipient of the 2019 Silicon Valley Creates and Content Magazine’s Emerging Artist award, and San José’s Poetry Slam’s 2018 Grand Slam Champion! He recently earned his Ed.M from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, studying the impact of spoken word poetry in K-12 schools.

Jarvis will also be hosting a writing workshop right before the open mic entitled “This Will Be The Year”, and it will center around repetition and anaphora in poetry. The workshop starts at 6:30 PM, and is $10-$15 (sliding scale). Check our instagram feed (@bostonpoetryslam) for the latest information!

– Amy ✈️

Click here to see all our upcoming features.
Click here to take our community survey! Your input will help make our show better.

All shows take place at the Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, with one flight of stairs to access the basement room (click for directions and accessibility information). The show is 21+ (ID/Proof of Vaccination required) and doors for the show open at 7:15. The open mic begins at 8:00 and the feature begins at approximately 10:00. Due to a temporary inflation tax on transactions at the Cantab, the door charge will be $3.16 credit or $4 cash until further notice.

Cantab Recap For Wednesday, March 1st, 2023

This Wednesday, the line was long and the room was packed with Cantabbers ready to read, listen, and compete! It was another sold out night, which of course resulted in a very full open mic. Shoutout to our regularly-amazing regulars and the impressive set of newcomers this week – please come back soon!! 

After pieces from our lovely staff, we had another team qualification slam! It was close, but after an unexpected, tie-induced, 3-person final round, Meaghan Ford emerged victorious, partially thanks to their piece on how the flute section of the Star Wars theme had a permanent impact on them, even after the orchestra concert was over. Congratulations to Meaghan and runner-up Skylar Sweet Cheeks, who qualify for the Cantab slam team! 

This week’s ✏️Line(s) of the Wednesday✏️ is from our runner up, Skylar Sweet Cheeks:

“I’ve been watching the leaves change colors this season.
They’re beautiful,
before they fall to the ground.”

Next week: Come on over and bring your friends to see Lowell poet, organizer, and badass improviser Ricky Orng for what will be an amazing featured performance!!! 

– Amy ✈️

Click here to see all our upcoming features.
Click here to take our community survey! Your input will help make our show better.

All shows take place at the Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, with one flight of stairs to access the basement room (click for directions and accessibility information). The show is 21+ (ID/Proof of Vaccination required) and doors for the show open at 7:15. The open mic begins at 8:00 and the feature begins at approximately 10:00. Due to a temporary inflation tax on transactions at the Cantab, the door charge will be $3.16 credit or $4 cash until further notice.

Cantab Recap For Wednesday, February 22nd, 2023

Last week’s show sold out before the clock struck 8 pm, as we all expected — we had Chen Chen in the house, after all! The open mic was packed with returners and newcomers alike, including work about Sailor Moon, queer sex versus canon literature, and a glorious catalogue of pasta shapes. Chen Chen’s feature was like a warm hug for the audience, balancing deeper questions of family trauma with well-placed humor. It was snowing cats and dogs by the time we all left (more cats than dogs? 50/50 cats and dogs?) — hopefully for one of the last times this season before the basement starts to warm.

Coming up this week, it’s another open poetry slam! The top 2 slammers will be qualified for our big team selection slam (date TBD), with the winner getting $50! Be sure to join us for another great Wednesday night.

-Myles ✨

Click here to see all our upcoming features.
Click here to take our community survey! Your input will help make our show better.

All shows take place at the Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, with one flight of stairs to access the basement room (click for directions and accessibility information). Doors for the show open at 7:15. The open mic begins at 8:00 and the feature begins at approximately 10:00. The show is 21+ (ID/Proof of Vaccination required) and the cover charge is $3. The Cantab is in the midst of experimenting with a 5% inflation surcharge, so the final total may be $3.15 (cash/credit accepted).

Cantab Recap For Wednesday, February 15th, 2023

Reporting yet another happy and sold-out Wednesday at the Cantab! Energy was sky-high, and love was in the air during our special Valentine’s Day show, with a packed house and an elevated amount of crowd participation. During the open mic, we had someone come back after SEVEN YEARS to finish a poem they started performing at their last open mic. Other highlights included a sad tale of a mouse thief stealing a poet’s bagels, an incredibly-delivered German poem about the inherent suffering in the task of living every single day, and, during the smoking section, our very own Kat told of.… dairy-like appendages.

All of the energy from the open mic and smoking section led wonderfully into the dirty haiku slam hosted by the lovely Michael F. Gill. Slammers went head-to-head to impress the crowd with sensual and sexy haikus, but ultimately the astounding Skylar Sweet Cheeks narrowly beat out Lynette, partially due to a particularly creative use of the term “genderfluid.”

Onto the event of the evening, the Love vs. Death Slam hosted by Myles Taylor! Team Love, captained by Kai, and Team Death, captained by Dawn Gabriel, truly brought their best to the stage as the audience heard sweet (and occasionally slimy) love poems as well as wistful and harrowing poems about our inevitable end. There was rarely a unanimous victor for each round, but ultimately Team Love emerged victorious, winning a generous supply of candy. Special shout-out to our charismatic regular Danny for stepping in to slam last minute, and thank you to all the slammers!!

Lastly, I am starting a new segment of these recaps, entitled “Line of the Wednesday,” where I pick a particularly memorable line from any point in the show.

This week’s ✏️Line of the Wednesday✏️ is:
“Beluga whale blubber spread on avocado toast” from Danny Riordan. Thank you for this.

Next week: Come to the Cantab EARLY to secure a spot to see the incredible Chen Chen! Chen Chen is the author of two books of poetry, Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency (BOA Editions, 2022) and When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities (BOA Editions, 2017), which was longlisted for the National Book Award and won the Thom Gunn Award, among other honors. Learn more about this poet and experience his excellence live this Wednesday at the Cantab!

– Amy ✈️

Click here to see all our upcoming features.
Click here to take our community survey! Your input will help make our show better.

All shows take place at the Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, with one flight of stairs to access the basement room (click for directions and accessibility information). Doors for the show open at 7:15. The open mic begins at 8:00 and the feature begins at approximately 10:00. The show is 21+ (ID/Proof of Vaccination required) and the cover charge is $3.

Cantab Recap For Wednesday, February 8th, 2023

Welcome back to another wacky Wednesday at the Cantab! In yet another sold-out show, the crowd watched a roller coaster of an open mic full of wonderful, weird, and wicked awesome poems. There were tales of love, loss, some songs, and a particularly environmentally-focused poem about turtle conservation. The night continued on to an especially fabulous smoking section featuring our wonderful staff and questioning if the chicken is measuring us, or if possibly something is measuring…the chicken?

Our feature, Dominique “Mo” Durden read many pieces from her chapbook, gifting the the audience with her passionate storytelling and lines that cut straight to the heart. You can find her on all social media at @momothepoet. Follow her and buy her merch!

Next week: In a Valentine’s Day special, we invite lovebirds and singles alike to join us in a themed Love vs. Death slam. Poets will compete head to head in an epic battle of romance and the fantastical versus macabre and the inevitable. Come to see which team, love or death, will win! And did we mention there will be an open dirty haiku slam at the end of the open mic? See you on Wednesday!

– Amy ✈️

Click here to see all our upcoming features.
Click here to take our new community survey! Your input will help make our show better.

All shows take place at the Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, with one flight of stairs to access the basement room (click for directions and accessibility information). Doors for the show open at 7:15. The open mic begins at 8:00 and the feature begins at approximately 10:00. The show is 21+ (ID/Proof of Vaccination required) and the cover charge is $3.