Create an obscenity based on something you love, but hate that you love.
Cantab Feature for Wednesday, February 14, 2018: Ariana Brown and the NO ROMANCE Open Mic
For Valentine’s Day this year, the Boston Poetry Slam will not offer a specific Erotic Open Mic for the Wednesday closest to the “holiday;” instead, the reading presents a NO ROMANCE open mic, at which the one-off stylings of would-be Casanovas shall be soundly mocked. Proper erotica (note that “consent” is a non-negotiable component of erotica), fanfic/shipping, or professions of aromantic love to your best friend, dog, or favorite comfy sweater will be warmly welcomed.
Our headlining feature for the evening is exempt from the preceding condition:
Ariana Brown, Academy of American Poets Prizewinner. Photo by Christopher Diaz.
Ariana Brown is a Black Mexican American poet from San Antonio, Texas, with a B.A. in African Diaspora Studies and Mexican American Studies. She is the recipient of two Academy of American Poets Prizes and a 2014 CUPSI champion, and can moonwalk better than anyone in this room. Ariana writes a lot about what it’s like to exist in her body and how to unlearn the shame that sometimes comes with it. She is lowkey a curandera and primarily interested in using poetry to validate black girl rage in all its miraculous forms; highkey the yungest abuela you will ever meet. She is currently earning an MFA in Poetry at the University of Pittsburgh. Follow her on work at arianabrown.com and on Twitter & Instagram. You can purchase her work directly from the artist here.
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 show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.
Cantab Recap for Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Happy Black History Month, Cantabbers! We were exceptionally proud to kick off our month with a workshop and feature from touchstone poetic voice Hanif Abdurraqib. Hanif put many of hours of work into our gritty little venue, starting with an inspirational generational workshop, taking a short interlude to read outside the venue to folks who arrived after the space sold out(!), and closing with an extended and exceptionally beautiful feature set. Our deepest gratitude to Hanif, and also to the many poets who contributed their dollars, space-making skills, and positive energy to the artist to help make this one of the most memorable feature nights in Cantab history.
The Boston Poetry Slam would especially like to highlight the effort of poet and bartender RebeccaLynn, who provided the inspiration and impetus for this workshop, as well as working hard as a communicator and point person to welcome as many folks of color as possible to the Cantab on this first Wednesday in February. This event could not have been possible without the time she volunteered to make it happen. (Just so you know, you can check out RebeccaLynn’s poet page to book her for paid gigs during any month of the year.)
But, okay, enough about us: after last night’s feature, by the way, we kicked off our first speed slam in the 8×8 series. The first round brought us a tough reminder that, yes, we need Black History Month every day; thanks to our poets, audience, and judges for staying strong through a souring moment. Triumphantly, the final one-minute round came down to Evan Cutts vs. RebeccaLynn, where Evan’s haikus ultimately bowed to RebeccaLynn’s necessary rejoinder, earning her the ten-dollar prize and the first shot at taking down newly minted Champion of Champions Brandon Melendez.
Oh, and guess what: we’re back with more of the best of the best next week! First, you will want to gird your loins (or, like, whatever), for the Boston Poetry Slam’s first ever NO ROMANCE open mic: there’s gonna be a whole world of February 14 outside the basement doors, so feel free to NOT bring your pink candy hearts, your showy marriage proposals, or your poems about conventional monogamous heteronormative romance… Instead, bring a political rant or a love poem to your favorite socks and read it in front of much-anticipated feature Ariana Brown, the Black Mexican American poet from San Antonio who was our most requested feature for 2018.
Cantab Feature for Wednesday, February 7, 2018: Hanif Abdurraqib
Columbus writer Hanif Abdurraqib. Photo by Andy Cenci.
Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio. His poetry has been published in Muzzle, Vinyl, PEN American, and various other journals. His essays and music criticism has been published in The FADER, Pitchfork, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. His first full length collection, The Crown Ain’t Worth Much, was released in June 2016 from Button Poetry, and was named a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Book prize. With Big Lucks, he released a limited edition chapbook called Vintage Sadness in summer 2017 (you cannot get it anymore and he is very sorry.) His first collection of essays, They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us, was released in winter 2017 by Two Dollar Radio. He is a Callaloo Creative Writing Fellow, an interviewer at Union Station Magazine, a poetry editor at Muzzle Magazine, and a member of the poetry collective Echo Hotel with poet/essayist Eve Ewing.
Tonight’s event will be preceded by an early-bird workshop with the feature. Please note that there is limited space in this workshop and advance sign-ups are recommended; see this page for details.
Note that tonight’s open poetry slam is a speed slam with 3-, 2-, and 1-minute rounds. Slam winners qualify for the 2018 World Qualifier.
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.
Cantab Workshop for Wednesday, February 7, 2018 with Hanif Abdurraqib
Join Hanif Abdurraqib, the night’s scheduled feature, for an early-bird workshop at the Cantab Lounge before the show. The workshop begins at 5:30, with latecomers admitted no later than 6:00.
This will be a one-hour generative workshop with LIMITED SPACE. Hanif is very popular, so please email the SlamMaster with questions or to reserve a spot!
Cover charge is $10-$20 sliding scale, which includes admission to the evening show. Note that this is an absolutely *ridiculous* bargain for a workshop with this poet, so we ask financially stable poets to consider contributing the higher end of this scale (or more) in order to defer costs for others and support the artist’s donation of time to our space.
The venue is 18+ and a photo ID is required. For more information on the night’s open mic, slam, and feature from Hanif Abdurraqib, click here.
Cantab Recap for Wednesday, January 21, 2018
It took us two Wednesdays, Cantabbers, but we finally finished up the first round (two poems each from nineteen slammers) of the 2018 Team Selection Slams! Our second heat closed out last night, a strong field taking deeply personal work unto the prelim. After two rounds, the dust cleared to reveal:
1. Neiel Israel 57.1
2. John Pinkham 55.9
3. Anna Binkovitz 55.2
4. RebeccaLynn 55.1
5. Sara Mae 54.9
6. Myles Taylor 54.5
7. Colin Killick
8. Lindsey Michelle
9. José Zepeda
DNS: Lyra de Castro
The top six poets (in bold) are invited to advance to Semi-Finals on February 21. Once again, big ups to to to our two sacrificial poets, Zeke Russell and Sophia Holtz, and some very serious, spotlight-dodging judges: Niva, Sarah, Eric & Sara, Tiffany, and Omar.
Next week: we wish you a happy Black History Month! Get your February started right by sitting down to listen up to one of the very best in the biz, a certain Ohioan Hanif Abdurraqib, who’ll be bringing essay excepts from They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us and some brand.new.poems to the stage. This show will absolutely sell out, so please arrive early (before door time, for instance) if you are hoping for a seat/spot on the open mic/mind blown right open on a Wednesday night.
On February 7, Hanif Abdurraqib will lead a pre-show workshop at the Cantab with limited space. Please email slammaster@bostonpoetryslam.com for details.
Cantab Feature for Wednesday, January 31, 2018: Team Selection Preliminaries (Second Heat)
New year, new slam team time! The Cantab’s Team Selection Slams have always been the venue’s biggest, wildest poetry slams of the season. Up to TWENTY-ONE POETS will slam in these preliminary heats, which will be presented as a one-two punch over two Wednesdays this January.
The following ten poets have been placed in this second heat (random draw for order):
- Anna Binkovitz
- Colin Killick
- John Pinkham
- José Zepeda
- Lyra de Castro
- Myles Taylor
- Neiel Israel
- RebeccaLynn
- Sara Mae
- Last Chance Slam Winner (TBD 1/17): Lindsey Michelle
- sacrifices: two poets TBD
This event is the second prelim slam of two! The rest of the field will already have competed at the January 24 heat, and the top six poets from each will advance to the February 21 Semi-Finals, with sights set on the March 21 Finals. The top five poets at the end of the series will comprise the 2018 Boston Poetry Slam Team, who will travel to the National Poetry Slam in Chicago, Illinois this August.
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 9:30. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $5; proceeds will go toward funding the team’s trip to the National Poetry Slam.
Cantab Recap for Wednesday, January 24, 2018
And so it begins… The first night of our 2018 Team Selection Slams is in the books, with another prelim heat to go before we finalize our roster for semi-finals. This week’s field was strong and getting stronger, with rookies coming out of the woodwork and local veterans digging deep with new work. Check the standings after two rounds:
1. Brandon Melendez 55.4
2. George Abraham 55.0
3. Kieran Collier 54.6
4. Allison Truj 54.3
5. Meaghan Ford 53.9
6. Evan Cutts 53.1
7. Lip McDonald
8. Jackie Perry
9. Suzanne O’Toole
10. Cassandra de Alba
DNS: Kye Jasper
The top six poets (in bold) are invited to advance to Semi-Finals on February 21. Especial thanks go to to our two sacrificial poets, Mugs Myers and Mckendy Fils-Aimé, and a great compliment of hard-working judges: Mackenzie, Jonathan, Whitney, Becca, and Ashakie!
Next week: we come right backatcha with ten more poets fighting for spots in semis. A $5 cover will get you a two-round show with Anna Binkovitz, Colin Killick, John Pinkham, José Zepeda, Lyra de Castro, Myles Taylor, Neiel Israel, RebeccaLynn, Sara Mae, and Last Chance Slam Winner Lindsey Michelle! HOLY COW WHAT A SHOW: pack up your listening hat, your judgingest friends, and a little extra cash for the bar. See you there!
Boston Poetry Slam Online