Cantab Recap For Wednesday, February 19th, 2025

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This past Wednesday at the Cantab brought both the highly political and the highly wacky! The open mic started off with Siraj’s anti-RFK Jr poem (and how it may have consequences for his job), David F’s free market critique, and newcomer Mazz’s gentrification poem with the call and response of “It’s time to leave.”

Then, things started getting wild. Danny Riordan brought us a poem in the voice of a turkey being picked by a couple, and framed it as a polyamorous (sorry, “birdsexual”) relationship, and then Cameron let all the wheels fall off by performing a piece about a lovelorn “silly little guy” entirely in a high-pitched, child-like/cartoonish voice. The whole room was in hysterics, and even Cameron couldn’t keep it together as Myles and Amy completely lost it in laughter. Edie then blew everything up with a poem of outlandish facts about himself, his family, and his hometown of Brockton. Who would guess that the front row was made up almost entirely of Brockton residents? What did Otto Vock think when they walked in as the poem ended with the logical-in-context line “Ronald Reagan helped me f%*k the police”? Who didn’t expect that Amy would read a poem a half hour later responding to Edie’s attacks on Chicago deep dish pizza? You never know what kind of ride you are getting on during the BPS open mic! And there was more going on that I haven’t even mentioned, like the welcomed returns of former regulars Lila and Stevie to the mic, and Siraj beating out Logan for the win in our monthly Haiku Slam.

Our feature was the Cantab/New England veteran and legend Mckendy Fils-Aimé! Mckendy brought us exciting new work from his upcoming 2026 book about Haitian superstition, generational trauma, and healing. After opening with an old favorite about growing up in Manchester, New Hampshire, highlights of the set included a pair of new poems that imitated the form of business documents to explore issues of identity, and some even-newer persona poems about the Haitian lougarou. Be sure to look out for Mckendy’s book next year, it’s been a long time coming!

This week…do we even have to promo this? It’s the FINALS OF TEAM SELECTION! This will be our biggest slam of the year, as our nine finalists will be going THREE rounds head-to-head to see which five will become the 2025 BPS Slam Team! Please note that due to this, this week’s open mic will be shortened, and the show will likely sell out early and often. We’ll be back to our extended open mic next week. Here are our nine finalists who will be battling it out:

Jennifer Martinez
Jarvis Subia
Kaitie Dilán
Logan Lopez
Ilse R
Brynna Boyd
Aparna Paul
Amy Argentar
Myles Taylor

See you there!

– MFG🚪

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Cantab Recap For Wednesday, February 12th, 2025

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Michael: It was another rowdy Wednesday at the Cantab this past week! On the open mic, TJ Jones read a POV-shifting / stop-starting correspondence poem that was dedicated to (2025 slam finalist) Logan Lopez. Cameron and Jack Chasse surprised with a wholesome (not a bad word!) group piece that highlighted both their musical/rhyming abilities as well as celebrating friendship. This recapper also immediately got a text from Amy Argentar (more on Amy’s poems later!) saying that the group piece was like the “the first person who invented peanut butter and jelly because at first you’re like ‘what?’ and then you’re like ‘oh OF COURSE’.” Also, shoutout to open mic-er Kyle who faked everyone out with their intro, “This is my first time….adjusting the mic.”

We couldn’t have a Valentine’s show recap without mentioning Kai’s beautiful haiku swap goodie bags that they made for everyone! Hope you all enjoy your Kai-kus. And now, here’s tournament director Zeke Russell with all the info on the big SLAM!

Zeke: Hey there Cantabbers. Here’s your recap for the 2nd of two preliminary bouts in the 2025 BPS team selection tournament. 

We had two blistering sacs kick off our night:

·        Alex brought us a tale of retail therapy, mania and self-awareness. The score was a 25.9.

·        Cameron destroyed the fabric of reality with a poem ostensibly about shoplifting and punishment which used the phrase “Ripe Tush” to incredible effect. It earned a 26.4 from the judges. 

·        Aparna Paul led off the slam proper with a Cantab Classic about family, identity and truth. The judges were starting to warm up a little and gave it a 28.5.

·        Amy followed with a discussion of the body and the concept of fullness. The judges handed out another 28.5 for Amy.

·        Brynna broke open the scores with a poem about whiteness, objectification and the Minnesota Freedom Fund. It earned a total score of 29.4.

·        Next up was Otto with an examination of what it is to be an educator in modern America. It earned a 27.6.

·        Katya followed up with an impassioned piece about grief and loss. The judges awarded a 27.3. 

·        Ilse told us about the relationship between time and love which earned the first 10 of the night and a sky high 29.5.

·        Myles Taylor slowed down the tempo with a poem about queer identity and survival getting a 28.8 from the judges.

·        Rene brought the audience some skilled wordplay and a poem about mortality and grief. The judges responded with a 27.3.

·        Isaiah closed out the first round with a meditation on the act of voting, safety and the perennial TV favorite, Survivor. The judges seemed to be Love Is Blind fans and gave it a 27.3

Our host Zee rolled right into round 2!

    • Only separated from their round 1 performance by 2 poets, Myles told us about surviving capitalism as a working person and the perils of the bird flu.
    • The judges gave the poem a 28.2. Amy’s second poem explored the nature and shape of both bodies and pain. The score was a 29.1
    • Aparna’s final poem of the bout was a complicated form poem about place, humanity and rivers. The triple threat earned a 28.2. 
    • Otto returned to the stage with a piece about what it is to remember and forget. The judges forgot about high scores and gave it a 26.2, a score this writer felt did not reflect the poem. 
    • Katya took the patriarchy and the academy to task with a complex alliterative work that…after a one point time penalty…*shakes fist at linear time*  scored a 26.9.
    • Brynna’s encore of the night was a meticulously constructed piece about identity and flight. It scored a 28.8.
    • Rene’s second poem about mortality and dreams earned the poet a 27.5.
    • Next up was Isaiah who returned to Jeff Prost’s magnum opus to tell us about the nature of survival itself. The judges scored that poem a 28.5.
    • Ilse closed out the show with a poem about family, queerness and self. The room and the judges were blown away. No need for math on this one as the poem got tens across the board for the rarely seen perfect 30 (really a 50 but who’s counting.)

After the smoke cleared the standings were (finalists in bold, runner up in italics invited to be the sacrificial poet for finals):

Ilse 59.5

Brynna 58.3

Amy 57.6

Myles 57.1

Aparna 56.7

Isaiah 55.6

Rene 54.8

Katya 54.0

Otto 53.9

Michael: This week, our feature is veteran Cantab/Slam Free or Die poet Mckendy Fils-Aimé! Mckendy is a New England based Haitian American poet, organizer, and educator. He has received fellowships from the Callaloo Writers Workshop, Cave Canem, The Watering Hole, and Periplus. Over the span of nearly two decades, Mckendy has competed in several regional and national poetry slams, often representing New England. Recently, Mckendy ranked 2nd overall at the 2024 Midwest Mashup Poetry Slam, 3rd at the 2024 NorthBeast Regional Poetry Slam, and 1st at the 2024 Vox Pop Regional Poetry Slam. Mckendy’s work has appeared or is forthcoming in Adroit, American Literary Review, Bellingham Review, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. His debut poetry collection will be published by YesYes Books in 2026.

See ya!

– MFG🚪& Zeke ⚾

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Cantab Recap For Wednesday, February 5th, 2025

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Michael: February is the hottest month in the world of the Boston Poetry Slam, and we had a very packed show and slam this past week! Before we get to our epic slam, our open mic did feature some amazing highlights, like Marissa’s sexy-and-fun piece revolving around rhymes for “ratatouille”, River’s showstopping “Poem In Which My Fake Dick Sets Off The Security Alarm In The Airport”, and Maura’s crab-themed crossword/poem which had them filling out the answers as they read the clues out loud. During the smoking section, Kat Anderson gave a middle-school themed fun fact about each staff member, asking the audience to predict who was coming up next, which lead to some surprising guesses. Now let’s pass it over to our tournament director (and retired all-star slammer) Zeke Russell, for the big slam recap!

Zeke: I have one word and that word is: SPORTS! We had the first of our two preliminary bouts in the 2025 team selection tournament last Wednesday. 9 poets competed and gave us two rounds of beauty, art and miles and miles of heart.

Our two sacrifices kicked off the show. Mary gave us an intricate metered piece about growing up a woman that scored a 25.1. (NO CONTEXT!) Edie followed with a blistering take on the serenity prayer and resisting the forces that want to destroy them garnering a 26.6.

The first round was a whirlwind of talent and emotion:

• Keaton told us about a Halloween party and what it means to live in a body which earned a 24.5
• Logan brought us a layered, carefully constructed poem about family and despair which got a 24.9. Neither of these first two poets was enough to clear the sacrifice’s scores.
• However, Jarvis hit the stage with an anthem about the power of names and blew the scores open with a 27.7.
• Kelsey followed up with a complex metaphor exploring language and inheritance. I guess the judges weren’t listening to the same poem I was because it scored a 24.2.
• Kaitie D gave us a haunting poem about generational loss and what it means to love, pulling a score of 26.9.
• Jennifer Martinez mesmerized the crowd with a discussion of urban myths and the strange power of mirrors getting a 27.5
• Will Leonard performed their classic poem about water and the worst things that can happen to a person for a 24.9
• March closed out the first round with an automated customer service voice exploring the failed American healthcare system and existential dread for a 24.4

We didn’t even get a breather before ploughing into the second round:

• Kaitie kicked it off with a piece that used repetition and humor to explore the concepts of loss, rebuilding, and American Jesus. The score was a 24.7
• Second in the round was March with a tale of unmasking and queer identity which earned a 26.0.
• That brought up the top scorer from the first round, Jarvis, who told us about the return of La virgen de Guadalupe visiting modern America. The score was 26.9.
• Will’s second poem was a complex and surreal treatise on sex, gender and the itsy-bitsy spider. It scored a 25.8.
• Logan excited the crowd with a fan favorite about trans identity and what it means to come out. The poem scored a 26 .7
• Jennifer won the crowd with an impassioned love letter to homesickness, survival and love. The judges responded with a 29.4, the highest score of the night.
• Kelsey told us the tale of Rosemary’s baby and the commodification of pain which scored a 27.0
• Keaton closed out our night with a brand-new poem about work and its effects on the psyche earning a 25.1

When the dust settled, we had four poets headed to finals on the 26th and they were:

Jennifer Martinez 56.9
Jarvis Subia 54.6
Kaitie Dilan 51.6
Logan Lopez 51.6
Kelsey Kessler 51.2
Will Leonard 50.7
March Penn 50.4
Keaton Howl 49.6

A huge thank you to everyone who performed and to all who listened and judged.

Michael: This Wednesday, we’re doing it again! Round 2 of our Team Selection Preliminaries Slam will feature the following poets:

Ilse R
Brynna Boyd
Isaiah Newman
Katya Zinn
Renee Ramos
Otto Vock
Aparna Paul
Amy Argentar
Myles Taylor

Be sure to be here early, as these shows sell out fast! Open mic is at 8 pm, slam starts around 10!

See you soon,

– MFG🚪& Zeke ⚾

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Cantab Recap For Wednesday, January 29th, 2025

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We had another sold-out show this past Wednesday, with an open mic that simultaneously showcased how well the fun and mournful side of poetry can co-exist…3 minutes apart from each other! Donovan and first-timer Elizabeth brought us poignant odes to their LA homes amidst the ongoing fires, Max opened the mic with a moving tribute to his late friend and coworker Butch, and Sue Savoy devastated with a poem about the seemingly unassuming things she has said to people, and what they actually meant. Hunter brought us an excellent piece on being a restaurant server that worked its message through customer-server dialogue alone, and we got to hear revisions/reprises of earlier work from Kaitie D, Kelsey, and Isaiah.

Kat started a hosting bit that included reading quotes from the reality show Jersey Shore before introducing the next reader, which led later hosts Briana and Brynna to delve into own reality TV knowledge, and drop some fire quotes of their own. Will there be a reality TV found poem on the mic in 2025? Stay tuned! At the end of the open, we had Season 3, Episode 1 of our monthly Haiku Slam series, which was won by the outrageous Gel, who edged out an extremely cute and meta haiku series by Kai.

Our feature was Caleb “The Negro Artist” Rainey who gave us a selection of nearly all-memorized poems to savor slowly. A poet with a real skill for writing and sculpting poems about race relations with no excess, Caleb let the content speak for itself while also letting us into the genesis of his writing process between pieces. Highlights included an interactive piece that resituated playing the party game Taboo as a poem, a piece his mother asked him to write about his own family, and work from his “Poem Potluck” series, where community members volunteer a set of words that must all be included in a new poem. Thank you Caleb!

THIS WEDNESDAY: We’ve entered one of the most fevered and exciting times of the year — TEAM SELECTION SEASON! Over the course of February we will be selecting our 2025 Boston Poetry Slam Team, with the first preliminary slam happening this week! 17 poets will be vying to make the 5-person team, and tonight’s slam will feature the following poets:

Kelsey Kessler
Kaitie Dilán
Jennifer Martinez
Will Leonard IV
Keaton Howl
Jarvis Subia
Logan Lopez
March Penn

Be sure to get here early this month as these shows often sell out fast! Open mic is at 8 pm, slam starts around 10!

See you soon,

– MFG 🚪

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Cantab Recap For Wednesday, January 22th, 2025

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Hi Cantab! Reporting to you live from… a Wednesday! Last week’s show was thrilling, both in the fresh poems on the open mic as well as the powerful last chance slam. On the open, Cam S did a beautiful poem about dragons that put a smile on everyone’s faces. Loc came back to the mic to do an insightful poem on what it means to rewrite history. Mary F did a series of short work with “no endings.” Maura wowed the crowd with her oxymorons poem, commenting on her experience viewing houses on the Cape. Hallie, the great writer that she is, wove humanity, Whole Foods, and aliens into one amazing poem. Erica did a BEAUTIFUL piece about a past love, and to close out the mic, newcomer Rafi hit us with a unique and expertly written dog poem. The words “dragon,” “beat/beet,” and “history” were curiously prevalent during the mic.

The ✏️Line of the Wednesday✏️ is a TIE between Erica and Cam S.

Cam: “There were never dragons, just beasts our mind couldn’t keep”

Erica: “A certain forever started that day”

Then came our LAST CHANCE SLAM where a final 8 poets competed for the last two spots to qualify to try out for the 2025 slam team. Those poets were Tru Kwene, TJ Jones, Katya Zinn, Jarvis, Kai, Mugs Myers, Jack Chasse, and Edie. TJ Jones hit the audience in the heart with a contemplative performance, Jack Chasse characteristically captivated the audience with the speed and agility of his words, Edie called us all to action and pushed us forward with their poetry, Kai brought us to tears with their God/Father poem, Mugs returned to slam after years away, and Tru Kwene (of Lizard Lounge and National Poety Slam fame) showed us what it truly means to perform with confidence, to say every word with distinction and weight, and, of course, what it means to FIGHT.

At the end of the evening, it was down to two. Jarvis hit us with “Stay with Me” in the second round – an incredible piece that famously scored a 30 at NorthBeast in 2024. Katya also pulled out an old reliable – a gut-wrenching, beautifully written poem about speaking directly to those who’ve harmed you, which won her an award at CUPSI years ago. It came down to the wire, but Katya Zinn (a member of our 2024 team) secured the victory!! Stay tuned for our epic team selection slams that are starting next month.

Before team selection though, we do have a Wednesday… TONIGHT! And we have a feature. Caleb “The Negro Artist” Rainey is an author, performer, and event producer. He has published two books, “Look, Black Boy” and “Heart Notes,” released two albums, produced a short film with The Brucemore titled “Willing to Grow,” and starred in a documentary titled “The Negro Artist.” In 2024 he was the recipient of the Iowa Author Award for Poetry. He is the winner of several slams across the United States, placed 7th in the 2023 UNESCO Slam-0-Vision global poetry slam, and curates a community of spoken word in Iowa City through his high school program, IC Speaks, and producing events like the Mic Check Poetry Fest.

See you then!

– Amy ✈️

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Cantab Recap For Wednesday, January 15th, 2025

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Hey Cantab! Whew! I’d like to start off by mentioning how grateful we are to have such a wonderful community, because SO MANY of you showed up for our show last Wednesday! Not only did we sell out before 7:30, nearly 90 people came to see the show in total! A lovely surprise, and for a cold weekday in January, it definitely warmed our hearts.

With such a packed room, the energy on the open mic did not disappoint. We had so many memorable moments, starting with an incredible Nicki Minaj-inspired poem from Sam O. (which then inspired a Nicki Minaj poem from yours truly), and a touching poem by Portia Lee about eyes and beauty standards. Naomi’s poem (with a calming reprise of “I must accept it”) was very moving, but also had an unexpected comedic output. Not 5 minutes had gone by since Naomi spoke a line expressing disdain for “old people in Brookline, Massachusetts” before Cantab veteran Priscilla went up to the mic and proclaimed “I am from Brookline Massachusetts.” Priscilla then wowed us with a short poem questioning the purpose of applause, which, naturally, awarded her a standing ovation after she finished (a rarity for the open mic). Gel finished off the open mic with a sensational, chaotic piece about several things ranging from Vikings to summer camp to queerness.

The ✏️Line of the Wednesday✏️ is from an anonymous open-micer, with “Until there was so much blood in my shoes I was convinced my heart was in my feet”

Our feature was Bri Gonzalez, all the way from Colorado, who told us tales of the Rat Man and then gifted showgoers with little plastic rats (so long as you named them). Their poetry built worlds and broke them down, weaved in and out of humor and memory and lives in and outside their mind. I’ve never had a feature transport me to be the hero of my own story while in a movie theatre, but there’s a first time for everything.

THIS WEEK! It’s your LAST CHANGE to qualify to try out for the 2025 Boston Poetry Slam Team! Standard slam rules apply: eight poets compete in three rounds with poems that are three minutes or less. No props, costumes, or musical accompaniment. Poems are scored by random members of the audience! Come compete among the best in the region this Wednesday.

SLAM STRUCTURE: 8 slammers. Slammers will compete IN ORDER OF SIGN UP! This means there will be no random draw. The first round will be bracketed, in that the first four slammers will go, and the bottom two scores of those four will be cut. Then the second four slammers will go, and then the bottom two scores of those will be cut, leaving 4 slammers for the second round. That round will go in order of highest score in the first round to lowest. The bottom two scores of that group will be cut. The last round will be two slammers, both of whom qualify to try out for the 2025 team.

See you then!

– Amy ✈️

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Cantab Recap For Wednesday, January 8th, 2025

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Happy Wednesday, Cantabbers! It was great to be back in the basement of the Cantab Lounge after a couple weeks, and the room was abuzz with slam jitters, newcomer nerves, and open mic endorphins! We had a wonderful open mic featuring first-timer Prince Shapiro, performing a poem in Khosa and English, captivating the audience and leaving them in awe of his impeccable skills. New regular René brought the house down as usual, and Portia also displayed the beauty of her writing, and the ocean. Shoutout to our two express lane performers, Naomi and Jack, for closing out the open mic by bringing their authentic voices. Interestingly, the words “red” and “rubble” made several coincidental appearances tonight in several poems. What could it mean?!

The slam was as heartwarming as it was heated! Shawn kicked off the slam with a meta slam poem about “con man syndrome” (the opposite of imposter syndrome) and instructed the audience to NOT give him 10s (he got one 10). Jarvis’ poem about his name did beautifully, as did new slammer LJ Gabriel, who performed a name piece as well. Edie preached about the sin of indifference and inaction, and Myles did their classic punk rock planned parenthood poem (and followed it with the even MORE classic Boy With Wings). Katya showed her range with a classic and a debut, Hunter walked us (drove us?) down their years on the road, and Kelsey blew us all away, with thunderous applause after each performance, ranging from a beautiful and artistic poem about her grandmother’s battle with Alzheimer’s, grief at the airport, and how her mother’s (and by extension, her) roots were affected by assimilation in America.

People (well, at least me!) were literally jumping up and down with excitement by the final round, as finalists (and, by making it that far, team selection qualifiers!) Kelsey and Myles battled it out in the final round. Myles chose to debut some beautiful new shit on the importance of art, the instrument you use, and what truly makes it valuable. Kelsey’s airport grief poem was a journey through the sky, letting us all feel the breathlessness and deoxygenation that comes with grief. The winner was then crowned to be….

MYLES TAYLOR! $50 and a big round of applause was given to our very deserving fearless leader. The room was ablaze with support for them, as well as for Kelsey Kessler, our wonderful runner up.

The ✏️Line of the Wednesday✏️ is from Marja, with “ ‘Detroit is not dying,’ she said. ‘She’s just catching her breath.”

TONIGHT! Bri Gonzalez (they/them) is a Chicanx, queer writer from San Antonio, TX. They are the author of A WELLNESS CHECK (Game Over Books, 2024), a hybrid collection that investigates diagnosis by putting prescription pads and glitter pens in the hands of Gotham’s dark knight. A graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder MFA program, Bri is wondering how exactly writing even works. Bri currently teaches at Front Range Community College in Longmont, CO and is diligently researching vampires.

– Amy ✈️

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Cantab Recap For Wednesday, January 1st, 2025

Happy New Year, Cantabbers! We rang in the new year last week with our first-ever New Year’s Day GALA! Thanks to our partners at Trident Booksellers, we were able to put on a fabulous event, where guests could participate in a great book-bundle raffle; make broadsides, mingle, and of course, hear some poetry!!

Our open mic wasn’t just an open mic, it doubled as an awards show! Every single poet on the open mic received an award that was suggested to us by the audience themselves. The hosts assigned these awards to open mic-ers right before the show and presented them as the poet was called up. Here are some of the awards:

  • Sue Savoy received the Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Eli Kane received the “gives the vibe of the Cantab awning” award
  • Rein Carnation received the “Elusive Mysterious Demure” award
  • Logan Lopez received the “In the Right Building” award
  • Kaitie D received the “Wordiest Wordster to Ever Word” award
  • Juliet received the “Cuntiest Outfit” award
  • Shawn received the “Community Spirit” award
  • Cameron received the “Diabolical Doppelgängers” award
  • Lindsay Michelle received the “likely owns the most candles” award (she does not own any candles, turns out)
  • Mary received the “Most Mindfucks” award
  • Jennifer Martinez received the “Daaaamnnnn” award
  • Abbie Langmead received the “Crossed the Most Ponds” award
  • Will L received the “Best Silent Motherfucker” award (Will is not silent, it’s a reference to a slam poem exit strategy in which you say “motherfucker” in your head at the end of the poem)
  • Edie received the “MFG Award for Most Measured Chicken”
  • Zoey C and Hunter both received the “Newguard” award
  • Naomi received the “Fit matches the Vibe of the Poem” award
  • Sarah King received the “EEEEE!” award

As for the poems themselves? Jenn performed an absolutely show-stopping, too-stunned-to-clap piece. Mary brought people to tears. So did Logan. Edie and Cameron brought tender and heartfelt poems. New regulars Hunter and Bailey brought unique new voices. First timer Naomi (winner of outfit matches the vibe of the poem… before knowing what the poem was) KILLED their debut. Cameron gave a shoutout to the on-screen fireplace video in the background for its cozy ambiance. Did I mention most of the audience dressed up for the night, and looked fantastic? Overall, it was a lovely celebration of how much we’ve grown in 2024, and excitement for what’s to come in 2025.

THIS WEEK! We have an open slam. Specifically, the penultimate chance to qualify to try out for the 2025 Boston Poetry Slam Team! The top two placements in the slam are qualified for our upcoming team selection slams. Standard rules apply: eight poets compete in three rounds with poems that are three minutes or less. No props, costumes, or musical accompaniment. Poems are scored by random members of the audience! Come compete among the best in the region this Wednesday.

– Amy ✈️

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Cantab Recap For Wednesday, December 18th, 2024

Note: Due to the Cantab being closed for Christmas and New Year’s Day, our next shows are THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, December 28th at 6:30 PM (Downstairs at The Cantab), and Wednesday January 1st at 7 PM (happening at Trident Booksellers on 338 Newbury Street in Boston). More info below! Follow us on Instagram or sign up for our newsletter for the latest updates. Now on to your regularly scheduled recap…

We had a wholesome, reunion-filled, charismatic Wednesday last week, as our usual crowd of regulars filled the room along with many returning familiar faces, all anticipating the Cantab return of our feature, Melissa Newman-Evans! The mic was all bangers, legends, no-pressure-perfection, and more (FYI: our hosts have started naming their sections of the open mic for fun, and these are the names we got this week). We had Mars’ highly anticipated debut about being a poet (they turned 21 recently, so now they are finally able to join us in the basement!). David F shared messages from his WhatsApp chat, detailing his grievances with Harvard business students (though of course no offense to them!). Cameron decided to NOT do a bit, instead sharing how grateful he is for this community via poem (awwww). My personal favorite moment was Hunter’s fantastic superhero poem, which was IMMEDIATELY followed by Abbie Langmead’s banger superVILLAIN poem! What a coincidence! We also had a triumphant return from former Cantab host Kevin Spak, with a thrilling, energetic, wrestling/poetry/state of US politics-themed poem, ending the open mic with a bang!

The ✏️Line of the Wednesday ✏️ is from Becca, with “I didn’t have rose colored glasses, I had blackout curtains”

Our feature, Melissa Newman-Evans, read powerful, slap-you-in-the-face-with-the-truth poems, taking us through heartbreak, anger, standing in your power, and speaking from the most honest parts of yourself. We also heard timeless hits like “How To Bake Bread in America” and “9 Things I Would Like To Tell Every Teenage Girl.” The room felt very… together… throughout the feature; all of us were listening in the same way at the same time, knowing how important this poet’s work is, and their longtime contributions to the community. It was an incredible feature.

Our next show is THIS SATURDAY 12/28, and it is our third-annual POETRY THEATRE night! Produced by Michael F. Gill and featuring a cast of open mic and slam regulars, we’ll be hearing group pieces, short poetic plays, conceptual tomfoolery, and other outside-the-box work! The doors will open downstairs at the Cantab at 6 pm for a 6:30 show, with a short poetry open mic happening before the feature. Featured performers will be March Penn, Katya Zinn, Edie Churchill, Ericka Ainsley, David F, Cameron Vanderwerf, and more!

Happy holidays!

– Amy ✈️

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Cantab Recap For Wednesday, December 11th, 2024

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Happy Wednesday – we had yet another wonderful open slam last week, and a thrilling all-bangers open mic! Jay did a great, expressive poem on their relationship to gender, Hunter (debut alert) knocked our socks off with a stunning metaphor about cars/driving, and René did a lovely poem about flowers and masculinity. We also had several cover poems on the mic, including a Hannah Emerson cover by March, and, in lieu of her passing, several Nikki Giovanni covers. It added a bittersweetness to the week, reminding us how grateful we are for Nikki Giovanni’s contributions to the art form; we highly recommend you read some of her work this week.

The ✏️Line of the Wednesday ✏️ is actually just a thought I had during one of host Brynna’s anecdotes, sharing lines from her fifth-grade students’ work. The thought was “What the fuck is an orby blaster?”

Then we had our slam!!! 8 slammers competed for two qualifying slots, and it was banger after banger. Keaton’s dog poem broke hearts, Kelly stunned in their slam debut, metaphoring beautifully about a relationship, Guille’s first poem on language and connection (we’re really in a language-poem era over here at the Cantab) got an early 10, Jarvis did some incredible new shit about the health insurance CEO killing (and by new shit I mean written at the bar right before going on stage), Sam Bucci mused about the moral dichotomies of working at Whole Foods right after the recent election, Alia performed almost entirely in Greek, inspired by a comment they received last week, Daniel did his polished Chopin poem, and Kelsey did a completely choreographed and memorized poem about her mom’s heritage, assimilation, and language that blew people away!

Many more poems were heard, scores were written on whiteboards, and even more socks were knocked off (the shoes stayed on despite the socks being knocked off, linear time existed, roofs were blown off places, etc.), but there could only be one winner…..DANIEL LETONA! The slammer took the win and the $50, and qualified for the team alongside the incredible runner-up, beloved regular Keaton. All slammers did amazingly, and it only got us more stoked for the two remaining qualifying slams (on 1/8 and 1/22).

TONIGHT! We have a real treat, because a Cantab veteran is returning to feature! Melissa Newman-Evans was a two-time National Poetry Slam semi-finalist with the 2012 and 2014 Boston Poetry Slam Teams, and was a National Poetry Slam Finalist with the Denver-Mercury team in 2015. She has been published in at least 25 literary magazines, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and went modestly viral on Button Poetry with her poem “9 Things I Would Like To Tell To Every Teenage Girl.” These days, she helps run the Denver Historical Fencing Academy and teaches people to smack each other with swords. She still thinks if you wanted a tonic and gin, you should have ordered it that way.

REMINDER: Though we try to avoid it, we will not have a show next Wednesday, 12/25, as it is Christmas. But we will be having a special SATURDAY show downstairs at the Cantab on 12/28 at 6 pm. It will be our third annual POETRY THEATRE night, featuring group pieces and poetical plays from our regulars. Also, stay tuned for details on our unique New Year’s Day show coming up at The Trident Bookstore!

See you then!

– Amy ✈️

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