Cantab Recap for Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Last night, we wrapped up another fine June with a feature from Raych Jackson, making us the finale in her all-New-England early summer tour. Raych was masterfully clever, heartbreaking, and funny in her perfectly timed set; if you see someone around town sporting one of her Awkward Connoisseur stegosaurus t-shirts, we hope you’ll offer an awkward-as-you-like high-five. The night closed with a full-to-the-brim slam, featuring eight hungry poets looking for the big ten-dollar prize, a qualifying spot on the 2018 slam team, and a chance to dethrone Champion of Champions RebeccaLynn on August 9. Steamrolling over all the competition from the one-spot was Lyra, who met up with Meaghan Ford who was waiting in the eight-spot; titans clashed, and Lyra was left standing! Congrats to the first-time Cantab winner, who we hope to see back in the house for the champs slam.

Next week: we’ll feature local poet Marisa Glynn, a real firecracker! By “firecracker,” of course, we mean you’d best respect her power if you don’t want to metaphorically lose a thumb; come out and get your mind blown by this steady and sensitive thinker. For those with their own ideas to fire off, we’ll have our usual open mic to open the night and an open slam following the feature.

Tips from the Bar: And That’s Why They Call It Greenland

Tip from the bar for Wednesday, June 28, 2017.

Tip from the bar for Wednesday, June 28, 2017.

Write about a place you’ve always wanted to go, but write as if you’ve already been there. Act as if you are an expert on this place you’ve never been.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, June 28, 2017: Raych Jackson

Raych Jackson, Chicago educator and poet. Photo by RJ Eldridge.

Raych Jackson, Chicago educator and poet. Photo by RJ Eldridge.

Rachel “Raych” Jackson is a Chicago native who currently teaches 3rd grade in the Chicago Public School system. In addition to being an educator, Rachel is also a poet and playwright. She has competed on two national teams and recently ranked 22nd in the Women of the World Poetry Slam. Her latest play will premiere in the 7th Annual Play Festival in May of 2017. She is working on her first book and proudly loves every episode of Bob’s Burgers.

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 poetry slam in the 8×8 series will follow. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, June 21, 2017

What a night! This week, we celebrated the finest solstice of the whole dang year with some of our best pals; Nationals-bound NorthBEAST slam teams from around the region took the stage for a high-quality, high-energy team slam. Four teams entered, but only one left with the highly covetable second-slam bragging rights, good until our third and final team slam on July 12. Congrats to our big winner, and huge thank-yous to all the teams for traveling so far to slam with us:

1. House Slam 100.8
2. Boston Poetry Slam 95.5
3. Verbal Slap CT 86.0
4. Slam Free or Die NH 82.2

Absentees, will it surprise you to hear that the judges were both wildly consistent (they were) and shockingly harsh (you bet that happened)? Nah, you’ve been to a slam at the Cantab before. Big thanks to Adam Stone for withstanding the first (and far from last) 5’s of the night, James Merenda for his appreciable bout management skills, and host Kieran Collier for putting as much energy into the slam as all four teams combined. And, yes, we’ll be back with our last 4×4 of 2017 on July 12, so mark your calendars, and pack a friend to wave a whiteboard for us.

Next week: we’re taking just a tiny breather from our 2017 Nationals dreams to flash back to NPS 2016. That August, the Cantab took on not one, but two Chicago teams in our first bout at the tournament, and Raych Jackson laid down some unforgettable work against us that night. This coming Wednesday, she’ll be in town for a full feature set as we welcome one-time opponent and all-time community member and writer. See you there!

Tips from the Bar: Solstice Battle Prompt

Tip from the bar for Wednesday, June 21, 2017.

Tip from the bar for Wednesday, June 21, 2017.

What would you most like to do with the day of the year with the most daylight What did you actually do?

If ideal-day you met actual-day you at a bar or a bookstore, what would transpire between you? Could you be friends with the version of you living your ideal day?

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, June 21, 2017: NorthBEAST Regional 4×4 Team Slam II

Boston Poetry Slam official logo, by Gary Hoare.

Boston Poetry Slam official logo, by Gary Hoare.

Team slam is back! We continue our summer of slam with the second of three Nationals-style 4×4 matches, welcoming four Nationals-bound slam teams to our virtual cage match for a four-round slam. This heart-of-the-summer regional will showcase work from the following teams:

  • The icy-hearted gale-force north-side team, MAYBE including two well-loved Cantab slammers, hailing from Slam Free or Die;
  • A return engagement from our bitterest rivals from south of the river, Boston’s House Slam;
  • Representatives from far-flung Connecticut’s Verbal Slap;
  • and your own beloved home team.

This show will have a slightly shortened open mic and will sell out quickly, so we advise arriving for door time at 7:15 to catch a seat… Otherwise, you’ll be waiting until July 12 for the last of the summer’s 4x4s. Cover charge is $5 to help raise funds for our team to travel to Nationals in Denver 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. The open mic begins at 8:00 and the slam begins at approximately 10:00. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $5.

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, June 14, 2017

What a sweet and fabulous open mic at the Cantab this week, folks; maybe it’s the weather, maybe it’s our low-key/high-talent summer crowd, or just maybe it was the perceptive and good-humored generative workshop run by feature Jon Sands before the show, but good thinkers and writers turned out and turned up for our show’s opening open. Jon featured as the headliner with a conversation-starting set, and the night closed with two hard-working slammers, Alex McDonald and Evan Cutts, making quick work of a head-to-head slam. Evan took the night and the ten bucks, qualifying him for the 2018 team slam series: look to your future, folks.

Next week: we’ll present the second of three 4×4 NorthBeast Regional Team Slams. These are Nationals-style bouts, just like what folks will see in Denver this August… But better, of course, because we’ll hear work from our favorite New Englanders. This week will be an especially local-notable bash, featuring your home team up against poets from Boston’s House Slam, Manchester’s Cantab-centric Slam Free or Die team, and a pair of reps from Connecticut’s Verbal Slap teaming up with some all-star locals. It’s a $5 cover to raise money for our team’s trip to Denver; bring a little extra for a drink at the bar, and maybe for some product from our local teams!

Tip from the Bar: What’s My Name Again?

You show up at the wrong place: maybe you meant to meet your family for coffee but walked into an AA meeting, or maybe you meant to have kids but turned out to be bad at it. Okay, roll with it; what happens now?

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, June 14, 2017: Jon Sands

Jon Sands, NYC poet and podcast host. Photo by Jonathan Weiskopf.

Jon Sands, NYC poet and podcast host. Photo by Jonathan Weiskopf.

Jon Sands is the author of The New Clean (2011, Write Bloody Publishing), as well as the co-host of The Poetry Gods Podcast. His work has been published widely, and anthologized in The Best American Poetry 2014. He is a Youth Mentor with Urban Word-NYC, and teaches creative writing for adults at Bailey House in East Harlem (an HIV/AIDS service center). He is the Co-Program Director of the Dialogue Arts Project, and has represented New York City multiple times at the National Poetry Slam. He tours extensively, but lives in Brooklyn.

In addition to his feature, Jon 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 poetry slam in the 8×8 series will follow. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.

Cantab Workshop for Wednesday, June 14, 2017 with Jon Sands: Emotional Historians

Join Jon Sands, the night’s scheduled feature, for an early-bird workshop at the Cantab Lounge before the show. We welcome all comers to this one-hour generative workshop.

Description of the workshop, Emotional Historians, from the workshop leader:

How can we construct poems that acknowledge our complicated and dynamic world? How can we guide our readers into what it feels like to be us, alive in 2017? In this workshop, we will explore and produce poetry that reveals the full spectrum of human emotion. Bring a notebook, pen, and a sense of adventure, as we take our art to the edge of the universe, and bring back proof that we’ve been there.

Feel free to email the SlamMaster with questions or to reserve a spot.

The workshop begins at 5:30, with latecomers admitted until 6:00. Drop-ins are welcome! Cover charge is $5-$10 sliding scale, which includes admission to the evening show. The venue is 18+ (ID required). For more information on the night’s open mic, slam, and feature from Jon Sands, click here.