Cantab Recap for Wednesday, June 7, 2017

We’ve arrived, folks: with the good weather and empty bar-and-coffeehouse stools in Boston comes the summer of slam, our annual region-wide ramp-up to the National Poetry Slam, this year taking place in Denver, Colorado. Seven New England teams represent at NPS this year, and four of them faced off at the Cantab last night! When the dust cleared, the final scores looked like this:

1. House Slam 110.1
2. Boston Poetry Slam at the Cantab Lounge 106.1
3. Providence Poetry Slam 102.2
4. Northampton Poetry Slam 97.9

Of course, you know the scores don’t tell the whole story: after a blisteringly energetic spiel by host Kieran Collier, and a sacrifice by John Pinkham to test the time-and-scorekeeping skills of mathinatrix Cassandra de Alba, the teams took the stage with grace, power, craft, humor, and a really cool smattering of brand-new work.

In fourth after drawing the A spot came the rookies of Northampton, a freewheeling foursome of gentle narrative, cutting commentary, and honed slamming presence; this particular crew will be entering national competition for the first time this year, and we are proud to host their first warm-up outing in the city. Providence Poetry Slam, known both for their precocious youth poetry scene and late-blooming start in the slam season, drew the D and held their own bringing complex on-page work to the stage; gird yourself for when they unleash their true performance power later in the season, when they return to slam with us on July 12.

The home team pulled the dreaded B spot and despite a slow-scoring start to the night, pulled the top two individual scores of the night (and three indy round wins), good enough for a second-place finish. Finally, the night’s big winners came from the House Slam, who brought not only the strong individual work we’ve come to expect from our across-the-river neighbors, but two brandy-new group poems seemingly designed specifically to blow the judges’ minds. Congratulations to everyone on a night well slammed!

Looking for more 4x4s, and (dare we say it) more group work? Check it: we’re back in just two weeks with another 4×4 that will include the home team, House, and the northside luminaries of Slam Free or Die.

In the meantime, don’t forget that Jon Sands will be our June 14 feature next week, including a 5:30pm generative workshop, open to all, for a $5-$10 sliding scale that includes admission to the show. Hope to see you there!

Tip from the Bar: Six Degrees of Wikipedia

After nearly a month of absence, we welcome bartender and tipmeister Adam Stone back from his vacation! To celebrate, he offers a prompt to generate up to two poems for you.

1. Go to the Wikipedia page (or, sure, crack open an encyclopedia) about a concept you already know a lot about.
2. Now follow a link (or reference) from that page to another.
3. Repeat step 2 five more times.

Welcome to the concept for your prompt! Using the page you’ve landed on:
* Try writing a poem about this subject. OR:
* Try writing a poem that connects this subject back to the subject of your starting page.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, June 7, 2017: NorthBEAST Regional 4×4 Team Slam I

Boston Poetry Slam official logo, by Gary Hoare.

Boston Poetry Slam official logo, by Gary Hoare.

The summer of slam gets a kick-in-the-pants preview with the first of three Nationals-style 4×4 matches– meaning four teams in four rounds, the ultimate balanced format for a poetry battle of strategy, emotion, and wits, and a precise parallel to the competition our local teams will face at the National Poetry Slam. This slam will pit four local Nationals-bound teams against one another, including your home team.

Our field on this night will include:

This show will have a slightly shortened open mic and will sell out quickly, people, so we advise arriving for door time at 7:15 if you want to get in to catch the show… Otherwise, you’ll have to come back on June 21 or July 12 for the next 4x4s we’ve booked for the summer. 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, May 31, 2017

A very lucky crowd turned out for the Cantab last night in what marked the first of many sweet evenings with our summertime crew: an unhurried, thoughtful open mic, followed by a substantial portion of Maya Phillips‘ MFA thesis, all its academic glory polished up with Maya’s elegant and powerful reading voice. The slam was a bare-bones affair with just four folks jostling for the ten-dollar prize: the final pairing matched up grizzled vet jeff taylor against fresh-faced rookie Alex McDonald. In a true spring victory, Alex took the prize, leaving jeff to slam another day.

If you liked Maya’s style this week, then you might want to mark your calendar for one of our latest bookings (event page forthcoming): on August 23, local reader Danielle Legros Georges will present a full set on the Cantab stage. Or, if you’re most missing the EPP slams of yore that Maya used to curate, you’ll love watching our 40% Emersonian team slam off next week on June 7, facing teams from House, Northampton, and Providence. Heads up: it’s a $5 cover charge for the show next week to raise money to send our team to Nationals, and we’ll be looking for judges for the slam that night, so we hope you’ll bring a friend to help support the slam!

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, May 31, 2017: Maya Phillips

Maya Phillips, Brooklyn poet and 2011 Boston Poetry Slam Team member.

Maya Phillips, Brooklyn poet and 2011 Boston Poetry Slam Team member.

Maya Phillips was born and raised in New York. Maya received her BFA in writing, literature, and publishing with a concentration in poetry from Emerson College, where she served as SlamMaster of the Emerson College Poetry Project and competed at CUPSI as a member of the 2010 and 2011 slam teams. In 2011, she represented the Boston Poetry Slam at the National Poetry Slam as a member of the Cantab slam team. She currently works as the associate content producer at the Academy of American Poets and is an MFA poetry candidate at Warren Wilson’s MFA Program for Writers. She lives in Brooklyn.

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, May 24, 2017

What a night, folks: eight poets entered the epic four-round World Qualifier this week, but only one could leave as the World Qualifier Champ and the Boston Poetry Slam’s sole representative to the 2017 Individual World Poetry Slam in Spokane, Washington this October. It was an awesome night, full of strong performances all around and a topsy-turvey competition among a tight group of our winningest pre-qualified locals, all fighting for scores from some consistently tight-fisted judges! After three seasons and six rounds of slamming towards the title, we are proud to announce the night’s final rankings:

CHAMPION: Zeke Russell
Runner-Up: Allison Truj
3. RebeccaLynn
4. Em Taylor
5. Meaghan Ford
6. Sara Mae
7. Brandon Melendez
8. Alex McDonald

Grand thanks to our judges: Megan, Simon, Kaitlyn, Hope & Tasha, and #1 volunteer judge Josh for a highly consistent night, as well as our intrepid sacrifices, Ron Prudent and Austin Hendricks. And, of course, hearty congratulations to Zeke Russell, WQ champ AND top scorer in team competition, who will represent us in international competition this fall!

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, May 24, 2017: World Qualifier Final

The Boston Poetry Slam will kick off our Summer of Slam just a little bit early with the second and final night of the annual World Qualifier to select the Boston Poetry Slam’s sole representative to the 2017 Individual World Poetry Slam! This year’s IWPS will take place in Spokane, Wash. from October 11-14, and our World Qualifier slam winner will be entered into the event.

Tonight’s winner-take-all competition features the top eight finishers from the May 3 World Qualifier Speed Slam. The first round tonight will feature the following poets:
1. Zeke Russell
2. Alex McDonald
3. RebeccaLynn
4. Meaghan Ford
5. Em Taylor
6. Allison Truj
7. Sara Mae
8. Brandon Melendez
Sacrifices: Ron Prudent, Austin Hendricks

The four-round night, including one limit-breaking 4-minute round, will culminate in a head-to-head finals to determine who will represent the BPS in the Pacific Northwest this fall. For more details, you can also check out the full rules and format for the World Qualifier 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. An slightly shortened 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; proceeds will go toward funding the World Qualifier winner’s trip to IWPS this October.

Annual Attleboro Arts Museum Poetry Slam: Friday, May 19, 2017

The 2017 Boston Poetry Slam Team is: Neiel Israel, Em Taylor, Zeke Russell, Brandon Melendez, Mckendy Fils-Aimé. Photo by Marshall Goff.

The 2017 Boston Poetry Slam Team is: Neiel Israel, Em Taylor, Zeke Russell, Brandon Melendez, Mckendy Fils-Aimé. Photo by Marshall Goff.

Friday, May 19, 2017
86 Park St., Attleboro, MA
6:30 sign-ups, 7:00 open mic, 7:45ish poetry slam
FREE show for all ages
more details at the Attleboro Arts Museum website

The Boston Poetry Slam has presented a free poetry slam in conjunction with the Attleboro Arts Museum annually since 2007! This year’s special event will feature the Boston Poetry Slam Team, the House Slam, the Seven Hills Slam from Worcester, and an open mic featuring YOU, hosted by BPS SlamMaster Simone Beaubien. As always, the show is held in the main room of the Museum at 86 Park St. in Attleboro, and the event is free of charge. For the second year in a row, this event is generously made possible by funding from the Attleboro accounting firm Castro, Thresher and Oliviera, P.C.!

This year’s event will reprise the high-energy show format from 2015 and 2016: an open mic for members of the Attleboro community and beyond will kick off the night. After the open mic, teams from the Boston Poetry Slam, the House Slam, and the Seven Hills Slam will go head-to-head-to-head in a performance poetry exhibition! These three freshly selected teams will be shaking out their metaphors in preparation for their trip to the National Poetry Slam in Denver, Colorado this August.

The Attleboro Arts Museum is located at 86 Park St. in Attleboro, Mass., just a short walk from the Attleboro stop on the Providence/Boston line of the Commuter Rail. Signups for the open mic begin at 6:30pm, with the open mic starting at 7:00. A poetry slam featuring teams from Boston, Providence, and Worcester will begin at the end of the open mic, around 7:45. The show is all ages and admission is free.

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Is summer here already, folks? Last night’s show had all the signs: a sweltering night outdoors, a packed house inside, and breath-of-fresh-air Jess Rizkallah in the house, returned from her MFA program at NYU. Jess brought us a glorious selection of nearly all new works, packing tons of poems into her feature with her signature presence and grace that we’ve missed so much. Hope to see you in the house again soon, Jess!

The slam that followed Jess’ feature was a rocking four-poet affair, with Portland poet Nicholas Mitchell vying against local Colin Killick for the ten-dollar prize. Colin came out on top, netting a spot in the August Champion of Champions match, and leaving Nicholas standing to slam another day.

Next week: HOO BOYO, LISTENERS! It’s the World Qualifier Final, the last slam in our selection process to decide who will rep the venue at the Individual World Poetry Slam this October in Spokane, Washington! Click here to see the awesome eightsome who will take the stage in the first round. Remember, it’s a $5 cover to raise money to send the winner afar, and an abbreviated open mic, so come early, pack some cash for the bar, and get ready to cheer the heck out of your favorite slammers.

PLUS, special springtime bonus show! This Friday will mark our eleventh year at the Attleboro Arts Museum slam, and this time we’ll be welcoming teams from the House Slam and 7 Hills in Worcester to a three-team slam-off in the one-room house of art! There’s easy access from the Providence line of the commuter rail, plus an open mic, and it’s all free; come on down south for a sweet early-evening show in a truly beautiful space. Click here for more details.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, May 17, 2017: Jess Rizkallah

Jess Rizkallah, Lebanese-American poet and Maps For Teeth founder.

Jess Rizkallah, Lebanese-American poet and Maps For Teeth founder.

Jess Rizkallah is a Lebanese-American writer, illustrator, and coffee slinger living between Boston & New York. Alumna of Lesley University, MFA candidate at NYU & founding editor at Maps For Teeth magazine / pizza pi press, she’s a former Champion of Champion of the Cantab Lounge and a Pushcart Prize nominated poet whose work has appeared in Word Riot, Nailed Magazine, Button Poetry, HEArt Online, & on her mother’s fridge. Her first collection, the magic my body becomes, is forthcoming on University of Arkansas Press, 2017. Find her at jessrizkallah.com.

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.