Cantab Feature for Wednesday, March 11, 2015: Jesse Parent

Jesse Parent, SLC performer and top-ranked individual slammer. Photo by Julie Moench Parent.

Jesse Parent, SLC performer and top-ranked individual slammer. Photo by Julie Moench Parent.

Jesse Parent is a poet, an improviser, a former mixed martial arts fighter, a computer nerd, a husband, a father, and, above all, a human being. According to the results of the 2010 and 2011 Individual World Poetry Slams, he is also the second ranked slam poet in the world. He also finished 5th at the 2012 Ontario International Poetry Slam and 4th at the 2014 Ill List Invitational Poetry Slam. His poetry has been featured on the Huffington Post, UpWorthy, TheBlaze.com, and WorldStarHipHop.com.

Jesse entered the world of performance poetry in December 2006 after touring for a few years with the poetry/music/improv show he created called The Hook. He has been on the Salt City Slam poetry teams from 2007-2014 (which included an 8th place finish at the 2011 and 2012 National Poetry Slams), was the coach of the 2007, 2008 and 2010 Salt City Slam teams, was the Salt Lake City grand champion in 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013, and was the SlamMaster of Salt City Slam from 2007 to 2013. He has served on the Executive Council for Poetry Slam, Inc. and the rules committee for the College Union Poetry Slam Invitational tournament. Jesse continues to coach the Westminster College poetry slam team, which he has done since 2013.

In his professional life, Jesse is a software engineering manager at a company that provides products and services that help the deaf and hearing to communicate. In his other art life, Jesse tours nationally as one half of the improv duo JoKyR and Jesster, performs with Laughing Stock Improv at the Off Broadway Theatre on Main St. in Salt Lake City, and is an artistic associate of the prestigious Chicago Improv Festival. In his personal life, he has a very tolerant wife and three adorable kids.

Note that tonight’s open poetry slam is a speed slam with 3-, 2-, and 1-minute rounds. Slam winners qualify for the 2015 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 Recap for Wednesday, March 4, 2015

If you weren’t there this Wednesday, I’m afraid we just don’t know how to explain Regie Gibson‘s feature to you. Sure, he showed off all the performance chops of a national slam champion, and all the writing skill you’d expect from a man holding an MFA in poetry. Yes, he made the stodgiest listener shout out in response to his lyrical work, and, yes, even the tipsiest barflies quieted down to listen to his literary finesse. Throw in a little casually looped beat-boxing and a good shake of mild heckling and you have all the ingredients of a great feature: but if you want the experience, you’ll want to check out his website to see where he’s headlining next.

UPDATE: how did we forget to mention our six-person slam from this Wednesday? Featuring a string of newcomers and powerful ladies, the field quickly boiled down to a WOWPS-bound Nora Meiners and a hungry-for-victory Chloé Cunha. Chloé took top honors in the lightning-quick one-minute round, earning the ten bucks and a shot at our springtime Speed Champion of Champions on May 20!

Next Wednesday: we continue our string of top national slammers with Jesse Parent, Salt Lake City improv nerd and two-time Individual World Poetry Slam runner-up. This long-lost New England native is home to stir up some fun in the city for his first-ever Cantab feature… Which will, of course, be followed by the next iteration of our speed slams. See you there!

Tips from the Bar: Never Meant to Be

Write in the voice of a favorite hobby, movie, fantasy world, or other counter/culture that you love– where it explains why it doesn’t love you back.

Moonlighting: A Queer Open Mic and Reading Series Featuring Elliott DeLine on March 5, 2015

This reading is part of our monthly LGBTQ series, Moonlighting. Click here for more information about this recurring show.

The featured reader for March 5 is Elliott DeLine.

Elliott DeLine, Syracuse poet.

Elliott DeLine, Syracuse poet.

Elliott DeLine (born 1988) is a transgender writer from Syracuse, NY. He is the author of the novel Refuse and the novella I Know Very Well How I Got My Name. His work has been featured in the Modern Love essay series of The New York Times, The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard, and Original Plumbing Magazine.

This show in our monthly Thursday LGBTQ series takes place at Fazenda Coffee Roasters, 3710 Washington St. in the Jamaica Plain area of Boston. An open mic begins at approximately 7:00 p.m. and the headliner follows the open mic. The show is all-ages and a $3 donation is requested.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, March 4, 2015: Regie Gibson

Regie Gibson, MFA in Poetry and National Poetry Slam Champion.

Regie Gibson, MFA in Poetry and National Poetry Slam Champion.

SCHEDULE CHANGE: Due to life circumstances, the poet originally scheduled to feature on this date will not be able to attend. Instead, we are proud to present National Poetry Slam Champion Regie Gibson.

Chicago-gone-local poet Regie Gibson is a former National Poetry Slam Individual Champion and was selected as one of the Chicago Tribune‘s Artists of the Year for his poetry. He has co-judged the Chicago Sun-Times Poetry Competition with Marc Smith and Mark Strand, has been regularly featured on NPR, and has appeared on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam.

Regie has toured with the Chicago Mask Ensemble, performing dramatic and poetic adaptations of common myths from around the world. He co-produced the play “The Mystery of Fire Bread” while performing in Europe with the Sharnier Theater in the cities of Hanover, Frankfurt, Berlin, and the Literature Haus in Hamburg, Germany. His original works of poetry have been dramatized and scored by classical flautist and Professor Janet Misurell-Mitchell and produced and directed by Eric Rosen for the Steppenwolf Theater’s Words on Fire production. In 1999 Regie performed for the award-winning Traffic Series at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater where he adapted the work of Kurt Vonnegut. Regie founded the LiteraryMusic Ensemble Neon JuJu: a literary and musical arts ensemble utilizing classic, contemporary and original literary text combined with Middle Eastern, Contemporary American and European classic music.

Regie is widely published in anthologies, magazines and journals such as The Iowa Review, Harvard Divinity Magazine, Poetry Magazine, Spoken Word Revolution (Source Books), and The Good Men Project. His full-length book of poetry, Storms Beneath The Skin (EM Press) was published in 2001 and received the Golden Pen Award. In 2005, Regie was a featured on the PBS Arts magazine Art Close-Up and was subsequently nominated for a Boston Grammy. In 2008, he won the “Big Boat” international poetry competition held in Monfalcone, Italy. Regie has received his MFA in Poetry from New England College, and continues to facilitate creative writing workshops, performances, and otherwise augmenting literary curricula for high schools and colleges across the United States. For more information, visit him at regiegibson.com.

Note that tonight’s open poetry slam is a speed slam 3-, 2-, and 1-minute rounds. Slam winners qualify for the 2015 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 Recap for Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Happy end of February, Cantabbers! Last night, as the ice chewers roamed the post-apocalyptic remains of Mass Ave., we hunkered down in the shelter of the Cantab, protected by good poetry and ample booze. Our unstoppably dynamic headliner, Doc Luben, laid down an effusive set that literally fired all the right neurons and figuratively warmed our hearts. Want to follow along with more from Doc? You can check out his tumblr, which even lists a couple more upcoming New England shows.

After Doc’s feature, our slammers took the stage for the first speed slam of the new 8×8 series! Six poets vied for a chance to survive the 3-minute, 2-minute, and 1-minute rounds of the show: the final 1-minute lightning round came down to Cantab rookie Sheldon Alexander and regular John Mortara. Both poets claimed Northampton Poetry Slam roots, but only one could walk away with the victory and the $10 prize: congratulations to Sheldon, who earns a spot in our fresh new Champion of Champions match this May!

Next week: those of you following along with our paper flier will note that we have a SCHEDULE CHANGE! Our revised feature will be National Poetry Slam Champion Regie Gibson, back to feature for us for the first time since 2008. We’ll follow up the feature with the second speed slam in the 8×8 series. Stay warm and ice-free, Cantabbers, and we’ll see you there.

Tips from the Bar: “Sure, Try Irony”

Use the following title to spark your poem:

It Was a Beautiful Day and Nothing Was Wrong

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, February 25, 2015: Doc Luben

IWPS Finalist and Portland (Oregon) Slam Champ Doc Luben. Photo by Jill Greenseth.

IWPS Finalist and Portland (Oregon) Slam Champ Doc Luben. Photo by Jill Greenseth.

Doc Luben is the two-time Poetry Slam Champion of the Portland, Oregon poetry slam, and was a finalist at the 2013 Individual World Poetry Slam. A writer and performer in L.A. and AZ since way back in the ancient 90s, his stage plays have been featured productions at the Arizona Classical Theater, and he was the Tucson Poetry Slam Champion in 2009.

Doc was a panelist and performer at the 2010 Phoenix ComicCon Nerd Slam and was featured at the Rose City ComicCon, and has taught subversive youth workshops in writing and performance for two decades. He trained at the freakishly progressive California Institute of the Arts, where they absolutely do NOT have Walt Disney’s head frozen in the basement.

Note that tonight’s open poetry slam is a speed slam 3-, 2-, and 1-minute rounds. Slam winners qualify for the 2015 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 Recap for Wednesday, February 18, 2015

The results of our grand Team Selection Semi-Finals are in! Rankings going into Finals:

  1. Zeke Russell 53.8
  2. Bobby Crawford 52.5
  3. Nora Meiners 52.4
  4. Meaghan Ford 51.5
  5. Marshall Gillson 51.0
  6. Sean Patrick Mulroy 50.6
  7. Mckendy Fils-Aimé 50.5
  8. Ed Wilkinson 49.2
  9. Emily Eastman 47.7

  10. Sophia Holtz
  11. Ellyn Touchette
  12. Colin Killick

Poets in bold are qualified to advance to the Team Selection Finals on April 1! Congratulations to all, and special thanks to sacrifices John Mortara and Nathan Comstock, as well as our hyper-consistent and only slightly cruel judges: Tyler, Catherine, Maryann, Phoenix, and Mike & Olivia.

This coming Wednesday: you can take a moment from watching slam and get in one! Our very first speed slam (that’s 3-, 2-, and 1-minute rounds) kicks off the 8×8 series this week. Even better, we’ll get to dig deep listening to awesome headliner Doc Luben from Portland, Oregon. See you there!

Tips from the Bar: The Scottish Comedian Prompt

From a favorite joke:

A hearty welcome to all the folks looking forward to dancing on my grave. I plan to be buried at sea.