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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Cantab Recap For Wednesday, December 4th, 2024

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Hey Cantab!! What a Wednesday! We had a very smooth night, with regulars doing their regular irregularly fantastic work, such as an incredible blackout poem from Siraj from a job rejection email. We also had a fabulous impassioned memorized debut from Rein Carnation, as well as a string of other debuts like Alia (performing a poem in Greek!) and Victor. Sarah (don’t forget the exclamation points!!) read a beautiful poem on heartbreak, Mary read a poem she wrote in second grade (the ending will surprise you), Oliver read some fire work about the Cuyahoga catching fire, Kaitie D debuted some straight-from-the-bar new shit, we had a (Ben) Tolkin/Tolkien crossover, and the return of Edie’s sensational throwing-bricks poem (that’s how I refer to it in my head) about revolution and taking back power.

The ✏️Line of the Wednesday✏️is from Kaitie D. “Finding love means having to be brave enough to lose it”

Then, we had our wonderful feature, DUY ĐOÀN (pronounced zwē dwän / zwee dwahn) who came all the way from Vietnam to read for us and provide us with work from his books “We Play a Game” and “Zombie Vomit Mad Libs”. His poetry was a tour-de-force in incorporating multiple languages in a poem, as well as topically how language can impact one’s perception. One of the finale pieces was a poem that was read in Vietnamese by Duy, echoed by the English translation provided by his friend and local poet Judson Evans. Overall, his poems contained humor, some audience participation (i.e. mad libs), and some weaved-in storytelling that captivated the audience with each word.

TONIGHT! Try out for the 2025 Boston Poetry Slam Team! The top two placements in each open slam are qualified for team selection next year. 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.

– Amy ✈️

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Cantab Recap For Wednesday, November 27th, 2024

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Once again, we had an incredible open mic and an even more incredible slam. Though the mic list was rather light given the holiday week, the slam sign-up list filled up almost immediately! Regulars shined on the mic including Ash (God is dead, did you hear?) and Will Leonard, and newbies excelled including René and Norm (back after so long!). We then had a notably killer smoking section, with staff debuting new shit reminding us why we love them.

The ✏️Line of the Wednesday✏️ goes to newcomer Raquel, who, at the very end of the mic, hit us with “listening is the real sodomy”

Then, we had our OPEN SLAM! The slam was chock full of eleven slammers, including regulars, first-timers, and our very own curator Myles Taylor. We first heard Chris share about grief, and Myles riffing on shoplifting/want/capitalism. Abe and Jack Chasse then shook things up with their energizing styles, Edie and Charlie Jay tugged at our heart strings, and Cail made an incredible debut on religious trauma. As the marathon first round continued, Keaton’s pen game continued to stun us, Ilse definitely made sure we knew they knew what hunger was, and Daniel wowed us with his worldview-changing work. Our two finalists, Isaiah and Ilse, went toe-to-toe in a free-for-all final round (and both are now qualified to try out for the BPS 2025 Slam Team!). In a mic-drop poem written on and about their birthday, showing their range, what they value in life, and taking us in a journey through both grief and love, Isaiah emerged with the title and the $50 prize! Thank you to all our slammers, our bout staff, and our judges!!

TONIGHT!! DUY ĐOÀN (pronounced zwē dwän / zwee dwahn) is the author of We Play a Game (Yale University Press), winner of the Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize and a Lambda Literary Award. Duy’s work has appeared in the Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day, The Margins, Kenyon Review and Poetry. A Kundiman fellow, he received an MFA in poetry from Boston University. He lives in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

We also have a workshop at 6:30 by Amy Asherah on Writing for Healing! As a reminder, workshop attendees get first access to the mic list.

– Amy ✈️

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Cantab Recap For Wednesday, November 20th, 2024

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It was another fun night of poetry at the Cantab this past Wednesday! On the open mic, first timer Riva stole the show with an incredible memorized piece revolving around the theme of circles, which appropriately had some stellar rhythm and rhymes that winded their way around the room, and they even got the audience reciting lines without any prompting. There was also great work from Hallie Carton, who read a found poem of sorts using lines from movie reviews they’ve left online. Ask them about the full list of movies they’ve watched this year for all the references! Elsewhere, Ilse had a tremendous poem about love, yearning, and fulfillment, while Kai gave us another in their series of discreet love letters to medical professionals.

Our feature Mila Cuda took the stage dressed in a spider costume (!) and yes, while there were spider poems, we also heard work on femme friendship and dating, some mantra-laden memorized poems, and a good deal of unexpected rhymes. It was a real lovely set that went by too quickly! Be sure to preorder her book Still from Game Over books!

Tonight! We have an OPEN SLAM! Try out for the 2025 Boston Poetry Slam team! Top two placements in each open slam are qualified for team selection next year. 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! Winner gets $50.

See you then!

– MFG 🚪

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Cantab Recap For Wednesday, November 13rd, 2024

Amy: Hey Cantab! Quick note: we now have an online form if you’d like to send us anonymous (or non-anonymous) feedback about any of our shows.

We had an incredible open mic this week, with bangers throughout the mic, so many that host Brynna was confidently proclaiming her section of the mic being “no skips” before it was even over! Ericka’s Star Wars / self-actualization poem got rave reactions, March had a sensational somewhat anti-slam piece (on the night of a great slam), and we got a showstopping debut from Wonderwoman, who started their performance by repeating “can you hear me?” from the back of the stage, then proceeding to do a great poem about their experience as a HOH individual. We also had a heartfelt debut from Tiff about her experience spending much of her childhood in her family’s restaurant. Additionally, we had two folks on the mic (Jamie and Walter) who last read here over three DECADES ago, in 1994! Both read fabulous poems, with Jamie even paying homage to Walter, who followed him afterwards on the mic! Ben Tolkin also paid homage, but to the names of about a dozen love song titles, which comprised the majority of his poem. David F blew the roof (well, first floor?) off the basement with his anti-ode to rhyming poems that, in true David F fashion, kept getting progressively unhinged until the audience was left awestruck. Rhyme on (or not), David F!

The✏️Line of the Wednesday✏️ goes to March Penn, with “Unlearning isn’t a strip tease of knowledge”

Michael: After the mic, we had our open slam! Of our eight slammers, THREE made their Cantab debut during the slam, and ONE made their first-ever slam debut. Shoutout to Hill, John, and Brianna: hope to see you on stage again soon! Early highlights of the slam included the captivating fanfare and lyricism of Jack Chasse, inspiring pieces from Edie, and powerful work by Keaton. But the final battle came down to impressive newcomer Rene Ramos against our very own BPS recap writer Amy Argentar. Amy stole the slam with an incredible trio of poems involving (among other things) Chicago rats, invasive fried chicken ads, and a surprising take on the mother-daughter relationship. Congrats to Amy, who despite being a mainstay of our show for the past two years, had somehow not previously won a slam outright at BPS!

Amy: Thanks Michael! This week: we have a feature by Mika Cuda! Mila Cuda is a caffeine-sensitive lesbian from Los Angeles with an unmatched enthusiasm for spiders. The former Youth Poet Laureate of the West Coast, their work has been featured on Teen Vogue, Button Poetry, Rookie, PBS and Poetry Online. A two-time winner of The Charlotte Paul Reese Memorial Prize for Creativity in Poetry, she now lives in Somerville, MA, with her partner and the seasons. Still (Game Over Books, 2024) is her first full-length collection.

See you then!

– Amy ✈️ and MFG 🚪

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Cantab Recap For Wednesday, November 6th, 2024

Hi Cantab! Last Wednesday was a beautiful show. On a day when many people in our community woke up disappointed, shocked, and scared, we all still came together and put on a showcase of our art and voices. Many poems centered on the theme of community, which is now more important than ever. As we know, the basement of the Cantab Dive bar is more than just a place we get to perform and share and listen, it’s a place where we support each other.

This week, I’ve compiled a “Line of the Wednesday” from nearly everyone on the open mic list. If I missed you, I apologize (if you’re one of those people, or if I misquoted you, please dm us your poem last week on Instagram and I’ll pick a line and add it to this recap! I have reached out to those who I couldn’t quite get a line from in time.)

Edie: “We are at war with isolation”

Siraj: “I pooped today and it sucked”

March: “I wrote love letters to the ceiling until it became a sky”

Isaiah: “So I gather the pieces of my chair and shape them into a new skeleton / I take a seat.”

David F: “You know that death in dignity is a myth too far from true”

Shivank: “My death deserves a universal love language”

Cameron (covering Kai): “There is magic in this 2AM Walmart parking lot”

Kai: “I see love through the looking glass because I can’t see you otherwise”

Shawn (covering Kai): “Every world I’ve traveled to tried to kill me / living can no longer be called resilience”

Donovan: “So go on, burn bright / Let them know you’re here / And that you aren’t going anywhere”

Ilse: “It’s easier to be naked than it is to be honest”

Mary (covering Kai): “I need proof mutual love is real / Born not of cash value but of soul and too much time”

Kiana: “I wanted to tell her I was born in the states, but I didn’t know how to say it in English”

Allison: “I imagine men sometimes wonder what a deaf vagina feels like”

Decker: “A Pied Piper drawing / the sickness from our bones / unburying secrets in the backyard”

Ericka: “What is there to save / I’d rather be a victim of the house”

Sam O: “We dream again and we make it a reality somehow”

Sonya: “You inhale exhale and I can use my eyes again”

Otto: “Remember somehow hands are the gateway to all of this”

Charlie R: “I have hopes for this room without windows”

TJ (covering Kai): “Desire grows only when no one is watching the clock”

Jack: “Am I pulling teeth or a rabbit out of a hat”

Lillie: “Sex sells, yup” (takes off shirt)

Zach: “A mirror is one thing, reflections are too”

Chris: “You are not alone”

Ed: “The truth is there are a lot of things I never thought I’d die for”

Alex: “I don’t know how to make this beautiful”

Katya: “Introduce yourself to everyone you don’t know [in the Cantab Lounge]”

Aparna (covering Kai): “Staring down into the lunch cup my reflection becomes pink and orange, I am listening to a multitude of stories all at once.”

Briana (I pulled this line but the entire poem/rant is really one long bar): “What the fuck”

Myles: “My love is an abandoned building I’ve been squatting in for twenty years”

Thank you.

Our feature was Kenny Bradley of ProvSlam fame. A perfect feature for a night like this, Kenny’s raw, authentic, and captivating style took us on a journey. We begin with some name-poems as he led us through his own identity, from stoop kids to dragon ball Z to vivid childhood memories. He then read poems from his brand-new chapbook, Night Science, which combines his STEM-education and spotlights science concepts to a world that doesn’t always see you for who you truly are. It was a wonderful feature that everyone took something different away from.

Tonight! We have an OPEN SLAM! Try out for the 2025 Boston Poetry Slam team! Top two placements in each open slam are qualified for team selection next year. 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! Winner gets $50. Come compete among the best in the region this Wednesday.

See you then!

– Amy ✈️

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