Welcome back to another Cantab Recap! Lines wound around the bar upstairs for both the usual open mic and the first installment of our monthly workshop series! We began with a workshop by Myles Taylor (who was also our feature,) where we analyzed poems that had different takes on names and what they can and cannot be, ending with attendees writing their own name-based poems!
The open mic and waitlist were PACKED with regulars excited to see our feature. In fact, we only had ONE first timer on the mic, so HUGE shoutout to everyone who came out to read or just listen. On the open, we had Nilya of haiku slam fame do an incredible poem along with, of course, some haiku. We also had an amazing and passionate opening poem from regular Chris, and another hilarious poem from Cameron. It was great to hear staff member Bri again after a brief hiatus, as they read a beautiful piece about grief.
This week’s ✏️Line of the Wednesday✏️ is from Daniel Letona: “It doesn’t matter where I land / It just matters that I fell”
Our feature was THE Myles Taylor, our wonderful, fantastic curator. They celebrated the release of their book Masculinity Parable and the start of their poetry tour on their very own home turf, and it was as warm and as amazing as you can imagine. We got a chance to hear not only poems from the book, but poems from the first few years of Myles’ journey at the Cantab, which began in 2016. We rallied at their poems on service workers and debated the existence of back rooms. We cried as we listened to Boy With Wings regardless if it was your 1st or 101st time hearing it. At the end of the night everyone was suddenly wearing a black motorcycle jacket and blooming with applause. Half of that sentence is true. It was an incredible night, ending with a line of poets stretching across the room, waiting to buy copies of the book. Thank you Myles for the feature and good luck on your tour!!
NEXT WEEK! Our feature is long-time favorite Jess Rizkallah! Jess Rizkallah is a Lebanese writer and illustrator and a 2022 Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellow. Her book THE MAGIC MY BODY BECOMES was a finalist for The Believer Poetry Award, and won the Etel Adnan Poetry Prize as awarded by the Radius of Arab-American Writers and University of Arkansas Press.
See you then!
-Amy ✈️
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