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Open Mic Highlights
• It was an open mic full of quotable lines!
• “Content warning: heteronormativity” – Scott Timothy
• Edie’s surprise narrative on the assassination of William Mckinley
• “I wish I had antlers–they’d stop the small talk” – Philip G
• “The magician walks in the door and asks why the sky isn’t in here and I say it is and that’s the whole fragment. ” – March Penn
• “The table is a midnight lake I can’t wrap my arms around” – Charlie R
• “If you want to swallow a lightning bolt, you need a whole weekend” – Mica (who blew away the audience with this poem!)
• Kiana’s “Pussy Innuendos”, which disarmed the audience with its unexpected metaphors and brazen discussion of sex and sexuality
• Sue Savoy re-read a 2008 poem meditating on a kind of almost unbearable positivity that she could never approach, and both Jayda and Danielle G read Pride-inspired poems about their queer awakenings/histories
Feature
We got to hear a full feature from Chiara Di Lello this week! Chiara read from both their book, Childless Millennial, as well as new work from an upcoming manuscript about their Italian-American heritage, which unpacks the stereotypes and their experience around it. A poet with a charismatic stage presence, strong banter that offered important context for each poem, and the ability to really crystallize what they wanted to say in each poem with no excess, Chiara had the audience’s attention throughout. There were a series of poems on the concept of Nulliparous (a fancy medical word ot describe a woman who hasn’t given birth to a child) and its implications (“I haven’t created”, “…haven’t begun”), as well as an insistent and intriguing poem about what the music and intervals in West Side Story say about the characters. It all went by too fast. Please come back Chiara!
Coming Up This Wednesday
You won’t want to miss this! We will have a double feature with locals Will Leonard and Tru Kwene, 2026 slam champions of BPS and Just Be(Loved), who have combined forces to craft a set together!
Bios: Will Leonard (he/they) originally from Durango Colorado, is a transmasculine writer, cat & horse dad, bartender, mug collector and the 2026 Grand Slam Champion of the Boston Poetry Slam.
Tru Kwene (she/her) is a spoken word poet from Big Boston, MA who has always been most proud of the opportunity she has to serve her community as an educator and mental health professional. Tru is also the 2026 Grand Slam Champion at Just Be(Loved) in Boston.
Inspired to write together by a deep love and respect for one another’s artistry, these two poets created a set to not only celebrate the freedom and beauty of living in their truth but to also stand firmly in clear opposition to the system of injustice that harms and claims the lives of queer people all over the globe. With a combined experience level of nearly four decades, each poet brings extensive knowledge as well as a unique style in creating a set centering survival, and all of the emotions that come with it. Tru Kwene and Will are honored to present, Poem Project: The Reckoning.
See you later! 🐊
– MFG 🚪
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