Send us feedback anonymously or via email
The 2026 NORTHBEAST REGIONAL POETRY SLAM AND FESTIVAL is this weekend, July 31 – August 2nd! Buy tickets HERE!
Open Mic Highlights 07/15
• “You do not have to be bitten by a Catholic Saint, you can be bitter by a non-Catholic Saint” – directions for applying to an experiment run by Shivank’s poetry
• “Dear Earth, date me” – Emma on carbon dating
• On his Cantab anniversary, Will S wrote a golden shovel about crying at a Noah Kahan concert, and later on the mic Jayda wrote in response to Will’s “You will not die on route 1” poem
• Also inspired by Will S, Aparna wrote a poem using anagrams of the word “anniversary”, which prompted your recapper (Michael F Gill) to also re-read their anagram poem about how “Hotel In Paris” anagrams to “Relationship”
• Ed and Myles both wrote about apocalypses, with Ed commenting how it is only supposed to happen once (!) and Myles reflecting on how their cat being sick makes everything around them feel like an apocalypse
Feature 07/15
This week we had an open poetry slam! This was not for the faint of heart, as it was full of heavy hitters likely practicing for Northbeast. Bobby sac’d his DB Cooper poem that wowed the judges enough that he ended up tied with the second highest score of the night! Rich W, Mugs, Abbie, and Edie all performed well, but the final round was between Ed Wilkinson (reading under the name “Ward”,) and Will Leonard. Will (our current grand slam champion) took the win with a poem after Carlos Williams’ classic “Wet Paint” and is one of the first to qualify for the 2027 BPS team selection slam.
Open Mic Highlights 07/22
• “The list of things I’ll never stop missing is growing too long” – Jocelyn
• Open mic favorite Alia said farewell to us for now by reprising the first poem they performed on the mic, read in both Greek and English
• In an unexpected mind-meld, Jarvis (who wrote in response to Aparna’s “I dream of my mother on her deathbed and…”) and Jayda (who was right after Jarvis) both including lines in their poem about how they hope to be a tree when they die
• There was a short but sweet haiku slam that was won by Will S, but 2nd place finisher Abbie had a great meta-haiku in the first round about being the same height as their opponent, so they didn’t have to adjust the mic stand!
• Wolf poems are now a common occurrence on the open mic! Philip G added one of his own, prompting Shivank to re-read his later on in the night
•Jack’s trippy conversation poem between two people (“I keep seeing the moon during the day”) and Renee’ crescendoing poem on loss and relationships (“I started making a country of your absence”, “I feel your heart may break before it bends into my hand”)
• Long lost former CUPSI poet Chris delivered an incredible piece on grief and the emptiness of drugs after the initial highs: “There is a circle in hell where you are given everything you ever wanted and it doesn’t do anything”, “My favorite thing about grief is that it makes everything about itself”
Feature 07/22
Our feature was one of New England’s favorite performance poets/educators/organizers: Mckendy Fils-Aimé! After being a member of many slam teams and literary communities in the area for over 15 years, Mckendy has finally released his debut full-length collection, sipèstisyon. Mckendy read generously from the book, which revolves around themes of generational trauma, healing, and superstitions. Highlights include a mermaid revenge poem after a Lupe Fiasco song, spooky work about the Loogaroo, and a piece on learning karate as a kid and realizing trauma may be a combat sport. You can watch the feature again on our instagram! Thank you Mckendy. Be sure to buy his book!
Coming Up This Wednesday
On the eve of Northbeast, the 2026 Boston Poetry Slam Team will be featuring tonight before they compete this weekend! Expect an hour-long set featuring solo and group pieces from Will Leonard, Aparna Paul, Bobby Crawford, Jarvis Subia, Mugs Myers, and Kai Wallin!!!
BPS will be one of 16 teams facing off in Cambridge at the 2026 NORTHBEAST REGIONAL POETRY SLAM AND FESTIVAL this weekend, July 31 – August 2nd. Buy your tickets HERE!
– MFG 🚪
Our upcoming features
First timer? Looking for show info? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions!
Sign up for our Newsletter
Boston Poetry Slam Online