For some reason, the Wednesday closest to Valentine’s Day is likely to see a wave of romantics flooding into the Cantab Lounge, suddenly struck with the notion that an open mic poem to a date is the best way to express love on this annual Hallmark-fest. Not to worry! To stem the tide, we present Awkward Date Night (or, as we call it for the newspapers, Erotic Poetry Night). Whether it be deeply sensual or casually raunchy, our extra-long open mic welcomes all erotica, from the lightly titillating to the downright dirty. Bring your loved one(s) at your peril: if they last the night, maybe it was meant to be.
If you’ve got the stamina to last the open mic, then you’ll want to stick around for the Boston Poetry Slam’s first-ever Love vs. Death Poetry Slam! Produced by host, open mic regular, and game designer Kevin Spak, this head-to-head slam will pit poets slamming on the side of Love against poets supporting the side of Death (that’s right, two classic Valentine’s Day themes):
TEAM LOVE | VS. | TEAM DEATH |
Kemi Alabi | vs. | Sam Teitel |
Michael Quigg | vs. | Michael Monroe |
April Penn | vs. | Zeke Russell |
Meaghan Ford | vs. | Marshall Gillson |
Nathan Comstock | vs. | Patrick S. |
Chloé Cunha | vs. | Gemma Cooper-Novak |
Sean Patrick Mulroy | vs. | Sophia Holtz |
Inspired by our monthly Encyclopedia Show, competing poets will be offered subtopics on their respective teams in order to create brand-new work for the slam. In the spirit of this event, we’ve of course threatened the Love team with Death if they lose… And the Death team with the only fate worse: Love. See you there!
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. An erotic-themed open mic begins at 8:00, and the Love and Death slam (advance sign-ups only) will begin around 10:00. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.
Boston Poetry Slam Online