Sure, Wednesday might have been the biggest travel day of the year, and snowing and icing sideways in the first truly nasty storm of the winter, and some folks might have been staying home brining their tofurkeys or whatever… But! A hardy group of souls turned out to see Ken Arkind‘s high-energy feature, including sweet/awkward airplane stories and a long-form story-journey that took us all to a childhood beginning in Steamboat Springs. What an excellent show! We look forward to welcoming Ken back again in the future: we’re happy to say he has family here, and we’d love to have him headline again.
After Ken’s feature, seven slammers took the stage and three tough-as-nails judges lined up to tell them about themselves. After a series of wildly diverse ideas and styles, the top two finalists came down to open mic regular Mike Leon and longtime listener/onetime collegiate slammer Emily O’Neill. Mike took the final round and the ten bucks home, earning himself a spot in next month’s Champion of Champions slam.
Next week: we kick of December with Providence poet and activist Franny Choi! Franny has competed on all three PSI finals stages (NPS, IWPS, and WOWPS), plus she’s been published in Poetry magazine, so we know she will have something for everyone. We’ll also offer the fifth open poetry slam in the 8×8 series.
Boston Poetry Slam Online