Cantab Recap for Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Holy springtime, insomniac poets! Warm-weather slam fans thawed out early enough yesterday to pack the house at open mic time, all in anticipation of a super-sharp feature from Jesse Parent. This two-time Individual World Poetry Slam runner-up showed off his incredible performance chops and wild persona work in a clown-filled roller coaster of a feature. Missed your chance at his work? This was his last show in New England this spring, but you can pick up The Noise That Is Not You (Sargent Press) on Jesse’s personal website.

After the feature, of course, we slam! Speed slam, that is: our 3-, 2-, and 1-minute round has brought out a number of speedster poets, not least those who are traveling to Albuquerque to compete in the Women of the World Poetry Slam next week. Our slam’s final pairing came down to two New-Mexico-bound ladypersons: veterans Nora Meiners and Sophia Holtz, both testing one-minute poems for the tournament. Sophia took top honors and the $10 in the final round: good luck to both in the desert next week!

We, of course, will be withstanding the warm mud of New England spring next Wednesday. And how better to celebrate than with the collegiate stylings of the Nationals-bound! In our annual CUPSI Warm-Up, teams from Emerson, Simmons, and Berklee will slam off to prep for their own upcoming tournament. Come catch a rising star! (We actually have room for one more team in this event, so email the SlamMaster if you have a college team who’d like to fill out a 4×4.)