Cantab Recap for Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Is it 2016 already? Have we already said goodbye to 2015, including our beloved 2015 Boston Poetry Slam Team? Okay, very well, time marches on… But first: for our last show with the reigning team, we were extra-proud to present long-time Cantab regular, team favorite, and *temporary* New York City resident Sophia Holtz! Sophia’s set was an intense, poetry-packed half-hour of nearly all new work from her program, including a selection of beautiful new hand-made, hand-numbered chapbooks. The house was packed, so if you’re reading this, chances are you were there– and can hold this in your heart as a “remember when” for later years when Sophia’s too big to hope to fit all her fans in our bar.

The night finished up with the Last Chance Slam, a last chance (obvs) for eight poets to try to sneak into tryouts for the 2016 Boston Poetry Slam Team. Poets came from far and wide to compete, with the finals coming down to the uncasual personal work of Angelica Aguilera vs. the performative political poems of Colin Killick. Colin took the top score in the final pairing, making him the two! time! back-to-back! champion! of the Last Chance Slam.

Colin’s invited back to slam NEXT WEEK, by the way: that’ll be the first heat of the Team Selection Slams, where we winnow the field to see who survives to Semi-Finals in February. Our Last Chance Slam winner joins Adam Stone, Bobby Crawford, Josh Elbaum, JR Mahung, Marshall Gillson, Neiel Israel, and Simone Beaubien in a two-round elimination slam hosted by 2015 IWPS champ Porsha Olayiwola. Remember that we’ll have a special $5 cover that night to raise funds to send the team to the 2016 National Poetry Slam in Decatur, Georgia!