Cantab Feature for Wednesday, December 28, 2016: Zanne Langlois and the Champion of Champions Poetry Slam with Jess Rizkallah

Zanne Langlois, Portland (Maine!) poet and former Boston Poetry Slam Champion of Champions.

Zanne Langlois, Portland (Maine!) poet and former Boston Poetry Slam Champion of Champions.

Zanne Langlois lives in Portland, Maine, where she teaches high school English and organizes poetry slams and workshops for high school students in the greater Portland area. She holds a BA in English from Tufts University and a M.Ed. in Teacher Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education and has the student debt to prove it. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Rust + Moth, Three Drops from a Cauldron, The Cafe Review, The Fourth River, Off the Coast, Rattle Poets Respond, Yellow Chair Review, Third Point Press, Menacing Hedge, and English Journal, as well as in the anthologies Passion and Pride: Poets in Support of Equality and Word Portland’s Be Wilder. Her work has been nominated for both Best of the Net and Independent Best American Poetry, and her piece “The Chambers of a Gun” is available on the Button Poetry Channel.

Jess Rizkallah performing at the 2016 Women of the World Poetry Slam in Brooklyn, New York. Photo by Valerie Jane Kwok.

Jess Rizkallah performing at the 2016 Women of the World Poetry Slam in Brooklyn, New York. Photo by Valerie Jane Kwok.

In addition to featuring in numerous venues in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, Zanne competed in Women of the World Poetry Slam in 2012 and at the Individual World Poetry Slam Championships in 2013 and 2015. She is also a former Boston Poetry Slam Champion of Champions, which remains her proudest poetry achievement.

Tonight, our last Wednesday of the year, also marks the final night in our current 8×8 poetry slam series! Following Zanne’s feature, eight slam winners will slam off for the season championship and the opportunity to challenge Jess Rizkallah, the current reigning Champion of Champions.


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. The open mic begins at 8:00 and the Champions of Champions Slam in the 8×8 slam series will begin at approximately 10:00. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.