Cantab Recap for Wednesday, December 28, 2016

It was a big night at the Cantab to close out the calendar year, folks, wherein a murderer’s row of slam winners lined the back bar, all awaiting a chance at the title held by Jess Rizkallah. First, though, one of our past Champions of Champions took the stage for a feature; Zanne Langlois drove down from the frozen north to bring us a year-end of set of nearly all-new work, plus an incredible chapbook of thirty prompts designed to kick-start your writing for 2017. What an excellent gift!

Once Zanne’s feature closed (and she ran out of books), we moved on to the long-awaited slam. Five slammers had braved the cold Cambridge night to come for the title of Jess Riz, reigning champ back in town from her program in NYC. After two rounds of slam, Meaghan Ford and Kylie Noelle rose to the top of the game; Kylie defeated Meaghan in the head-to-head final round to take the season championship, then let her $50 prize ride to challenge Jess… Taking the big win, the $100, and the title! Congratulates to Kylie, our newest Champion of Champions of the Cantab Lounge.

Next week: we get 2017 started off right with Nkosi Nkululeko, the 2016 NYC Youth Poet Laureate. We’ll also hold the Last Chance Slam, your very last shot to get into the 2017 Team Selection Slams, which kick off on January 11 and January 18. Gird your poems! We’ll see you next year!