Cantab Recap for March 8, 15, 22, and a Look Ahead

Poetry listeners! It’s been a long, strange, wonderful March, one of our rare five-Wednesday months. Thanks for sticking with us through rain, premature spring, blizzard, and some intense poetry slams for the past three weeks. But wait: there are TWO more shows coming up before we even get to National Poetry Month.

First: we are soooooo close to selecting our 2017 Boston Poetry Slam Team. This Wednesday, March 29, we’ll have a record eleven finalists vying for the coveted five spots on this year’s squad. That’s a lot of poems, so we’ll be breaking up our three-round slam with an early-evening intermission and a spotlight feature from local favorite (and March 8 slam winner) RebeccaLynn. Remember, it’s a $5 cover and a very short open mic, so come early and get your seat, or risk waiting outside the sold-out show and hope for a spot to open for you to come in around 10:00.

And next: on Thursday, March 30, we’ll be welcomed back to Oberon in Harvard Square for the first time in two years for the Third Annual Grudge Match. This show’s got a truly remarkable line-up, featuring your favorites from House and Cantab, plus spotlights from comedian Wes Hazard and newly crowned WOWPS co-champ Oomp Will. It’s only $12 for advance tickets ($15 at the door), and it’s sold out 100% for previous shows, so you might want to get your tickets today!

Looking back over the month, an overdue thanks is surely due to our double-feature from March 8, Raena Shirali and David Winter, two excellent OSU poets on tour together. Congratulations also to our fabulous CUPSI teams, Chicago-bound in just a few short weeks, and especially big ups to the team from Simmons College, who came out on top at our March 15 Cupsi Warm-Up battle! And, lastly, we wish good health and good vibes to Deonte Osayande, who had to cancel his March 22 feature with us for personal reasons… Instead, we can look back on a remarkably successful slapdash CUPSI coaches’ slam, with the big win going to Zenaida Peterson from (where else) Simmons, who eliminated Northeastern coach Emmanuel Oppong-Yeboah in the final round.

Remember: TWO major shows coming up this week, folks. Get those under your belt and you’ll be the most ready for National Poetry Month… You know there are four more Cantab shows coming for April, right? Check it all out on our updated schedule, and can’t wait to see you there.