Thank you, thank you, thank you! Plus three more thank-yous, because there are five poets and one coach all full of gratitude for the Cantab audience right now; over the course of the last four months, our little three-or-five-dollar-show has raised the not-insignificant amount of money necessary to register our team for the National Poetry Slam, get to Denver on an airplane, sleep in actual beds prior to competition and YES!– we even made our stretch goal of raising enough to bring the team back home at the end of the week.
The 2017 Boston Poetry Slam Team is: Brandon Melendez, Zeke Russell, Mckendy Fils-Aimé, Neiel Israel, Myles Em Taylor. Photo by Marshall Goff.
For those not able to travel to the slam itself to cheer the team on, we hope you agree with us that this past week’s feature was the next best thing. The awesome fivesome of Zeke Russell, Neiel Israel, Mckendy Fils-Aimé, Brandon Melendez, and Myles Em Taylor brought their signature high-volume, high-tenderness work to the stage, both individually and in duets, trios, and a gloriously anxious quintet. Thanks to everyone who purchased chapbooks, authorized bootlegs, and patches; anyone who wants a copy of THIS ROLE WE WILL WIN NO AWARDS FOR or one of Myles’ signature Cantab awning patches will find them for sale at the door.
The team will bout on Tuesday at 7pm MST and then Wednesday at 9pm MST (send your friends in Denver to the McNichols building and the Epernay Lounge, respectively!), then await results of Thursday’s bouts to see who makes the Friday semi-finals. You’ll need to get connected with us on Facebook to see the results, but you might luck out and catch live scoring from some of the venues at npsdenver.com/scores.
And, of course, while just six folks are out of the venue next week, the all-star badass hosts you know and love will be holding down the open mic and a Champion of Champions poetry slam with RebeccaLynn and eight qualified challengers! Come hoot and holler and get your judging on next Wednesday.
Boston Poetry Slam Online