Cantab Recap for Wednesday, January 22, 2020

It’s been an exceptionally sweet January on the open mic, and this past week was a great highlight: lots of newcomers, lots of returnees, and a warm feeling of listening and being listened to all night. The night was headlined by writer and teacher Devin Kelly, a storyteller with a long-reaching arc of poetics and emotion to his work. Among other events, you can catch Devin hosting the Dead Rabbits reading every other week in Manhattan.

Our open slam, the last of January, saw two fresh-faced finalists face off in a sixty-second battle for a ten-dollar prize. Open mic regular and favorite Briana took the top honors, with Sara H. collecting another berth in our fabulous list of poets qualified for the 2020 Team Selection Slams. Looking for an opportunity to slam? We’re taking February off from competition, but we’ll offer four more chances to qualify in the month of March.

Next week: we close out our January with a feature from House Slam co-founder and Boston Poetry Laureate Porsha Olayiwola. Porsha will have copies of i shimmer somtimes, too on hand for sale; this will be a very popular night, so folks hoping for a spot on the open mic are advised to be in line for doors before we open!