Happy New Year from everyone at the Cantab! We kicked off January with a completely full open mic and star-studded waitlist. Hosts Jimmy, Nayeli, and Dawn brought both raucous AND wistful vibes to the stage while introducing the first batch of poets of 2023. It was bars after bars after BARS at the mic, with newcomers debuting some especially impressive pieces — looking forward to seeing more of them throughout the year! The mic also included poems ranging in topic from ex slander to web browser history slander to other not-as-slanderous subjects like…the songs troll dolls sing when confronting a series of Capricorn goats? If you know, you know.
Our feature John Paul Davis then took the stage to deliver a mesmerizing set of both subtle and not-so-subtle poems about family, faith, technology, and not answering your phone. He also printed a chapbook exclusively for his feature — if you didn’t get one, be sure to reach out to see if he has any copies left!
Next Week: The renowned Dr. Joshua Bennett will be reading for us. Come on by to see this incredible poet!
– Amy ✈️
Upcoming features!
January 11th, 2023 – Dr. Joshua Bennett
Dr. Joshua Bennett is a Professor of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College. He is the author of three books of poetry and literary criticism: The Sobbing School (Penguin, 2016)—which was a National Poetry Series selection and a finalist for an NAACP Image Award—Being Property Once Myself (Harvard University Press, 2020) and Owed (Penguin, 2020). Bennett holds a Ph.D. in English from Princeton University, and an M.A. in Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Warwick, where he was a Marshall Scholar. In 2021, he received the Whiting Award for Poetry and Nonfiction. His first work of narrative nonfiction, Spoken Word: A Cultural History, is forthcoming from Knopf.
January 18th, 2023 – 20 Questions Slam
Special theme slam! Poets will have around 20 lines to describe the subject of their poem, and then the judges will see if they can guess it correctly. More details to come!
January 25th, 2023 – Open Poetry Slam
You need at least 3 poems to compete. $50 prize for the winner!
Further down the road:
2/22 – Chen Chen
3/1 – Open Poetry Slam
3/8 – Ricky Orng
3/15 – Jarvis Subia
3/22 – Catherine Weiss
3/29 – Gabriel Ramirez
All shows take place at the Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, with one flight of stairs to access the basement room (click for directions and accessibility information). Doors for the show open at 7:15. The open mic begins at 8:00 and the feature performs at approximately 10:00. The show is 21+ (ID/Proof of Vaccination required) and the cover charge is $3.
Boston Poetry Slam Online