Cantab Recap for Wednesday, April 2, 2014

National Poetry Month at the Cantab started with a bang last night, poetry fans! Or maybe we mean: a cannon boom, a wicked bass beat, and a couple of writing hands’ worth of cracking knuckles. Our open mic readers came prepared with really excellent work to celebrate the season, highlighted by Cameroon-via-D.C. poet and professional hugger Pages Matam, who dropped a short set on the open mic and shared his work from God Circus with an enthusiastic crowd.

Our feature, Khary Jackson, then took the stage for a complete and mind-blowing set: with a few songs accompanied by his own looped cello, and a few more powerful vocal solos, Khary showed off his musical, theater, and writing chops in a room hanging on his every word and note. Although he didn’t have his latest book with him to vend, you can purchase the brand-new Any Psalm You Want online at his publisher, Write Bloody.

Lastly, we had a rip-roaring six competitors for the slam, a full half of which just may have been from north of north of the border! In a statistically likely showdown, the last round came down to two rising Maine performers: Robin Merrill’s deadpan demeanor carried her all the way to the one-minute finals, but the intense (and intensely fashionable, yes, really) Ellyn Touchette took the victory and the ten dollars. What a hot night!

With spring in the air, of course, it’s only going to get hotter in our little basement. Don’t miss the show next week when our outgoing Team Selection Slam Champion and ultra-loveable cynic Ed Wilkinson takes the stage for a long-overdue feature. We’ll close the night with the penultimate slam in our 8×8 speed slam series…

And don’t forget, of course, about our first Thursdays reading, Moonlighting! Our April show features Jha-D Williams of the famous If You Can Feel It, You Can Speak It reading, kicking off at 7:00 p.m. at Fazenda Coffee Roasters in JP.

Tips from the Bar: Think About Yourself for a Minute

Write a praise poem in praise of your (own) least favorite body part.

Moonlighting: A Queer Open Mic and Reading Series Featuring Jha D Williams on Thursday, April 3, 2014

This reading is part of our monthly LGBTQ series, Moonlighting. Click here for more information about this recurring show.

The featured reader for April 3 is Jha D Williams.

Jha D Williams, founder of If You Can Feel It, You Can Speak It, performing at the Philly Dyke March.

Jha D Williams, founder of If You Can Feel It, You Can Speak It, performing at the Philly Dyke March.

Jha D is the founder of the “If You Can Feel It, You Can Speak It” open mic at Jamaica Plain’s Milky Way, as well as the dreamer of EN-ER-GY, an annual showcase of eclectic Boston talent. She has been writing and performing for over ten years, and her poetry has afforded her the opportunities to participate in documentaries as well as be featured at and MC various events such as the True Colors Conference and the Philadelphia Dyke March. Additionally, she has performed and conducted writing workshops at the University of Pennsylvania, Bucknell University, Northeastern University, Boston College, and UMass Boston. Her pieces are birthed from her experiences, and she therefore writes about self-love, identity evolution, sexuality and growth through emotions. She firmly believes in the power of expression and professes that “there is true art in spreading your own truths.”

This show in our monthly Thursday LGBTQ series takes place at Fazenda Coffee Roasters, 3710 Washington St. in the Jamaica Plain area of Boston. An open mic begins at approximately 7:00 p.m. and the headliner follows the open mic. The show is all-ages and a $3 donation is requested.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, April 2, 2014: Khary Jackson

Khary Jackson, St. Paul poet, playwright, and Cave Canem Fellow.

Khary Jackson, St. Paul poet, playwright, and Cave Canem Fellow.

Khary Jackson is a poet, playwright, dancer and musician. He is a Cave Canem Fellow, and thus has further reason to adore black people. He has written twelve plays, one of which (Water) was produced in 2009 at Ink and Pulp Theatre in Chicago. He has been a recipient of several grants, including the 2012 Cultural Community Partnership Grant, 2010 Artist Initiative Grant for Poetry from the Minnesota State Arts Board, and the 2009 VERVE Spoken Word Grant from Intermedia Arts. As a performance poet, he has enjoyed great success in national competition, ranking nationally in 2007, 2008 and 2009, as well as winning the National Poetry Slam with the St. Paul team in 2009 and 2010. His first poetry book, Any Psalm You Want, was published with Write Bloody Publishing in the spring of 2013.

Note that tonight’s open poetry slam is a speed slam 3-, 2-, and 1-minute rounds. Slam winners qualify for the 2014 World Qualifier.

Pages Matam, spotlight feature visiting from Washington, D.C.

Pages Matam, spotlight feature visiting from Washington, D.C.

Tonight’s show will also feature a spotlight by Pages Matam, visiting from D.C.! Pages Matam is a multidimensional national touring artist, residing in the D.C. area, but originally from Cameroon, Africa. He is a Write Bloody author, playwright, and award-winning slam poet with passions in the field of youth, activism, and education. Along with his greatest accomplishment, being a father, he is also a proud gummy bear elitist, bow-tie enthusiast, professional hugger and anime fanatic. As he takes stage-– as a poet, educator, or host-– be prepared to be taken on an experience of cultural, socially conscious, and personal discovery unapologetic in its silly, yet visceral and beautifully honest in its storytelling. Be here no later than 8:30 to make sure you catch Pages’ mini-feature on the open mic! The poet will have his chapbook, God Circus, on hand for fans to purchase.

This show in our weekly Wednesday series takes place at the Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge. Doors for the show open at 7:15. The open mic begins at 8:00 and the feature performs at approximately 10:00. An open speed slam in the 8×8 series will follow. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Congratulations to the 2014 Boston Poetry Slam Team, officially selected at Finals last night: Janae Johnson, Omoizele Okoawo, Sean Patrick Mulroy, Meaghan Ford, and Melissa Newman-Evans!

The 2014 Boston Poetry Slam Team (clockwise from upper left): top scorer Janae Johnson, Sean Patrick Mulroy, Omoizele Okoawo, Meaghan Ford, Melissa Newman-Evans. Photo by Marshall Goff.

The 2014 Boston Poetry Slam Team (clockwise from upper left): top scorer Janae Johnson, Sean Patrick Mulroy, Omoizele Okoawo, Meaghan Ford, Melissa Newman-Evans. Photo by Marshall Goff.

We’d have given you a spoiler alert, Cantab fans, but we know that with so many folks live-tweeting, Facebooking, and probably making high-stakes non-cash bets all over this slam, the fans at home probably knew the official count before some of the audience in the bar. Congratulations to the team, and thanks to Marshall Goff for some sweet photos of the fab five that will be repping us in Oakland, California at this August’s National Poetry Slam!

We’ll have a full play-by-play recap for you as the photos start to roll in, of course. In the meantime, here’s the final standings after three cumulative rounds:

  1. Janae Johnson 85.0
  2. Omoizele Okoawo 84.2
  3. Sean Patrick Mulroy 83.1
  4. Meaghan Ford 82.3
  5. Melissa Newman-Evans 82.0

  6. Mckendy Fils-Aimé
  7. Bobby Crawford
  8. Marshall Gillson
  9. Michael Monroe

Obviously, five team members means four heartbreaks, and it still smarts to have to let go of Mckendy, Bobby, Marshall, and Michael. These guys each brought remarkable, beautiful, and important work to the stage… And we also heard a rumor that they are all in the running for other NorthBeast slam teams in Manchester, Providence, and elsewhere (see our links to the right for details on those slams). We wish their competitors good luck, because they are sure going to need it in order to stand up to the powerful work these guys are slinging!

Lastly, we would be remiss if we did not thank our five HARDCORE judges, who lasted three tough rounds of wicked competitive work. Congrats to Kelsey and Dennis on their questionable anniversary, to Corey on his daughter’s intellectual and artistic development at Brown, to Ryan for being the only judge brave/foolish enough to volunteer, to Ally for arriving exactly on time for the toughest job of the season, and for Ginny who is absolutely, beyond the shadow of a doubt, qualified to judge a poetry slam.

Now: wave goodbye to March’s lion tail, folks, and get ready to greet the cruel, cruel (figurative) wasteland that is National Poetry Month! That’s right, April has arrived, and with it the riot of blossoms that is Khary Jackson‘s poetry. He’ll be in town as next week’s feature on April 2, followed by a 3-2-1 speed slam that’s open to the first eight to sign up. Hooray!

Tips from the Bar: the Scott Woods Prompt

The title for your poem: “The Meteorologist’s Real Agenda.”

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, March 26, 2014: Team Selection Finals

The Cantab’s Team Selection Slams are the venue’s biggest, wildest poetry slams of the year. The venue’s March selection is one of the earliest in the country, which gives them extra time to prepare for this year’s National Poetry Slam in Oakland.

Finalists after the February 19 Semi-Finals will slam in the following order in the first round (and draw randomly for second and third round order):

1. Michael Monroe
2. Melissa Newman-Evans
3. Mckendy Fils-Aimé
4. Omoizele Okoawo
5. Marshall Gillson
6. Sean Patrick Mulroy
7. Meaghan Ford
8. Janae Johnson
9. Bobby Crawford
invited to sacrifice: Sierra Lister, Princess Chan

The top five poets at the end of the evening will comprise the 2014 Boston Poetry Slam Team.

After four previous rounds in the last two months, plus with a new poem requirement each of the poets must have fulfilled, you can expect hot competition, tense strategic moves, and the mostly finely-polished performance work of the slam season.

This show in our weekly Wednesday series takes place at the Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge. Doors for the show open at 7:15. A SHORTENED open mic begins at 8:00 and the slam begins at approximately 9:00. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $5; proceeds will go toward funding the team’s trip to the National Poetry Slam in Oakland this August.

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, March 19, 2014

What a week it’s been so far at the Boston Poetry Slam. After a rollicking, hilarious show at the Encyclopedia Show on Monday (don’t forget to check out our season finale on April 21, by the way), we had just a day to recover before preparing for a visit from our very favorite president ever, Scott Woods! Scott trekked all the way from Columbus, Ohio, to explain why is still a librarian, what kind of student would steal your Nina Simone CD but not your vodka, and how the problem, actually, is not the watermelon.

You can get Scott’s book, We Over Here Now, online at Brick Cave Books… Or grab one in person tonight (Thursday, March 20) at his Slam Free or Die show in Manchester. You also can thank BPS official photographer Rich Beaubien for a few of these cool shots he took of Scott last night:

Speaking of Manchester: how many nights a week does SFoD workshopper and BPS 2013 team member Ed Wilkinson do poetry, anyway? Last night, Ed took the speed slam after a crazy tie in the one-minute round over Lowell’s own King of the North, the villanelle-loving Nathan Comstock. (If you missed out on the show, by the way, you can make it up to Ed by joining him for his Cantab feature on April 9.)

So ends our last open slam of March… Which means that next week must be THE BOSTON POETRY SLAM TEAM SELECTION FINALS! Excuse our volume: that’s just a little bit like the sound of nine poets checking the mic at once in preparation for our three-round zero-elimination slam next week. At the end of the night, the top five poets remaining will represent the Boston Poetry Slam at the 2014 National Poetry Slam! Remember, it’s a $5 cover to help us get all the way to Oakland this year, so pack a sawbuck and a slam-newbie friend and come out to help us select the team next Wednesday.

Tips from the Bar: Something Simple for a Change

Write a poem that is an argument against something you believe in.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, March 19, 2014: Scott Woods

Scott Woods, Columbus MC and former president of Poetry Slam, Inc.

Scott Woods, Columbus MC and former president of Poetry Slam, Inc.

Scott Woods is the author of We Over Here Now (2013, Brick Cave Books) and has published and edited work in a variety of publications. He has been featured multiple times in national press, including appearances on National Public Radio. He was the President of Poetry Slam Inc. and currently MCs the Writers’ Block Poetry Night, an open mic series in Columbus, Ohio. In April of 2006 he became the first poet to ever complete a 24-hour solo poetry reading, a feat he bested with six more annual 24-hour readings without repeating a single poem. You can visit him at scottwoodswrites.net.

Note that tonight’s open poetry slam is a speed slam 3-, 2-, and 1-minute rounds. Slam winners qualify for the 2014 World Qualifier.

This show in our weekly Wednesday series takes place at the Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge. Doors for the show open at 7:15. The open mic begins at 8:00 and the feature performs at approximately 10:00. An open speed slam in the 8×8 series will follow. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.