Cantab Feature for Wednesday, April 23, 2014: Hieu Minh Nguyen and the Champion of Champions Slam

Twin Cities poet Hieu Minh Nguyen. Photo credit: Michelle Tacheny.

Twin Cities poet Hieu Minh Nguyen. Photo credit: Michelle Tacheny.

Hieu Minh Nguyen was born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, by a single, Vietnamese-American mother. He is the author of This Way to the Sugar (Write Bloody Press, 2014) He co-coached the 2011 University of Minnesota poetry slam team, which placed fourth at the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational.

Hieu was also a member of the fifth-ranked Minneapolis adult National Poetry Slam team in 2011. In 2012, he was a featured performer at The Equilibrium’s 10-year anniversary show, performing alongside slam legends Patricia Smith and Anis Mojgani. He is currently a member of the Good News Poetry Tour, which travels across the country performing at various colleges and universities. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in publications such as The Journal, PANK, Muzzle, decomP, Anti-, and Indiana Review. He works at a haberdashery.

Tonight also marks the final night in our current 8×8 poetry slam series! Eight slam winners will slam off for the season championship and the opportunity to challenge reigning Champion of Champions Sean Patrick Mulroy.

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. The Champions of Champions Slam in the 8×8 speed slam series will follow. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.

Encyclopedia Show: Somerville for Monday, April 21, 2014 — S2V7: FAST FOOD

Encyclopedia Show: Somerville — FAST FOOD on April 21, 2014! Art by Melissa Newman-Evans.

Encyclopedia Show: Somerville — FAST FOOD on April 21, 2014! Art by Melissa Newman-Evans.

Monday, April 21, 2014
The Davis Square Theatre
255 Elm St. in Somerville
7pm doors, 8pm-10pm show
all ages, $10/$7 sliding scale
click for Facebook event

The Boston Poetry Slam and Simone Beaubien present the SEASON FINALE in a slightly educational monthly series!

The Encyclopedia Show Somerville is an event franchised from the original series founded in Chicago in 2008, wherein invited artists from a variety of performance disciplines present all-new, original works on sub-topics of a single theme. A recurring cast of hosts and characters welcomes the artists with open arms and minds, while the resident Fact Checker is charged with maintaining the integrity of the Encyclopedic Truth of the show.

Our theme for this month’s show will be FAST FOOD! Presenting all-original guest performances from local artists, plus work from our recurring cast members:

  • Aimee Rose Ranger and Kevin Spak provide deft and earnest CO-HOSTING
  • The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library offers MUSICAL SUPPORT
  • Wes Hazard dispenses QUESTIONABLE EXPERTISE with panache and aplomb
  • and Intern Steve Subrizi probably has something to say about vegetables.

Live Fact Checking is reluctantly provided by Jack van Sly from the Institute of Human Knowledge and Hygiene. The personal assistant to Mr. van Sly is Jade Sylvan.

This show in our monthly Encylopedia Show: Somerville series takes place at the Davis Square Theatre, 255 Elm St. in Somerville. Doors and the theatre bar open for a pre-show welcome party at 7:00. The show begins promptly at 8:00 and finishes at 10:00, including a short intermission. This is an all ages show! Admission is $10, or $7 for students, teachers, or guests in Prohibition-era dress.

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Yup, we’ve been waiting for Geoff Kagan Trenchard to come back to the Cantab for almost three years, and it was totally worth the wait. This Juris Doctor Candidate took a tiny break from his life as a student to school us on proper storytelling, fine-tuned word choice, and impeccable stage presence.

To close the night, our final speed slam in the 8×8 series only had four takers… Which meant a good chance of winning the ten bucks at the end of the night, right? Well, whatever you might have thought your chances are, you would have gotten beat by either Meaghan Ford or Emily Carroll on their way to the finals! Slamming all on page, Emily took the high cumulative score in the first two rounds and a victory in the final one-minute round, which puts her in in the sweet spot in next week’s Champion of Champions match.

That’s right: next week, we invite the past eight slam winners back to the show for an all-champs speed slam and a chance to take down reigning champ Sean Patrick Mulroy. But first, we’ll knock their confidence down a few notches by bringing an awesome published slammer to the stage. Get ready to welcome Hieu Minh Nguyen, Write Bloody author and thoughtful man of craft, on his visit to balmy Boston from chilly Minnesota.

Tips from the Bar: Why Adam Doesn’t Drive the Company Car

What is something you have stolen from work that will not get you fired?

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, April 16, 2014: Geoff Kagan Trenchard

Geoff Kagan Trenchard, Def Poet and Penmanship author.

Geoff Kagan Trenchard, Def Poet and Penmanship author.

Geoff Kagan Trenchard’s poems have been published in numerous journals including Word Riot, The Nervous Breakdown, The Worcester Review, SOFTBLOW and Pemmican. He has received endowments from the National Performance Network, Dance Theater Workshop, The Zellerbach Family Foundation and the City of Oakland to produce original theatrical work. As a mentor for Urban Word NYC, he taught weekly poetry workshops in the foster care center at Bellevue as well as in Rikers Island with Columbia University’s “Youth Voices on Lockdown” program. He is a recipient of a fellowship from the Riggio Writing and Democracy program at the New School and the first ever louderARTS Writing Fellowship.

Geoff has performed poetry on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, at universities throughout the United States, and in theaters internationally as a member of the performance poetry troupe The Suicide Kings. His first poetry collection, Murder Stay Murder, is published on Penmanship Books. He is currently a Juris Doctor Candidate for the class of 2014 at the Hofstra University School of Law. He lives in Brooklyn and can be found at his personal website.

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.

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Finally, finally, finally! After a short and sweet spotlight from the much-missed April Ranger, on the just-about-one-year anniversary of the birth of the famous “Ed! Ed! Ed!” chant, the awesomely cynical and tenderly heartbreaking Ed Wilkinson took the stage for a full set of all-new work. Ed took us on an astronomical, mathematical, and (surprise!) personal journey in a set of linked poems unveiled especially for this night. What a beautiful, honest, and emotional journey; we mark ourselves lucky to call Ed our own on so many Wednesday nights.

The speed slam was short a couple of poets, with just a six-person roster competing for the ten-dollar prize, but we enjoyed some great moments throughout, including a shining introduction to long-time Mill City poet Ricky Ormg. The night’s big winner, though, was Nathan Comstock, who grabs one of the last three spots for the 2014 World Qualifier Speed Slam next month.

Coming up next week: charismatic slam veteran Geoff Kagan Trenchard returns for his first feature back since 2010! The speed slam to close the night will be the last in this 8×8 series.

Tips from the Bar: The Nermal Arbuckle Prompt

Somewhere in the world, someone is boxing up all the things in the world that annoy them, and mailing them away… To you. Now what?

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, April 9, 2014: Ed Wilkinson

Ed Wilkinson performing at Manchester's Slam Free or Die. Photo by Christopher Clauss.

Ed Wilkinson performing at Manchester’s Slam Free or Die. Photo by Christopher Clauss.

Ed Wilkinson has been writing and performing poems all over New England for years. He was a member of the 2013 Boston Poetry Slam team and is a current member of the Slam Free or Die loser’s club. He is currently working on several poetry projects that are unlikely to be completed in the near future because he has too many hobbies. These hobbies include but are not limited to: fire spinning, sadness, tabletop miniatures games, barely playing the harmonica and being easily distracted. Ed lives in Manchester New Hampshire and works at a gas station. He considers himself a better disgruntled employee than a writer.

Tonight’s show will also feature an open mic spotlight from April Ranger, beloved Cantab host and three-time Boston Poetry Slam Team member, returning for a visit from NYC. In town for just this one night, April will perform a short set during the open mic portion of the evening.

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.

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.