Cantab Recap for Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Happy National Day of Matthew Richards, everybody! No, seriously: the joy you get from a Matthew Richards feature should justify an annual event. This beloved local took his kind heart, sharp wit, and well-crafted work to the stage for a crowd that was thrilled to welcome him. We don’t see Matthew at the Cantab as often these days, so if you’re looking to hear more, you might want to check out his home reading, Slam Free or Die, on Thursdays in New Hampshire.

Speaking of the chilly chilly north: two traveling Portlanders, Zanne Langois and Ellyn Touchette, just so happened to touch down at the bar this Wednesday for spots in the slam. Sure, six other people signed up, but after a series of efficient eliminations, the finals came down to these two ladies who arrived in the same car: in the final round, Zanne edged out Ellyn for the win, the $10, and another shot at the not-so-unfamiliar Champion of Champions title.

Next week: we are thrilled to welcome local favorite and 2013 Boston Poetry Slam Team member Nora Meiners to the feature slot! Nora has been bringing new work, new ideas, and new sass to our stage every Wednesday for more than a year; we’re looking forward to see what this prolific performer will select for her show. We’ll finish up the night with a poetry slam in the 8×8, open to all comers as usual.

Tips from the Bar: Backtrack

Write, or rewrite, the poem you’ve written… That you realize is wrong.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, November 27: Matthew Richards

Matthew Richards, New Hampshire poet.

Matthew Richards, New Hampshire poet.

Matthew Richards is a long-time regular at the Slam Free or Die reading in Manchester, NH and a sporadic regular at the Cantab open mic. He competed in the 2011 National Poetry Slam as part of the Manchester team, and has performed at Sarah Lawrence College and other venues across New England since 2009. His work has appeared in journals such as Tiferet, Star*Line, and OVS and he was nominated for a 2011 Rhysling Award by the Science Fiction Poetry Association. He was also a participant in the Occupy protests in New Hampshire, and is working on a manuscript about his experiences being an activist and interacting with Manchester’s homeless population. He is excited to come home to the Cantab and share his poetry with one of his favorite audiences in the world!

Matthew will be vending his newly released CD, Granite Fire Alarm, portions of which have aired on the Indiefeed Performance Poetry Podcast.

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

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, November 20, 2014

If you hadn’t heard of Craig Nelson or the Northampton Poetry show before last night, your life has now changed for the better! This once-upon-a-time Boston Poetry Slam host shook off a decade of dust right in front of us and took the sold-out room on a wild ride to Paris, the Grand Canyon, and, uh, Worcester… We’re proud to say he’s one of the voices who made this room what it is, and pleased to hear that he’s out and about again: writing, featuring, and booking at his own venue. Next time you find yourself way west of the city, do stop in and say hello.

Our slam that night was a doozy, even though it was the first short of eight performers all year! Seven bloodthirsty poets took the stage for three rounds that were full of surprises, including a hot-shot first-timer taking down a past team finalist, a sacrifice that warmed the room up for several poems that clocked in at less than one minute, and, finally, a big upset in the finals as Truj took down host Sean Patrick Mulroy for the big ten-dollar prize.

Next week: you’ll want to arrive early if you want a spot in the open mic or the slam, because our feature is north-of-the-border local Matthew Richards. One of the sweetest personalities in slam, Matthew is merciless about his word choice and craft. Come see this distinctive and distinguished reader for a fresh perspective on your Thanksgiving holiday. We’ll close the night with the fourth poetry slam in our current 8×8 series.

Tips from the Bar: the Nora Meiners Prompt

Write about a scene from a movie that changed your life. Consider how your take was different than what the director may have intended.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, November 20: Craig Nelson

Craig Nelson, Northampton Poetry curator.

Craig Nelson, Northampton Poetry curator.

Craig Nelson represented a variety of New England teams at the National Poetry Slam from 1998-2001, including the Boston Poetry Slam team in 2001. He co-hosted the Boston Poetry Slam at the Cantab Lounge from 2001-2002. From 2002-2011, Craig disappeared from the spoken word scene in order to find his fortune. He did.

He currently runs Northampton Poetry, the largest open mic reading in Western Mass. Craig is a fan of Shakespeare, Dante, and classic foreign cinema. His work covers such topics as Love Calvinism, Philly’s gayborhood, the big-money world of spoken word poetry, tattooed baristas, climate change, climate change as it pertains to tattooed baristas, and his goal of riding a barrel over Niagara Falls. His poem “The Tide,” which borrows from Henry V’s St. Crispin’s Day speech, has rallied various open mike readings to several small yet meaningful victories over the pervasive technology of whatever year this is.

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

Encyclopedia Show: Somerville for Monday, November 18 — S2V3: THE ZODIAC

The Encyclopedia Show: Somerville -- Monday, November 18: THE ZODIAC (artwork by Melissa Newman-Evans)

Monday, November 18
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 next installment 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 THE ZODIAC! 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 gets his job back.

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, November 13, 2013

Oh, you just knew it was going to be crazy in the Cantab on the first near-winter night of the year. The house was packed early with folks hoping to get a good seat for the feature… Which meant the open mic was packed with hard-working, sweet-talking folks, including a couple of wonderfully performed covers, a surprise group piece, and world-traveler David Lee Morgan, a London poet who’ll be hitting up our Encyclopedia Show this coming Monday. But all that was of course just a warm-up for the unparalleled Janae Johnson; Janae brought us a perfectly timed and flawlessly performed set, bringing us a selection of the powerful and thoughtful work that made her the cross-town Lizard Queen. We also got a taste of some brand-new work(!) and even a group piece with her Lizard Lounge teammate, Porsha Olayiwola: don’t forget that everyone of age is welcome to join in the fun at the Lizard’s slam every Sunday. Our own slam followed Janae on this night and featured some hot competition, with Nora Meiners defeating Allison Truj in the final round.

So you’ve pretty much planned out your next week, right? On Sunday you can head to the Lizard Lounge for a visit (the feature is one of our favorite open mic folks, Tom Daley, by the way). Then on Monday you can pop over to the Davis Square Theatre at 7pm when doors open for the Encyclopedia Show: Somerville, a variety show that brings a selection of artists to compose on a monthly theme: this month’s topic is THE ZODIAC, and our performances will include music by Steve Subrizi, comedy by Wes Hazard, a short film by Gary Hoare, and poetry from Austin James Bay and Princess Chan!

If you can even think past those two events, folks, then you’ll also have your eye on next Wednesday’s feature at the Cantab: that’ll be Craig Nelson, 2001 Boston Poetry Slam Team member and Northampton Poetry curator. And, yes, we’ll be continuing our slam series with another open competition in the 8×8 series. See you there!

Tips from the Bar: Rumors of the Alpacalypse Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

You have custody of a llama for twenty-four hours. What do you do?

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, November 13: Janae Johnson

Janae Johnson performs at the Emerson Poetry Project. Photo by Evan Walsh of the Berkeley Beacon.

Janae Johnson performs at the Emerson Poetry Project. Photo by Evan Walsh of the Berkeley Beacon.

Janae Johnson is a spoken word performance artist originally from the “mean and preppy suburbs” of Sacramento, California. Shortly after moving to Boston in 2010, she attended her first poetry slam at Lizard Lounge and immediately became addicted to the spoken word scene. As a former collegiate basketball player at Virginia State University, Janae uses poetry slams to fuel her competitive edge; and uses writing to become a more creative, loving, conscious and well-rounded human being.

A two-time slam team member for the Lizard Lounge, she was part of the powerhouse top-20 team from this year’s National Poetry Slam. She is the reigning “Lizard Queen” at the eponymous Lounge (the venue’s top slam title) and she also acts as coach and advisor for the Simmons College Slam Team.

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