Cantab Feature for Wednesday, December 12: Mike McGee

Mike McGee, internationally touring perfomer.

Mike McGee, internationally touring perfomer.

“Mighty” Mike McGee is an international spoken word artist, writer, performer, speaker, slam poet and comic. He has performed in thousands of venues all over North America, and was one of the first Americans ever to perform poetry at the University la Sorbonne in Paris, France.

McGee began performing comedy and poetry to audiences at home in San Jose, California in 1998. As a Poetry Slam competitor in the U.S., Mike has competed at the National Poetry Slam on team San José several times. In 2003, McGee won the coveted National Poetry Slam Individual Championship, besting over 300 nationally ranked poetry slammers. He has since toured over 300,000 miles throughout the United States and Canada. In 2006, McGee became the first person to win two separate individual titles by being crowned the 2006 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion, besting over 70 of the world’s best ranked slam poets. His “stand-up poetry” has been written about in Writer’s Digest magazine, and been featured on NPR, HBO and CBC. Mike McGee books internationally and is on tour damn-near 300 days a year.

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

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, December 5

Melissa Newman-Evans features in front of a packed house. Photo by Marshall Goff.

Melissa Newman-Evans features in front of a packed house. Photo by Marshall Goff.

Melissa Newman-Evans is on a roll! After a fabulous open mic, Melissa rocked a full thirty-minute feature with no breaks and plenty of inside Cantab jokes. Her brand-new book, practically a love letter to the bar itself, enjoyed had a unique launch perfectly appropriate to the artist– whom you’ll be able to catch behind the bar next week, of course. The slam that night was packed with 2013 team hopefuls, but it all came down to the battle between crowd favorites Steve Subrizi and Eddy Martinez. Ultimately, Eddy’s energy and engagement took the win and the big ten dollar prize.

We’ll be back again this Wednesday to do it all over again, of course: our next feature will be mighty Mike McGee, National and World slam champion, fresh off a European tour. We’ll close the night with one of the last open poetry slams of the series.

Tips from the Bar: You’re Selling What?

Bartender Adam Stone presents the following unlikely marketing triad…

Adam Stone presenting a visual Tip from the Bar. Photo by Marshall Goff.

Adam Stone presenting a visual Tip from the Bar. Photo by Marshall Goff.

What is this calendar selling? Or, alternately, what strange combination of concepts might you propose to market your own idea?

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, December 5: Melissa Newman-Evans

Melissa Newman-Evans performs at the Attleboro Arts Museum. Photo by Marshall Goff.

Melissa Newman-Evans performs at the Attleboro Arts Museum. Photo by Marshall Goff.

Melissa Newman-Evans has been the waitress and a regular reader at the Boston Poetry Slam since 2007, and has been designing chapbooks for individuals in the community for even longer. Currently, she provides graphic design for the Boston Poetry Slam, the Encyclopedia Show: Somerville, Bicycle Comics poetry books, and the upcoming 2013 National Poetry Slam in Boston. She was a member of the 2012 Boston Poetry Slam Team, and has headlined poetry shows around the northeast. If you wanted a tonic and gin, she thinks you should have ordered it that way.

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 poetry 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 28, 2012

It was an excellent night on the Cantab open mic this week as writing audience turned out in droves to see local favorite Nicole Terez Dutton. Slam whistles and sounds of approval provided a gentle bassline to Nicole’s musical, subdued reading style of her complex work. If you missed it, you’ll want to catch up with Nicole for sure to get a copy of her new book, If One of Us Should Fall.

The slam was another jam-packed one as we count down the days to selecting the 2013 Boston Poetry Slam Team. This week, Emerson College up-and-comer Keiran Collier fell to returning regular Sean Patrick Mulroy, who takes the five-spot in the current 8×8 series as well as the ten-spot (worth two PBRs plus tip)!

Next week, we’ll be back with a feature from 2012 slam team member and year-round bartender Melissa Newman-Evans. She’s been promising us a special show, so don’t miss your chance to see this one-of-a-kind set! We’ll close the night with another open poetry slam.

Tips from the Bar: The Billy Tuggle Prompt

You have forty-five minutes until you are born.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, November 28: Nicole Terez Dutton

Local poet Nicole Terez Dutton.

Local poet Nicole Terez Dutton.

Nicole Terez Dutton’s work has appeared in Callaloo, Ploughshares, 32 Poems, Indiana Review, and Salt Hill Journal. Nicole earned an MFA from Brown University and has received fellowships from the Fine Arts Work Center, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Cave Canem and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She is the winner of the 2011 Cave Canem Poetry Prize for If One Of Us Should Fall. Nicole’s latest book is locally available at Brookline Booksmith, The Grolier, Harvard Bookstore and Barnes and Noble, and online at Amazon and Powell’s. She can be contacted through her personal website.

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 poetry 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 21

Some folks might choose to spend the night before the holiday with their family: instead, we decided to have a Wednesday before Thanksgiving with a sarcastic, booze-slinging, intellectual who loves us so much he just can’t show it. What? It was a perfect evening with bartender Adam Stone, who offered a stingingly good selection of new work, plus some very strong drinks for those interested and able to imbibe. The slam featured newcomers and old friends alike, with Bobby Crawford taking top honors in his continued quest for the Champion of Champions title.

Next Wednesday: local poetic sensation Nicole Terez Dutton offers up work from her new book, If One of Us Should Fall, read as beautifully as you’d expect. We’re closing in on the end of qualifications for slam team selection, so expect hot competition in the open 8×8 poetry slam.

Tips from the Bar: Seven Percent of What?

In honor of Adam Stone’s feature this week, Sue Savoy presented a prose poem about a retail situation that built from the mundane to the totally absurd. What everyday story could you tell about your life that takes on epic proportions when brought to the stage?

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, November 21: Adam Stone

Bartender-feature Adam Stone. Photo by Marshall Goff.

Bartender-feature Adam Stone. Photo by Marshall Goff.

Adam Stone is an eleven-time competitor at the National Poetry Slam, two-time performer at the Individual World Poetry Slam, and the local Dirty Haiku Champion for 2012. A prolific writer and consummate performer, Adam has provided a weekly writing prompt at the Boston Poetry Slam since 2010, and coordinated a related workshop at the 2011 National Poetry Slam. He is the founder and leader of the Friday Night Sometimes Writing But Mostly Drinking Group, and the sole editor of the Boston Poetry Slam’s twentieth anniversary anthology.

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