Cantab Recap for Wednesday, October 24

If you were at home last Wednesday night, but suddenly were awash in a feeling that you were missing something wonderful… Let’s just say you should have been at the Cantab. Gypsee Yo gave a wonderful feature, showing off why she’s reached the top level of slam competition as well as recognition in the overall community. We were also privileged to hear the sound of some of her work in Albanian– while surrounded by a group of Cantab visitors who knew exactly what she was talking about. We thank Gypsee for the opportunity to hear some rarely-read work in a remarkable environment.

After a powerful female feature, we somehow ended up with… An all-man slam? Eight guys put on a pretty great show, with Zeke Russell taking the final round over some newer short work from Oz. Zeke takes home the ten bucks and qualifies to try out for the 2013 Boston Poetry Slam Team. Team Selection Slams for 2013, by the way, will begin in January this year: check out the series rules for evolving dates and news.

Next week: it’s time to celebrate Halloween at the Cantab! This year, we’ll be doing it with a Dead Poets’ Slam, featuring more than sixteen locals in character as their favorite poet-gone-by. The slam is full, but everyone else is encouraged to perform in the voice of a dead poet on the open mic– or dress in costume– or both! Get ready for the scariest Halloween yet: all poetry, all night.

Tips from the Bar: What, You Wanted a Prompt?

Write a poem that is also a writing prompt.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, October 24, 2012: Gypsee Yo

Gypsee Yo, Albanian poet from Atlanta, holds her audience rapt.

Gypsee Yo, Albanian poet from Atlanta, holds her audience rapt.

Gypsee Yo (Jonida Beqo) is a native of Albania, currently residing in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a performance artist whose work aims to blur the lines between genres. Her background includes successful projects in theatre, dance, storytelling, and an extensive spoken word and slam poetry resume. She is the regional Southern Queen of Slam (2008), Atlanta’s Slam Champion (2006–2009), a three time National Poetry Slam semi-finalist (2006–2008), and a National Poetry Slam final stage feature in Austin, TX (2007). In addition, she has ranked two times as first runner-up in the Women of the World Poetry Slam in Detroit, MI (2009), and Columbus, OH (2011).

Her three poetry collections in Albanian, I Do Not Fit Inside my Body (1998), The Last Nail (1999), and When Life Grows Roots Inside a Suitcase (2003) are critically acclaimed titles. She has toured internationally and has been recognized for her work in theatre with the Dell’Arte Diversity Award by the American College Theatre Festival and the Kennedy Center in DC (2004). Her work has been highlighted both in her native country and in the US in television and radio features, including Spoken!, Nashville’s NeoSoul Radio, and Atlanta’s Voice of the Arts.

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, October 17

Happy birthday to yoooouuuu, Boston Poetry Slam at the Cantab Lounge! Our twentieth anniversary of poetry at the Cantab fell on Tuesday, October 16, so of course we had to celebrate. To do it, the only two SlamMasters the show has ever had –that’s Michael Brown and Simone Beaubien— got together for a head-to-head double feature. The two poets started with a little back-to-back banter, but soon fell into their old ways of speaking only with poem after poem for the hour-long set. If you ever wondered who the Cantab sounds like –and why– you got your answer on Wednesday night.

We also released the Boston Poetry Slam’s first ever anthology (with a spine!) this week. Edited by Adam Stone and with layout work by Melissa Newman-Evans, The Cantab Lounge Anthology: 20 Years of Poetry contains more than 300 pages of poetry and history about the reading. You can pick one up at the bar any Wednesday night for just $20.

An anniversary and book release sure are one reason to party… But we plan to continue celebrating performance poetry every week at the Cantab Lounge! Next week, we’ll be doing it with Albanian-gone-southern-U.S. poet Gypsee Yo, as well as the next open poetry slam in our 8×8 series.

Tips from the Bar: Read More Comics, Carlos

Write about a garden blooming with something that gardens are not usually made of.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, October 17, 2012: Michael Brown and Simone Beaubien

In celebration of the Boston Poetry Slam’s twentieth anniversary, the show’s founding and current SlamMasters will co-feature. Expect a night of classics, new work, and surely at least a few surprises from Michael Brown and Simone Beaubien.

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 features performs at approximately 10:00. There is no open poetry slam tonight due to extended feature time. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, October 10

It was an exceptionally big night at the ‘tab last night, folks, as tons of audience turned out for our open mic, double feature, and Champion of Champions poetry slam! The night started off with some open mic standouts, including lots of slammer entourage from Portland (Maine), a least a couple of local newcomers, one visitor all the way from Los Angeles, and 2009 Boston Poetry Slam Team member Maxwell Kessler making a surprise spotlight appearance with some exciting new work. We then welcomed double-feature Meg Waldron and Robyn Bateman from Portland (Oregon) to the stage, where these two opposite-of-shy ladies put the smackdown on bowling, god, and rotisserie chickens, much to the joy of the crowd.

Finally, it looks like the Champion of Champions slam convinced lots of folks to stay out pretty late on a school night… Just about every seat was taken to watch our last eight slam winners fight it out for an opportunity to challenge the reigning champ, Zanne Langlois. With two of the slammers out of town for the week, the six-poet format meant a three-poet melee of Kayla Wheeler, Mckendy Fils-Aimé, and Ed Wilkinson, then a second triad of Michael Monroe, Bobby Crawford, and Meaghan Ford. Recently-returned IWPS rep Mckendy and Emerson Poetry Project standout Bobby both rose to the top, with Mckendy’s basketball family poem trumping Bobby’s baseball love poem by a narrow margin. As season champ, Mckendy then stood up to challenge Zanne for the Champion of Champions spot in a one-off-round featuring only new poems. Despite the cachet Mckendy had built up with the audience and (remarkably consistent) judges, his on-page chapbook reading wasn’t enough to catch Zanne’s polished and prepared piece! Zanne took the round handily, retaining her championship title and securing an invite to slam again after the next eight open events.

Whew! Think that was fun? We’ll be back next week with more: to celebrate twenty years of poetry at the Cantab Lounge, the venue’s only two SlamMasters will double-feature in an extended spot. Come see Michael Brown and Simone Beaubien give a poetic retrospective of the Boston Poetry Slam’s storied history.

Tips from the Bar: Honesty Not Required

Write an employee recommendation for your parents.

Cantab Feature for October 10, 2012: Robyn Bateman and Meg Waldron

Meg Waldron and Robyn Bateman, two poets from Portland, Oregon, are touring the country with the sole intention of making you remember your freedom of laughter. Join them for a journey through human empowerment. Rediscover humility and honesty and your disgusting sense of humor at their double feature.

Portland, Oregon poet Meg Waldron.

Portland, Oregon poet Meg Waldron.

Meg Waldron is a writer, traveler, and YouTube enthusiast. She was a member of the 2011 Portland Poetry Slam team and competitor at the National Poetry Slam in Boston, Massachusetts. Meg’s poetry is described as sharp and honest, making crowds keel in laughter at how ridiculous our very serious lives can be. She is the author of a chapbook, Sex, Drugs, Tuck n’ Roll (2011), and has had her writing featured in many poetry collections across the country. Meg’s spirit animal is a baby deer with wings.

Robyn Bateman from Portland, Oregon shows off her performance chops.

Robyn Bateman from Portland, Oregon shows off her performance chops.

Robyn Bateman is a performance poet best described as a perverted, crass old man disguised in the body of a charming young woman. Robyn is the reigning City Champion of Portland, and was a finalist at the 2011 Individual World Poetry Slam and a 2012 competitor at the Women of the World Poetry Slam. Robyn rallies audiences with her high energy, quirk-with-bravado performance style and her imaginative narratives on the simple beauty of what it is to be human. Robyn has two chapbooks and has been published in a number of poetry and fiction journals.

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 features perform at approximately 10:00. The Champion of Champions poetry slam in the current 8×8 series will follow. (There is no open poetry slam tonight.) The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.

The Encyclopedia Show: Somerville — Monday, October 8, S1V2: THE MOON

Encyclopedia Show: Somerville -- S1V2: THE MOON

Columbus Day, Monday, October 8
The Davis Square Theatre
255 Elm St. in Somerville
7pm welcome party, 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 new 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 the October show will be THE MOON! Presenting all-original guest performances from:

  • Megan Thoma, Encyclopedia Show: Providence founder and Rhode Island teacher, will bring an educational poem about MOON SNAILS;
  • Meg Waldron and Robyn Bateman, on tour from Portland, Oregon, will perform a poem together about BLOOD MOON;
  • Selina Johnson of the Boston Youth Service Network poems some ideas about LUNAR ECLIPSE;
  • Matt D, Boston comedian, will consider VARIOUS AND SUNDRY COMEDIC TOPICS including those relating to The Moon;
  • Obehi Janice of Fufu and Oreos presents a theatrical piece on the ORIGIN OF THE MOON;
  • Jonathan Clark reads fiction about FIGURES SEEN IN THE MOON;
  • Betty Widerski, astronomer, uses an electric violin to explain TIDES;
  • Cal Folger Day musically interprets what it means to SHOOT THE MOON.
  • Additionally, our house band, The Michael J. Epstein Lunarial Spaceship, will present a highly edutaininal musical interlude about the LUNAR LANDER.

In addition to our invited artists, we encourage you to welcome the work of our recurring cast members:

  • Aimee Rose Ranger and Kevin Spak provide deft and earnest CO-HOSTING
  • The Michael J. Epstein Library offers MUSICAL SUPPORT
  • Food writer Chef Bro presents an educational treatise on the history of MOON PIES
  • And Intern Steve Subrizi pretty much just tries not to mess up the show.

Live Fact Checking is reluctantly provided by Jack van Sly from the Institute of Human Knowledge and Hygiene.

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.