Cantab Recap for Wednesday, October 3

The house was packed wall to wall last night for a feature from long-time host, slammer, and voice of the Cantab Brian S. Ellis, kicking off with an exceptionally good open mic –perhaps planned to make Brian miss us when he returns to Portland? Brian brought us a great selection of new work, forthcoming in his next book, plus treated us to an old slam favorite as an encore. Our open poetry slam was a seven-poet affair with multiple first-timers taking the stage; at the end of the night, Meaghan Ford secured the final win in this 8×8 slam series, defeating Tim Hopkins for the $10 prize.

Next week: Portland, Oregon is in the house again, this time in the form of Robyn Bateman and Meg Waldron. Kick your inhibitions to the curb for a double-feature from these classy-crass ladies. We’ll finish up the night with the Champion of Champions slam in the 8×8 series, inviting back our last eight slam winners to fight it out, then take on reigning champ Zanne Langlois for the series crown!

By the way: if you can’t wait until Wednesday for your poetry fix, we have a super-easy solution for you… Our next Encyclopedia Show: Somerville will take place on Monday, October 8 at the Davis Square Theater. Doors open at 7:00 for an 8:00 variety show, featuring a fabulous selection of poetry, music, and theater arts on this month’s topic, THE MOON. The show is all ages and just $10, or $7 for teachers, students, or guests in Prohibition-Era dress. Check out our Facebook event for all the details. Hope to see you there!

Tips from the Bar: It Took So Long to Bake It

Rewrite a terrible pop song in your own voice.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, October 3, 2012: Brian S. Ellis

The long-lost Brian S. Ellis.

The long-lost Brian S. Ellis.

Brian S. Ellis is a transplant to Portland, Oregon from his beloved Boston, Massachusetts. He was a part of the Boston Poetry Slam for six years. He has published two books with Write Bloody: Uncontrolled Experiments in Freedom (2008) and Yesterday Won’t Goodbye (2010). He is a co-founder of the arts collective the Whitehaus Family Record.

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, September 26

It was a special night at the Cantab last night, as regulars and newcomers alike turned out in force for Mckendy Fils-Aimé‘s IWPS send-off feature. The open mic was an exceptional one, the kind that’s given us our reputation as the best in the country, with a short and fine spotlight from Richmond-via-NYC poet John Survivor Blake. Mckendy then took the stage for an extended feature slot, showing off all the work he’s been polishing (and some he’s been hiding in his pockets!) for the Individual World Poetry Slam next week in Fayetteville, Arkansas! There’s still time yet for you to grab a ticket or drive down to see the show, but if you aren’t able to get there in person, you can also follow along on the official tournament website to see how Mckendy and the rest of the field are faring.

Next week: Mckendy might be away, but Brian S. Ellis will be in town to play! Our much-missed regular is back for just a few shows in the Boston area, and we’re lucky to get him for a night. This show will sell out, so see our FAQ for tips on getting in to see the open mic and/or feature. We’ll close next week’s show with the last slam in our current 8×8 series.

Tips from the Bar: the April Ranger Prompt

Write a poem about a season in the voice of another season.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, September 26: Mckendy Fils-Aimé

Mckendy Fils-Aimé in a moment of levity.

Mckendy Fils-Aimé in a moment of levity.

It seems like every year in slam is Mckendy Fils-Aimé’s year! This Manchester, New Hampshire poet began his career on the home slam team in 2008, jumped to the Worcester Poets’ Asylum in 2009, came back to trounce his old teammates and achieve the Manchester team again in 2010, then competed for back-to-back Boston Poetry Slam teams in 2011 and 2012. Wait, there’s more: in January of this year, he was also selected to represent the Boston Poetry Slam at the 2012 Individual World Poetry Slam in Fayetteville, Arkansas! Yup, he’s kind of a big deal: you can read a little more about him on our IWPS rep page for him.

This well-loved poet has a cavalcade of local performance credits, publications, and slam wins, but even more importantly, he shows an amazing range of ability; equally able to lay down an intimidating slam performance and gain a foothold in literary publications, this every-day-more-complete poet will perform an extended set for the venue he will represent the following week in Fayetteville. Please note that we’ll be charging a special cover charge of $5 to help fundraise for McKendy’s travel and lodging at the international event.

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. There is no open poetry slam tonight. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $5 tonight to help fundraise for McKendy’s trip to the Individual World Poetry Slam.

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, September 19

It was an exceptionally fun night at the Cantab this week as we welcomed NYC/New Jersey poet Omar Holmon to the stage. Omar absolutely slayed the room with his set, showing off his emotional range from serious to sarcastic, but always returning to home base: screwball nerd comedy that had the room in stitches for the whole show, then leaping to their feat for a standing ovation. Excellent!

Not one to let a comedy-loving crowd slip by, host Kevin Spak took this opportunity to help us all celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day by hosting the slam in character (which definitely inspired this week’s Tip from the Bar). Five swashbucklers slammed off with Meghan Ford facing Bobby Crawford in the final round; despite a consistently strong showing from Meaghan, Bobby’s final poem clinched him the win and the big $10.

Next week: our feature will be our famed (and getting famed-er) Individual World Poetry Slam representative, Mckendy Fils-Aimé! There’s no open slam happening as Mckendy will have an extended set. Cover charge will be $5 to help send our poet to IWPS in Fayetteville, Arkansas to compete on October 4-6.

Tips from the Bar: Beyond Persona

Write a poem in a dialect that is not your own.

Cantab Feature for September 19, 2012: Omar “Ion” Holmon

Omar Holmon at a press conference after saving fifteen baby pandas and a bottlenose dolphin from a burning building.

Omar Holmon at a press conference after saving fifteen baby pandas and a bottlenose dolphin from a burning building.

Omar Holmon is a Rutgers graduate, a four-time New-York-region Grand Slam Champion (2008, 2009 at Jersey’s Loserslam, 2009 at the Nuyorican Poets’ Cafe, and 2010 at Urbana GrandSlam) and the only man alive to punch the planet Jupiter in the face. A self-professed nerd poet, Omar moves effortlessly through the comic and the tragic with a disarmingly sweet stage presence and a whole lotta smarts to boot.

Omar is featured on season two of Verses & Flow (tv one) and as of five minutes ago discovered three species of ferns all of which that he did not just make up to fill space in this bio. He also really likes otters and pandas.

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, September 12

What a sweet night we had with feature Ellie White from Ohio! Ellie brought us some of that famous Columbus sound, both understated and surprising, for a great fall feature. The slam was a hot one, with Michael Monroe taking the win over Matthew Richards in the finals. Excellent!

Our next Wednesday feature will by NYC thinking-man’s-man Omar Holmon. We’ll also continue our 8×8 slams with the seventh open slam in the series.