Feature for January 11, 2012: Scott Beal

Scott Beal

Scott Beal

Scott Beal is a poet, educator, freelance writer, and stay-at-home father of two who grew up in Michigan, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Ohio, and earned his MFA from the University of Michigan in 1996. His poems have appeared recently in Indiana Review, Dunes Review, Radius, and in a split book with Rachel McKibbens and Aracelis Girmay entitled Jangle the Threads (Red Beard Press, 2010). He teaches poetry and fiction workshops at the Neutral Zone and 826michigan, and serves as a writer-in-the-schools for Dzanc Books in Ann Arbor and for InsideOut Literary Arts in Detroit. He recently co-authored Underneath: The Archaeological Approach to Creative Writing with Jeff Kass (Red Beard Press, 2011).

In addition to his feature, Scott will also present an early-bird workshop at the Cantab before doors open for the show.

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.

Workshop for January 11, 2012: “The Terrible Discovery and the Mechanics of Time” with Scott Beal

Workshop: The Terrible Discovery and the Mechanics of Time

Join Scott Beal, the night’s scheduled feature, for an early-bird workshop at the Cantab Lounge before the show. Scott will welcome all comers to his one-hour workshop: The Terrible Discovery and the Mechanics of Time. From the workshop leader:

“The best poems don’t merely describe or explain their subject to an audience; they build a unique experience for the audience to feel and move around in. In this workshop we’ll experiment with manipulating time – slowing down, speeding up, controlling the rate at which information is withheld and disclosed – in order to recreate the experience of a terrible discovery for maximum impact. Our process will include some guided brainstorming as well as examination of poems by Frank O’Hara, Kathryn Starbuck, and Amy Gerstler before bringing to life our own brilliant and heartbreaking discoveries.”

Doors for the show open at 5:30, and the workshop runs from 6:00 to 7:00. Cover charge is $5, which includes admission to the evening show. The venue is 18+ (ID required).

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, January 4, 2012

HOLY THERESA DAVIS, CANTABBERS! We do like to start each New Year with a bang, and Theresa’s explosive Cantab feature for the first Wednesday of 2012 was no exception! What a fun, fabulous, excellent show from this off-the-hook Southern WOWPS champion. The slam was a little sparse, but turned out to be full of folks who were not fooling around: Christian Drake edged out Maya Phillips for the win in the final round.

Next week: we’re back with Scott Beal, a Michigan MFA poet touring the great northeast. Don’t miss Scott’s super-cool early-bird workshop at the Cantab before the show: doors open at 5:30 with a $5 cover (includes the rest of the show) for The Terrible Discovery and the Mechanics of Time. Cooooool.

Tips from the Bar: Post-Apocalyptic Prompt

Write about what the next doom-sayers will have to say once we survive the predicted 2012 apocalypse.

Feature for January 4, 2012: Theresa Davis

Theresa Davis

Theresa Davis

Born into a family of writers and entertainers, Theresa Davis has expressed her abilities over several mediums: she designed and created lines of hand-crafted dolls and books, released two music CDs, and started a clothing line for children. One of the southeast’s most in-demand performance poets, Theresa took top honors in the 2011 Women of the World Poetry Slam representing Atlanta. A teacher for 18 years, she currently teaches middle school using the arts across the curriculum. She may be contacted at theresa-davis.com.

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 28, 2012

We had a special treat for the last Wednesday of the year folks: Champion of Champions Adam Stone slammed off against challenger (and SlamMaster) Simone Beaubien in a best-of-seven title match! A remarkable open mic crowd was on hand to watch, including a few much-missed travelers back from college, and a few all-stars visiting for Christmas. Trevor Byrne-Smith stopped in from Denver, bow-tie and all, to host the competition. Oh, the winner? Simone over Adam in six rounds.

Contrary to popular rumor (who started that, anyway?), this is NOT the last Champion of Champions match at the Cantab. However, our format will be changing: you can get all the details here on our snazzy new website.

Our next show will be the annual demo slams at Boston’s First Night! Come on out to the Hynes Convention Center in room 208 to see us any time between 7:30 and 11:00. We’ll be back at the Cantab next Wednesday with 2011 Women of the World Poetry Slam Champion Theresa Davis, plus an open slam in the new 8×8 series.

Tips from the Bar: The Key Is Restraint

Write a poem about a song without using any of the song lyrics. DON’T SING.

Feature for December 28, 2011: Champion of Champions Poetry Slam with Adam Stone

Boston Poetry Slam

Boston Poetry Slam

Once again, it’s time for the seasonal Champion of Champions Poetry Slam. Bartender and perennial Cantab Slam Team member Adam Stone has held the venue’s highest title since September of 2010, and has proved undefeatable in four consecutive matches! Tonight, this reigning champ will take on the fall season challenger (that’ll be Simone Beaubien, the 12/21 slam winner) in a best-of-seven match for a $100 prize.

Doors for the show open at 7:15. The open mic begins at 8:00 and the slam will begin at approximately 10:00. There is no open poetry slam this evening. The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, December 21, 2011

This past Wednesday, we had not one feature (Amethyst Arsenic), not two (including editor Samantha Milowsky), but nine! To celebrate the magazine’s winter issue release, Samantha put together a super line-up of poets who were published therein: Tony Brown, Sam Cha, Karen Locascio, Michael Lynch, Gordon Marshall, Jacqueline Morrill, Alexander Nemser, Tara Skurtu, and Jade Sylvan! To close out the night, Sean Patrick Mulroy and Simone Beaubien slammed off head-to-head in a genuine (not really) grudge match, with Simone taking the win and the season championship.

Next week: it’s the end of 2011, and, to celebrate, we’ll be asking Champion of Champions Adam Stone to defend his series title! The challenger will be Simone Beaubien, last week’s winner and season champ. The bartender and SlamMaster will fight it out the series’ last best-of-seven match ever, showing off some seriously deep pockets and likely some hearty trash-talking skills as well. There’s no open slam tonight, so hang out and enjoy the bar after the show!

Tips from the Bar: Raid Your Own Closet

Take two completed poems of your own and combine them into one. (The more incongruous, the better.)