Last night, 2011 Cantab slam team member McKendy Fils-Aimé rocked an amazing poetry-dense set for an enthralled crowd. A true nail-biter of a slam was won by Meaghan Ford, who eliminated Z in the final round.
Next week: Theo “Lucifury” Wilson, NPS 2011 Champion from Denver, swings into town to feature. The night will close with another open poetry slam.
Hailing from Manchester, New Hampshire, McKendy Fils-Aimé is a four-time competitor at the National Poetry Slam since 2008, representing Slam Free or Die, the Worcester Poets’ Asylum, and, of course, the Cantab. In early 2011, he toured the country as part of a poetry quartet called No More Ribcage. Some of his work can be found in literary journals such as Amoskeag, Radius, and Borderline.
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.
Last night, we got a visit from the world’s winningest slam poet, Alvin Lau! Alvin jam-packed his set with poetry and took us on a wild ride through a solid variety of work. The slam was won by NYC traveler Brian Omni Dillon, who defeated New Hampshire’s Ed Wilkinson in an out-of-state final round!
Next week: 2011 Cantab Slam Team member (and proud 603’er) McKendy Fils-Aimé, plus another open poery slam.
Featured poet Alvin Lau
Alvin Lau is a Chicago native, writer of poetry and prose, and proud son of Chinese immigrants. An avid competitor in poetry slams, he is the highest ranking Asian-American slam poet of all time and has won more high stakes poetry slams than any other poet in the world. He is a two-time champion of Louder than a Bomb: the Chicago Youth Poetry Slam, two-time champion of Brave New Voices: the National Youth Poetry Slam, a four-time regional slam champion, a five-time national finalist and 2006 and 2011 individual runner-up, a Pushcart Nominee, and in 2007 he was named “Poet of Conscience” by Amnesty International.
His work has appeared across various media, including Rattle Magazine’s Tribute to Slam, the Poetry Foundation online, National Public Radio, numerous literary journals and anthologies, and the fifth and sixth seasons of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. He has shared stages with Nikki Giovanni, Talib Kweli, and Buddy Guy, and performed at hundreds of colleges across the country, including Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, and Sarah Lawrence College. Favorites include mangoes, tequila, and Lupe Fiasco.
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.
On some cold nights, it’s extra sweet to hunker down at the Cantab and enjoy a night from all the locals. We had a particularly solid open mic, followed by long-awaited feature Sophia Holtz. A high-talent slam was won by Sean Patrick Mulroy, who took the final round over Meaghan Ford.
Next week: NYC/Chicago poet Alvin Lau swings through for a feature, plus another open poetry slam.
We enjoyed a cosy fall evening down in our basement bar last night, with a stellar open mic topped by a feature from Wil Gibson. This consummate touring professional snuck us in between two tours of warmer climes just to break a few hearts and make us whole again. The slam was won by returning regular Nate Leland, who eeked out a final round victory against Stone Pigeon host Heidi!
Next week: Sophia Holtz features/explodes our minds, followed by another open poetry slam in the 8×8 series.
It was an extra-special night at the ‘tab last night, folks, as Alexander Nemser treated us to his one-man show, “Moshe Feldstein: Icon of Self-Realization.” If you want a summary of what happened… We can’t offer it. You’ll just have to see it for yourself! The jam-packed slam that followed the show was won by Sam Teitel, who edged out returning regular Nate Leland in the final round.
Next week: northeast champ Wil “One L” Gibson visits us from Portland, Maine. We’ll also have another open slam in the 8×8 series.
Beer Slam? What Beer Slam? We don’t remember any Beer Slam… Oh, wait, it’s coming back to us now. Four pick-up teams slammed their way to tipsy glory at last week’s event; the Beer Chasers (Melissa, Adam, Maya, and Oz) taking top honors at the end of the night. Thanks to everyone who came to support the poets and the bar!
This Wednesday: Alexander Nemser makes a stop at the Cantab for a full feature. We’ll also welcome back April Ranger from her adventures representing us at the Individual World Poetry Slam. The poetry slam will be an open competition in the 8×8 slam series.
Boston Poetry Slam Online