Cantab Feature for Wednesday, April 20, 2016: Ross Gay and the Champion of Champions Slam

Ross Gay, National Book Award Finalist. Photo by Zack Hetrick.

Ross Gay, National Book Award Finalist. Photo by Zack Hetrick.

Ross Gay is the author of three books: Against Which; Bringing the Shovel Down; and Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, which was a finalist for the 2015 National Book Award in Poetry and is nominated for an NAACP Image Award. He is also the co-author, with Aimee Nezhukumatathil, of the chapbook “Lace and Pyrite: Letters from Two Gardens,” in addition to being co-author, with Richard Wehrenberg, Jr., of the chapbook, “River.” He is a founding editor, with Karissa Chen and Patrick Rosal, of the online sports magazine Some Call it Ballin’, in addition to being an editor with the chapbook presses Q Avenue and Ledge Mule Press. Ross is a founding board member of the Bloomington Community Orchard, a non-profit, free-fruit-for-all food justice and joy project. He has received fellowships from Cave Canem, the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference, and the Guggenheim Foundation. Ross teaches at Indiana University and is currently a Radcliffe Institute fellow at Harvard University. Find him at rossgay.net.

Tonight also marks the final night in our current 8×8 poetry slam series! Eight slam winners will slam off for the season championship and the opportunity to challenge the reigning Champion of Champions, Mckendy Fils-Aimé.

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

The Boston Poetry Slam and the House Slam Present: THE GRUDGE REMATCH, April 17, 2016

The Grudge Match is back! April 17, 2016. Banner by Emily Carroll, photos by Marshall Goff and Rich Beaubien.

The Grudge Match is back! April 17, 2016. Banner by Emily Carroll, photos by Marshall Goff and Rich Beaubien.

THE GRUDGE MATCH: House Slam vs. Boston Poetry Slam
Sunday, April 17, 2016
ONCE Ballroom, 156 Highland Ave., Somerville
doors at 6:30pm, show 7pm-10pm
all ages, 21+ to drink
$10/advance or $15/door (click for tickets)
click for Facebook event

It’s time to celebrate National Poetry month! The House Slam @ the Haley House Bakery Cafe and the Boston Poetry Slam @ the Cantab Lounge are proud to present the return of last year’s GRUDGE MATCH POETRY SLAM between the two venues… 2016: The Rematch!

On Sunday, April 17, greater Boston’s oldest and freshest slam venues will face off against each other in a head-to-head poetry battle for big-city bragging rights. Captain Porsha Olayiwola (House Slam) and Captain Simone Beaubien (Boston Poetry Slam) will lead their teams in the seven-round slamstravaganza, wherein all poets will present new work written EXCLUSIVELY FOR THIS SLAM on topics selected by the Captains.

The slam will be judged by five hyper-critical American-Idol-style judges whom you wish would just start a poetry troupe already: Dark Noise Collective founder Franny Choi, Chicago breakbeat poet Eve Ewing, NOLA poet and Harvard thinker Clint Smith, MTV writer Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib, and hip-hop-poetry icon Jared Paul.

ANNOUNCING THE TEAMS AND TOPICS FOR THIS YEAR’S MATCH:

  • Simone Beaubien vs. Porsha Olayiwola: RECIPE POEM (sacrifice round)
  • Nora Meiners vs. Jordan Peterson: NATURAL DISASTERS
  • Emily O’Neill vs. Angelica Marie: DISINHERITANCE
  • Manvir Singh vs. Oompa: THE SPACE-TIME CONTINUUM
  • Jess Rizkallah vs. Ashley Davis: LIVING IN THIS BODY
  • Joshua Elbaum vs. Jayy Dodd: BLOSSOMING
  • J.R. Mahung vs. Melissa Lozada-Oliva: HOMELAND
  • Chloé Cunha vs. Erich Hagan: SWEAT IN YOUR EYES

The show opens promptly at 7:00 with performances from musician Brian McCarthy, comedian Wes Hazard, and poet Muggs Fogarty. The slam will follow, hosted by New Hampshire punk/poet/unflinching individual Emily Eastman.

This show is all ages, although is recommended for teens and up; you must be 21+ to drink, of course. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door, and all proceeds go to help send the House Slam and Boston Poetry Slam teams to the 2016 National Poetry Slam in Decatur, Georgia this August.

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, April 13, 2016

It’s exactly the middle of National Poetry Month, folks, and we are just hitting our stride here at the Cantab. This week, Cassandra de Alba celebrated the release of her chapbook on Horse Less Press: habitats, with a jam-packed feature of one-minute poems. Did you miss your chance to buy the book? Nope, you totally didn’t: she’s got tons of copies and will be back at the Cantab next week, not to mention still working hard at maintaining our tumblr page.

The slam following Cassandra’s feature was the last slam in our 8×8 series, with previous season champs Emily O’Neill and Chloé Cunha facing off for the ten dollar prize! Chloé took the win and also earns herself a spot in the May 4 World Qualifier Speed Slam.

Next week: we’re back with the Champion of Champions slam and very-temporarily-local poet Ross Gay! But before that, we hope you remember that we’ll be holding our second annual GRUDGE MATCH with the House Slam this Sunday, April 17: tickets are just $10 in advance ($15 at the door) for this all-star show. Check it out!

Tips from the Bar: the Cassandra de Alba Prompt

“Deer in the highlights.”

Encyclopedia Show: Somerville for Thursday, April 14, 2016 — S3V5: CIVIL WARS

Encyclopedia Show: Somerville — CIVIL WARS on April 14, 2016! Art by Melissa Newman-Evans.

Encyclopedia Show: Somerville — CIVIL WARS on April 14, 2016! Art by Melissa Newman-Evans.

Thursday, April 14, 2016
The Davis Square Theatre
255 Elm St. in Somerville
7pm doors, 8pm-10pm show
all ages, $10/$7 sliding scale
click for Facebook event

The Boston Poetry Slam and Catherine Martin present the next installment in a slightly educational monthly series!

Our theme for this month’s show will be CIVIL WARS! Local artists have been invited to bring their inspiring and uplifting takes on the topic of neighbors declaring irreconcilable differences.

The Encyclopedia Show Somerville is a franchise event, 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. Presenting all-original guest performances from local artists, plus work from our recurring cast members:

  • Rob Crean and Chloé Cunha provide clever banter and funny accents appropriate for CO-HOSTING
  • The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library offers MUSICAL SUPPORT
  • Wes Hazard dispenses QUESTIONABLE EXPERTISE with panache and aplomb
  • and The Intern will be borrowing some delicate antique weapons from the local armory.

Live Fact Checking is reluctantly provided by Jack van Sly from the Institute of Human Knowledge and Hygiene. The personal assistant to Mr. van Sly is Jade Sylvan.

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.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, April 13, 2016: Cassandra de Alba

Local favorite and metaphorical deer hunter Cassandra de Alba. Photo by Emily Cataneo.

Local favorite and metaphorical deer hunter Cassandra de Alba. Photo by Emily Cataneo.

Cassandra de Alba’s work has appeared or is forthcoming in Skydeer Helpking, Nailed Magazine, Drunk in a Midnight Choir, and The Nervous Breakdown, among others. She has competed in several National Poetry Slams, representing both Slam Free or Die and Hampshire County Slam Collective, and published several chapbooks, but title-wise is never going to top 2009’s i am running away and joining a circus whose only act is to make the audience feel really, really bad about being happy. Her most recent chapbook, habitats, is on Horse Less Press and all about deer of varying degrees of malevolence.

Horse Less Press presents Cassandra de Alba's chapbook, habitats, with cover art by Sophia Holtz.

Horse Less Press presents Cassandra de Alba’s chapbook, habitats, with cover art by Sophia Holtz.

Cassandra performs both onstage and behind-the-scenes work for the Boston Poetry Slam, serving as open mic host as well as maintaining the venue’s highly popular tumblr page. We are proud to host the release party of habitats in this special National Poetry Month show.

Note that tonight’s open poetry slam is a speed slam 3-, 2-, and 1-minute rounds. Slam winners qualify for the 2016 World Qualifier.

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

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Happy National Poetry Month, Cantabbers! While the CUPSI poets are away, the non-collegiate shall… Rack our brains over 30/30? Yes, most likely: tons of new work hit the open last night to celebrate the nation’s most traditional month to attempt writing thirty poems in thirty days. If you haven’t started your 30/30 project yet, no worries: there’s plenty of April yet left for you to get writing.

In the spirit of packing as much poetry into April as possible, last night we enjoyed double headliners from Chicago’s Thoughtcrime press: Ben Clark and Emily Rose Kahn-Sheahan. The two poets rocked the house with two radically different styles, taking on rural loneliness, urban sensuality, and just about everything in between. They’ll hit Manchester, New Hampshire tonight on their continued whirlwind New England tour.

After our feature, we slam: and by “we,” we of course mean “eight poets with wildly different ideas who all want ten dollars.” A grand group of performers in the speed slam was eventually narrowed to Adam Stone and Colin Killick in the final one-minute round: despite a surprise and intense crowd-walk by Colin, Adam eked out the win and netted himself a spot in this season’s Champion of Champions slam coming up on April 20.

Next week: we’ll be back with a feature from local Cassandra de Alba, celebrating the release of her book, habitats (Horse Less Press), and finishing up the 8×8 speed slam series with the last of the year’s eight open speed slams. We’ll also be ramping up big time for the return of The Grudge Match, our annual head-to-head grand slam event with Boston’s House Slam! This year’s iteration will take place at ONCE in Somerville and sold right the heck out last year; we STRONGLY recommend checking out the awesome line-up and getting your $10 ticket in advance.

Tips from the Bar: Not About Adam

Create a mythology for a (real or imagined) place.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, April 6, 2016: Emily Rose & Ben Clark

Chicago Thoughtcrime duo Emily Rose and Ben Clark.

Chicago Thoughtcrime duo Emily Rose and Ben Clark.

Emily Rose and Ben Clark are a powerhouse poetry duo touring in support of their latest releases from Thoughtcrime press. Starting in Chicago and hitting both the east and west costs in 2016, Emily and Ben’s collections are Mouthy and if you turn around I will turn around, respectively.

Emily Rose Kahn-Sheahan lives in Chicago where she has hosted and curated shows for ten years, including operating as the SlamMaster for Mental Graffiti and host/curator for Real Talk Live. She competed with 5 Chicago teams at the National Poetry Slam as a poet and coach as well as placing 14th at the 2011 Individual World Poetry Slam. Other
things she has done: Founding board member for Chicago Slam Works, former Chair of Poetry for the Bucktown Arts Festival, original cast of The Encyclopedia Show Chicago. Her work has recently appeared in Columbia Poetry Review, TriQuarterly, Muzzle Magazine, decomP, After Hours, and TimeOut Chicago. Her first chapbook, Cigarette Love Songs
and Nicotine Kisses, was published by Cross+Roads Press. Her new chapbook, Mouthy, was released on Thoughtcrime Press.

Ben Clark grew up in rural Nebraska and now lives in Chicago, where he writes and works as an editor for Muzzle Magazine. His first book, Reasons To Leave The Slaughter, was released by Write Bloody Publishing in 2011, for which he toured the Midwest extensively. He’s been widely published in both online and print journals including:
Pank Online, Sundog Lit, Birdfeast Journal, Leveler Poetry, Salt Hill Journal, Atticus Review, Everyday Genius, Radius Lit, Word Riot, and Decomp. He has also been included in several print anthologies including: Bestiary: the best of the inaugural demi-decade of A Cappella Zoo, and in Write Bloody Publishing’s classroom collection Learn Then Burn 2: This Time It’s Personal. He’s been featured online at Verse Daily, and in 2015 was nominated by Mount Island for a Best of the Net award. This summer he was selected for the second time to the Art Farm, a multi-disciplinary artist/writer residency in Nebraska, where he completed a chapbook entitled Dear Fox, Dear Barn with GennaRose Nethercott.

Note that tonight’s open poetry slam is a speed slam 3-, 2-, and 1-minute rounds. Slam winners qualify for the 2016 World Qualifier.

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

Cantab Recap for Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Oh, you think CUPSI’s thinks it’s ready for New England? We know it: YOU’RE NOT READY, CUPSI! Five local teams slammed off in a mock semi-final bout at the Cantab this week, and although the venue was full of love and cross-team support, poets pulled no punches when it came time to hit the stage. The slam was graciously and energetically hosted by our spotlight feature, Tariq Luthun, who’s only just begun to ease into post-CUPSI life himself. You can catch up with Tariq on Twitter or Instagram, or visit his personal website for more details about the work he did for us in the spotlight feature.

Oh, you want slam results? Okay, fine, we got slam results:
1. Emerson College 106.1
2. Simmons College 106.0
3. Berklee College of Music 104.7
4. Northeastern University 102.4
5. University of Massachusetts Boston 99.7

Of course, as you know, the final scores never tell the story. Just looking at the numbers, you wouldn’t know enough to congratulate UMass Boston for their work in their first! regional! ever! leading up to their first trip to the collegiate national slam. This brandy-new team with four very individually developed voices showed poise and great spirit at their first Cantab showing; let’s hope we see these poets back again soon!

You might also not know this, but Northeastern will be making their first trip to CUPSI as a team this year, too. Already with at least one group poem in their pocket (shhhhh), this confident group is ready to turn some heads and shake up some scores in Austin next week.

Smack in the middle at third place in the slam was the always-solid group from Berklee. Coached by a one-time Boston Poetry Slam Team member who also slammed in the Bay, the team’s east-west sound always catches the Cantab ear. Bringing multiple polished duets to the stage, and, uh, one national champion already on their team, Berklee is guaranteed to storm into their prelim bouts coming up at CUPSI.

Oh, and “second place?” What is that, even, by 0.1? Simmons College, rocking a divide between polished performance work and new poems still. on. page, actually tied for top honors with Emerson in rounds one and two. This engaging group of thoughtful and powerful voices will be a force to be reckoned with at the upcoming tournament.

Lastly, and mathematically mostly, in first place, by it-doesn’t-matter-how-much-because-a-win-is-a-win, the team with perhaps the closest ties to the Cantab: Emerson College. Co-coached by one of the venue’s current team members, Emerson brought solid and unapologetic solo work to the stage, remarkable for both energy and well-executed emotional transition. Congratulations, Emerson!

We wish everyone a fabulous tournament next week in Austin: if you’re keen to follow along, start by checking up for the schedule and bout draw at the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational website.

Of course, you can be watching CUPSI scores on April 6, but it’ll have to be in between poems: we’ve got a duo from Thoughtcrime Press in the house! Chicago’s Emily Rose and Ben Clark are touring to support their latest releases, Mouthy and if you turn around I will turn around. We’ll also have the penultimate slam in the 8×8 speed slam series.