Cantab Recap for Wednesday, September 30, 2015

The first week of the month is always a party at the Boston Poetry Slam, folks: this week we got to enjoy Jared Singer at the Cantab on Wednesday, plus Krysten Hill at Moonlighting on Thursday. Welcome YAWKtober indeed (h/t Mckendy)! Our Cantab slam this week was a doozy, with four poets fighting for the sixth spot in the upcoming Champion of Champions slam later this month: bartender Bobby Crawford eventually got the better of bar patron Nora Meiners, earning himself a ten-dollar tip and a shot at the championship on October 21.

Next Wednesday: we’re back with L.A. poet Jeremy Radin, as well as a sweet spotlight from touring NOLA artist Beck Cooper. We’ll also hold the seventh slam in the current 8×8 series.

Tips from the Bar: How Many Cantos Now?

To present as a poem: a list of titles you’re not sure you can write the poems to.

Moonlighting: A Queer Open Mic and Reading Series Featuring Krysten Hill on October 1, 2015

This reading is part of our monthly LGBTQ series, Moonlighting. Click here for more information about this recurring show.

The featured reader for October 1, 2015 is Krysten Hill.

UMass Boston MFA poet Krysten Hill.

UMass Boston MFA poet Krysten Hill.

Krysten Hill is originally from Kansas City, MO, and she currently lives and teaches in Boston, MA. She received her MFA in poetry from UMass Boston. She has featured poetry on stage at The Massachusetts Poetry Festival, Cantab Lounge, U35 Reading Series, Mr. Hip Presents, Literary Firsts, and The Encyclopedia Show: Somerville among others. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Winter Tangerine Review, Muzzle, PANK, apt, Amethyst Arsenic, Damfino Press, ROAR, and Write on the DOT. You can find out more about her work or contact her at KrystenHill.com.

This show in our monthly Thursday LGBTQ series takes place at Fazenda Coffee Roasters, 3710 Washington St. in the Jamaica Plain area of Boston. An open mic begins at approximately 7:00 p.m. and the headliner follows the open mic. The show is all-ages and a $3 donation is requested.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, September 30, 2015: Jared Singer

NYC poet Jared Singer. Photo by Jonathan Weiskopf.

NYC poet Jared Singer. Photo by Jonathan Weiskopf.

Jared Singer is an audio engineer and poet who lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. He has represented New York eight times at the national slam level, including two Finals Stage appearances at the National Poetry Slam. He is a five-time New York City Grand Slam Champion and his work has appeared in The Legendary, Union Square Lit Mag, Poets of the Blue Ridge, The Huffington Post, and more. He writes frequently about his favorite things in the world— science, comic books, and love. Jared believes in the healing power of kittens, whiskey, and listing things in groups of three.

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 23, 2015

One of the most excellent things about a live show, poetry regulars know, is the feeling that you are watching something unique and unreproducible happen right before your eyes. Last night’s Cantab show might have been one of the year’s best examples: a short, storyline-intense spotlight feature from Claudia Wilson, followed by a full set of old-and-new highly personal from Princess Moon, wherein neither poet had written product for sale but instead the ephemeral experience of their one-time performance. If you were there, you’re lucky enough to have that memory for yourself… If not, you might want to mark your calendar so you don’t miss any of our upcoming can’t-miss shows.

The slam that night was a wild six-poet affair, welcoming two first-time Cantab performers to the melee along with four experienced performers. The final round came down to a bartender vs. bartender death match, culminating in a big win for Adam Stone over Bobby Crawford, earning him $10 more in tip money and an invite back to the Champion of Champions slam on October 21.

Next week: it’s been a long time coming, but we finally have NPS Finals Stage favorite Jared Singer coming to feature in our tiny basement! We’ll also continue our 8×8 slams with the sixth open poetry slam in the series.

Tips from the Bar: The Tiniest Halloween

Consider the smallest, most local, most personal cultural appropriation you can describe and own.

Cantab Feature for Wednesday, September 23, 2015: Princess Moon

Poet and teaching artist Princess Moon. (Photo by Paul Tran, edited by Jess X. Chen.)

Poet and teaching artist Princess Moon. (Photo by Paul Tran, edited by Jess X. Chen.)

Princess Moon is a second-generation Cambodian-American poet, teaching artist, and award-winning community organizer. She has graced the Finals stage at the 2011 Brave New Voices, as well as at the 2012 and 2013 Louder Than A Bomb Massachusetts. In 2014, she coached the winning team of the Louder Than A Bomb Massachusetts competition and received the Charmaine Santiago Galdon award for her tireless community building. Shortly thereafter, she took a hiatus to focus on new projects. Princess Moon ended her hiatus with the debut of her shadow theatre play Bedtime Stories at the much-anticipated BLASTFEST8 multimedia festival.

Princess’ most current work explores the lives of Cambodians during the 1960s-1980s: from the birth of swooning, psychedelic rock to the death of seven million singing souls caused by the infamous Khmer Rouge communist genocide. As the daughter of two Khmer Rouge genocide refugees, Princess Moon strives to educate others about the past and the present suffering state of Cambodia with stories of love, trauma, death, and survival.

Claudia Wilson, Ohio transplant and recent grad.

Claudia Wilson, Ohio transplant and recent grad.

Tonight’s show will also feature a spotlight from local south-of-the-river favorite Claudia Wilson. Claudia loves poetry, is from Cleveland/Columbus, Ohio, and recently graduated from Boston College where they studied Social Work. They love building community, listening to music, and watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

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, 2015

This past Wednesday, Nora Meiners brought a quirky, thoughtful, vellum-wrapped set to the Cantab stage, performing a few well-loved favorites and putting some polish on a few more that hadn’t seen the light of the basement since their open mic debut. What a fun journey and show! The slam was a five-poet affair that came down to newly refreshed slammer Quentin Lucas vs. an up-and-coming Jess Riz. After two round-robins, these top two poets emerged as the top scorers, with Jess defeating Quentin for the big $10.

Next week: poet, teaching artist, and birthday girl Princess Moon features, with a spotlight from yet another local badass, Claudia Wilson! The night will finish up with the fifth open slam in our current 8×8 series.

Tips from the Bar: The Valerie Loveland Prompt

What guide do you wish the MBTA had provided to you before your first ride?

SCHEDULE CHANGE: Cantab Feature for Wednesday, September 16, 2015: Nora Meiners (was Venessa Marco)

Due to circumstances beyond her control, Venessa Marco will not be able to attend the Cantab show this week. We are working to re-book the artist at her earliest convenience. In the meantime, the Boston Poetry Slam is pleased to substitute an excellent last-minute local of the utmost quality:

Boston-via-Portland poet Nora Meiners. Photo by Christopher Clauss.

Boston-via-Portland poet Nora Meiners. Photo by Christopher Clauss.

Nora Meiners started writing poems in 2011 after multiple decades of not writing poems. She began attending the Cantab at that time and discovered that apparently her heart has a secret knock and Cantab was a room of poets who knew it. Since then, Nora has competed in the National Poetry Slam for the Boston Poetry Slam (2013) and the Lizard Lounge Poetry Jam (2014).

Nora lives in Cambridge and is raising a six-year-old son as a single mom. She spends her Wednesday nights hosting for the Boston Poetry Slam and her days working as the “missing pieces person for a jigsaw puzzle company.” Yes, that is the real job title. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter, or tumblr.

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.

Biography of the postponed feature:

NYC poet Venessa Marco.

NYC poet Venessa Marco.

Venessa Marco is an African-Caribbean writer by way of Cuba and Puerto Rico and is currently pursuing her PhD in English. She was a member of the 2012 Da Poetry Lounge slam team from Hollywood, California and a member of the third-place 2013 Nuyorican Poets Cafe slam team. She placed sixth at the 2014 Women of the World Poetry Slam. She currently resides in Harlem, loves jazz and is a self-proclaimed Wu Tang Clan member.