Boston Poetry Slam May Newsletter
Hello Poet!
Welcome to the May installment of the Boston Poetry Slam's monthly newsletter! April was National Poetry Writing Month, which we celebrated in various ways. The Cantab basement saw several talented newcomers and the usual shenanigans from our regulars, while the Jamaica Plain Brewery saw the successful continuation of Slam Adams!
Read below for what occurred, a look ahead, and other important updates.
Features and Monthly Recap:
Since the last newsletter, we featured SIX incredible poets. See below for details, and be sure to check out the Feature Link Corner at the end of the newsletter for details on their work.
Beloved veteran Cantabber Brian S. Ellis provided us with a jaw-droppingly fantastic feature. We all got the privilege of existing within the world Brian’s words create. There were tales of the perils of copywriting, Occam’s razor, and honestly what it means to live. There was not one, but two standing ovations, a truly one-of-a-kind feature. Thank you Brian! See recap from that night here.
Greg Smith gave us an energetic, exuberant, echoing feature, on their BIRTHDAY! They dove into poetry containing stories of their past and even their future. Greg makes you feel things I can guarantee you’ve never felt before, and the image of a Phoenix rising from a bathroom sink is forever burned in my mind. See recap from that night here.
Lynne Schmidt brought her service dog, Zoe, who very politely sat on stage and watched the whole open mic! Lynne’s work holds your hand as she guides you through some incredibly hard topics, detailing the visceral emotions that one can hold through tough times and how those emotions can change over time or linger. Notably, Lynne also had a very lovely and well-designed merch table. See recap from that night here.
Durane West probably broke the record for number of cool forms (specifically, index poems) read on the mic within thirty minutes. We even got a contrapuntal. His work was rich with storytelling, descriptors of the black experience, and coincidentally, as the workshop that night was about parataxis, some powerful parataxis. See recap from that night here.
The great, beloved March Penn read some new shit as well as selections from their book, Green Antelope Fire. We got some dirty haiku, some poems on queer sex, some poems on the human experience, and an unexpected GROUP PIECE on metaphor itself (with help from Michael F. Gill and T.J. Jones). Most importantly, we got to see the world through March Penn’s eyes, which is a treasure in itself. We also had a very high “feature retention rate,” as in the amount of people from the open mic who stayed for the feature! March also sold out of all the books they brought. A very successful feature indeed! See recap from that night here.
Summer Farah featured last week, and the room was HOT, not just because the AC hadn’t kicked in yet, but because her poems were FIRE. Her distinct tone, striking yet simple imagery, and lines that felt carefully chosen and formed brought a warmth to the room that made for a beautiful feature. She read on both Palestine and Zelda, and both topics had people lining up to buy her book, I could die today and live again, after the feature. See recap from that night here.
Coming up at the Cantab:
5/22 – Legacy Thornton
5/28 – Contrapuntal Slam!
6/05 – Dariana Guerrero
6/12 – Ellie Black
Note: The Contrapuntal Slam (which is full at the moment, but may have spots open up!) will be a three-round slam. The first round, slammers will read the left side of the contrapuntal. Then the lowest scores will be cut. The second round, remaining slammers will read the right side of their contrapuntal. Then the lowest scores will be cut. The third round, the finalists will be able to read their full contrapuntal. Winner gets $50 and bragging rights.
(Time limits - 1st and 2nd round: 2mins; 3rd round: 4mins)
What’s a contrapuntal, you ask? Click here to learn more (or just ask Kat - aka Katrapuntal). We always welcome poets who want to learn more about specific forms of poetry.
Coming up in the not so distant future … NORTHBEAST!
You heard us right! The NorthBeast Regional Poetry Slam is coming THIS SUMMER! NorthBeast, for those who are unfamiliar, is the quintessential New England poetry slam event of the YEAR where teams from all over come together in an epic celebration of slam, and it will take place July 20-21st, at The Foundry in Cambridge MA. Outside of the main competition event, there will be workshops, open mics, and more. Information about the 2024 NorthBeast Regional Poetry Slam's tickets, volunteer sign-ups, festival schedule, and more will be rolled out in the coming weeks - so be sure to keep track of the NorthBeast Instagram account.
TEAM REGISTRATION IS OPEN! If you have a team of 4 or 5 poets -- venue-sponsored or an independent pick-up team -- please fill out this form.
Event Spotlight: SLAM ADAMS
Looking for another poetry show? Looking to try out slamming in a low-stakes, highly-supportive environment? Do you like beer of the alcoholic or non-alcoholic varieties? Is "every Wednesday" simply not enough for you? Behold! Boston Poetry Slam has now officially STARTED a monthly slam series at the Sam Adams Brewery in Jamaica Plain, appropriately named "Slam Adams."
If you want a preview of what this show is all about, allow me to provide you with a summary of the first two shows!
Slam Adams is every first Monday of the month, from 6-8pm. It is slam-only, meaning no open mic. Cover is $4, but if you volunteer to judge you may get in free! Sign ups for the slam take place IN ADVANCE - if you would like to sign up, email myles@bostonpoetryslam.com.
The second Slam Adams on May 6th was a success, and the third Slam Adams will take place on MONDAY, June 3RD! We hope to see you then.
Our current Slam Adams winners have been Mckendy Fils-Aime and Jennifer Martinez. Sign up to see if you will join the ranks!
Regular Interview: Brynna Boyd
Brynna Boyd is a Texas native, teacher, and of course, an amazing poet! She only started coming to Cantab in early 2024, but she is already a renowned regular, member of our 2024 slam team, and host of Slam Adams. Learn more about Brynna below.
What first brought you to the Cantab?
"I had been meaning to come since I moved to Boston and was looking for poetry spaces. I had a class on Wednesday nights, so I didn’t end up going for a while. After winter break, before classes started again, my friend, Mary, encouraged me to go, and it was great! I then started doing everything in my power to leave class early."
What is your favorite Cantab memory?
"My favorite memory was my team selection prelim when I was doing a poem I hadn’t done from memory before. Queen Sheba and Amanda Shea were judging, and I was already super nervous. I forgot a chunk of the poem, so I just skipped to the end and left. I was super glad I did though because it was 1 second away from a time penalty."
Do you have a favorite topic to write about or form to write in? If so what is it?
"I typically like free verse but I want to be in my contrapuntal era. I also love telling stories from objects. I mostly write about my lived experiences, but I’m trying to be more imaginative and creative with how I use language. I want to start writing more researched poems based in history."
What do you like to do outside of poetry?
"Nothing, poetry is everything. For real though I’m an English teacher and am finishing up a graduate program, so that has taken most of my time. I’m enjoying getting to see more of Boston though!"
What’s your go-to order at the bar?
"I normally just panic and get a gin & tonic."
Drop some music/book/poem recs!
"I’d recommend We are Owed by Ariana Brown (and anything by Ariana Brown). She is absolutely incredible and one of the poets that made me love poetry.
I also would recommend poetry and books by my writer friends in Austin (ask me for their IGs lol)! As far as friends with books, Death by Comb by Camari Carter and Breaking into Adulthood by the blacksmith are top tier. Anything by Mamas Kitchen Press is a vibe.”
Do you have a memorable poem you’ve either read or heard at the Cantab? If so, what was memorable about it?
"These are all poems or parts of poems that I will find myself randomly thinking about throughout my week. I can’t name the quality that makes them so memorable, just that they had me shook every time! These are some:
- Aparna’s boy body poem and the one about intersections and man lies (can I just say anything Aparna has ever said?)
- Briana’s poem about bears >>> men
- Cameron’s professor bit
- Jenn’s noah’s ark poem and the one about caribbean women
- Sarah King’s poem about the sailors and life vests
- Myles’ poem about “unskilled labor”
- Amy’s poem about crying in the Uber
- Kaitie’s “what are you” poem
- Edie’s poems about bricks learning to fly
- Amanda Shea’s whole feature!!"
What would you tell someone coming to the Cantab for the first time?
"Be prepared for some emotional whiplash every Wednesday night!"
Photo Gallery:
Feature Link Corner:
Brian S. Ellis: Buy his book Against Common Sense here and check out his website and publications at https://brianellis.info/.
Greg Smith: Stay tuned for their debut collection from Game Over Books - in the meantime stay updated by following them on Twitter/X.
Lynne Schmidt: Buy her book Dead Dog Poems here.
Durane West: Follow him on Instagram here.
March Penn: Buy their book Green Antelope Fire here.
Summer Farah: Buy her book I could die today and live again here.
Poetry Around the Country - Maryland:
Boston Poetry Slam is one of several poetry communities across the country, and I've begun making a list of all of them by state. This week, we are looking into the poetry scene in Maryland!
– Busboys and Poets (Various) - This poetry event takes place across various venues in the DMV area. They have several kinds of open mics for nearly every night of the week! They are proud to be a venue that provides space and support for poets and spoken word performers and interested audiences. From the cozy atmosphere of the "Sunday Kind of Love" poetry series to the high intensity of the 11th Hour Poetry Slam, they are sure you will find a poetry event that will spark your creative side and leave you inspired.
They have hosted several world renowned poets for readings, including Amiri Baraka, Nikki Giovanni, Alice Walker, Suheir Hammad, Rita Dove, Sonia Sanchez, Elizabeth Alexander and Denis Brutus.
About Boston Poetry Slam:
The core Boston Poetry Slam show runs at the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge, Mass. every Wednesday night, giving poets a chance to share their work in the open mic or slam and featuring a headlining poet or theme slam. Doors @7:15, show starts at 8pm. 21+. $4 cover (cash preferred, Venmo available). Follow our Instagram (below) for the most up-to-date info. The show and its community are curated entirely by unpaid volunteers.
Website: https://bostonpoetryslam.com/
Instagram: @bostonpoetryslam
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bostonpoetryslam
The recently-released second issue of our official zine, The Cantabernacle, is available online and at our Wednesday night shows! Submissions are also now open for the next issue, so please send us your work at michael@bostonpoetryslam.com
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Contact questions@bostonpoetryslam.com
Newsletter Credits: Written by Amy Argentar, edited by Michael F. Gill