IT'S TEAM SELECTION SEASON!
Hi, Poet!
It’s team selection time!
HELLO HELLO from Boston Poetry Slam! We have had an INCREDIBLE start to 2025, with great features, slams, and a lovely New Year’s Gala at Trident to kick the whole thing off. We have now entered the crazy month of February… and it’s not just crazy because of Valentine’s Day which is essentially poet Christmas.
It’s the month where we select our 2025 BOSTON POETRY SLAM TEAM!
Near the beginning of each year, Boston Poetry Slam selects our 5-person slam team, who will go on to be coached by our wonderful coaches, perfect their craft, and represent the community at countless slams throughout the rest of the year (the most notable being the NorthBeast Regional - more on that in later months). To achieve such an impossible task, as SO MANY of the poets in our community have talent off-the-charts, we have a series of slams to determine the best of the best.
Throughout the past few months, we’ve had several qualifying slams to select poets eligible to compete in team selection - culminating in a total of 17 supremely gifted individuals. We somehow have to narrow that down to five, and we will do so through two preliminary slams (essentially, semi-finals), and one giant grand-finale team selection slam at the end of the month. These slams will take place right after our open mic during our Wednesday shows. Scroll down to “Slam Details” for more information, and especially if you have never gone to a slam before!
TLDR: Our February Wednesdays are guaranteed to be some of our most fun and electric of the year - so come thru and bring your friends!
See below (or click here) for the who what where of the slams (PSST… the first one is TOMORROW)
Upcoming Slams:
PRELIM 1:
When: TOMORROW NIGHT, 2/5, 8pm (Open mic at 8pm, the slam starts around 10)
Where: Cantab Underground
Who: Competing poets are…
Kelsey Kessler
Kaitie Dilán
Jennifer Martinez
Will Leonard IV
Keaton Howl
Jarvis Subia
Logan Lopez
March Penn
Cover is $4, as usual.
PRELIM 2:
When: 2/12 at 8pm (Open mic at 8pm, the slam starts around 10)
Where: Cantab Underground
Who: Competing poets are…
Amy Argentar
Aparna Paul
Myles Taylor
Katya Zinn
Otto Vock
Isaiah Newman
Rene Manuel Ramos
Ilse Ruisvisfocri
Brynna Boyd
Cover is $4, as usual.
Finals Stage:
When: 2/26 at 8pm (Open mic at 8pm, the slam starts around 10)
Where: Cantab Underground
Who: Competing poets are… TBD based on the prelims!
Slam Details:
A POETRY SLAM is a thrilling competition where poets bring their original poems to the stage with no props, costumes, or musical accompaniment. Just the poet and what they wrote and the microphone, with a three-minute time limit. The poem will be scored by randomly-selected judges from the audience, on whiteboards, on a scale of 0.0-10.0. If you have never been to one before, it’s intense, emotional, captivating, joyful, and supportive. Team selection is like the Superbowl Playoffs of poetry - it’s exciting!
The preliminary rounds will feature 8 or 9 poets competing in two rounds, with zero cuts in between rounds. The top 4 or 5 poets with the highest cumulative scores across the two rounds will advance to finals.
The finals stage will feature 9 poets competing in three rounds, with zero cuts in between rounds. The top 5 poets with the highest cumulative scores across the three rounds will become the 2025 Boston Poetry Slam team.
Also, side note,
We need judges!!
There are NO REQUIREMENTS to judge a poetry slam (as long as you are not very biased towards one of the competing poets) because the point of slam is that everyone can have an opinion about art! We LOVE when newcomers judge, as well as veteran slammers, and we couldn’t have a slam without judges. Never judged before? Our staff will train you on everything you need to know. Hope to see you soon (with a whiteboard in-hand!)
The Lone February Feature:
Now, though team selection takes up 3 out of the 4 Wednesdays in February, the remaining one will have an INCREDIBLE FEATURE - so we better see you there!
2/5: Prelim 1
2/12: Prelim 2
2/19: Mckendy Fils-Aimé ← ←
2/26: Team Selection Finals
Lastly… some general reminders
Missed a few shows or want to relive the memories of your favorite Wednesdays? Well, we document each show in a weekly recap of the night, posted on our website. Check it out!
Want the most up-to-date news on our shows? Our website is a great place to start, but our Instagram will give you details on upcoming shows as they are announced.
