Hey, Cantabbers:

I'm sorry: I told you all that I'd post more bout details after I got some rest. But I forgot that I pretty much never get any rest at the National Poetry Slam. I mean, who sleeps at the biggest poetry party ever??

Anyway, what I do have for you is an update from semi-finals. We bouted in a fabulous (if half-empty) theater this evening, and, at the end of it, things looked like this:

1. Boston-Cantab 107.1
2. Denver-Mercury 106.0
3. Lincoln 104.2
4. San Francisco 99.7
5. San Diego 99.0

It was kind of a weird bout, and fairly tight, but we had a real advantage in drawing the E, whereas the very strong Denver team drew the A. Scoring started low and stayed there, so Oz was able to pull out a 2-point lead with Raindrops in the first round. The judges rewarded Cesarean from Brian and 125's inspired performance of The Poem My Wife Has Been Waiting For, so, with a few points to spare, we risked it and had April throw Survival in the last round. Her performance was flawless, the audience response fabulous, the scores less than desirable... But, barring another 2-point jump, enough to secure us the win.

So we got the win. Um, and, in case you didn't know, teams that win semis? They go to finals. We'll be competing against NYC louderARTS, Austin - Ego's, and Slam Charlotte.

Next stop: slam's biggest stage. It's been a long time since finals has seen a Boston team, folks... We got big plans to do you proud.

--simone
Simone Beaubien, SlamMaster