Massachusetts Statewide Poetry Calendar 2

A presentation from 2023–2024 Mary I. Bunting Institute Fellow Marcus Wicker

At Radcliffe, Wicker is completing “Dear Mothership,” a book of poetry that uses speculative narrative, empathy, and a hip hop aesthetic to explore reparations and examine the confounding ways humans treat one another when empowered by history and inheritance.

Free and open to the public.
To view this event online, individuals will need to register via Zoom.
For instructions on how to join online, see the How to Attend a Radcliffe Event on Zoom webpage.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation e-mail containing a link and password for this meeting.

Click here to join today’s poetry session.

Dennis James Sweeney is the author of You’re the Woods Too and In the Antarctic Circle, as well as four chapbooks of poetry and prose, including Ghost/Home: A Beginner’s Guide to Being Haunted. His first book, In the Antarctic Circle, won the Autumn House Rising Writer Prize and was a Debut Poetry Book of 2021 in Poets & Writers, as well as a finalist for the National Poetry Series and the Big Other Book Award. His second book, You’re the Woods Too, is a Small Press Distribution bestseller and a finalist for the Deborah Tall Lyric Essay Prize.
His fiction, nonfiction, and poetry have appeared in Ecotone, Ninth Letter, The New York Times, The Southern Review, and Witness, among others. Formerly a Small Press Editor at Entropy and Assistant Editor at Denver Quarterly, he has an MFA from Oregon State University and a PhD from the University of Denver. His writing has been supported by residencies from Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, I-Park Foundation, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. He is the recipient of a Fulbright grant to Malta.
Originally from Cincinnati, he lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, where he teaches at Amherst College.

The Boston Poetry Slam holds a weekly show every Wednesday downstairs at the Cantab Lounge. This is the flagship show of the Boston Poetry Slam and the entire night is devoted to the craft, performance, and enjoyment of poetry.
The cover charge is $4, cash or credit. No tickets are sold in advance. The poetry show is 21+, with a photo ID and Vaccination Card required to enter the venue. No outside drink is allowed— please patronize the bar— but you may bring food and eat it in the venue. Regrettably, the basement of the Cantab is not wheelchair-accessible; please email us to learn more about the space and to discuss accessibility options.
Doors open at approximately 7:15 for an 8:00 poetry-only open mic. The venue has a capacity of 75 persons with seating for approximately 60; if you want to sit down for the first part of the show, you will need to arrive before 8:00 PM. Large parties are strongly advised to arrive in a timely manner, as the show frequently sells out.
There is a short break after the open mic at approximately 9:45, during which some seats usually free up for incoming crowd. (If the feature is popular, do not expect seats to become available.) After the break, the featured poet or event begins. Standard features last for 30 minutes and featured slams last about 60 minutes, after which our featured poets vend their product and chat with fans. As of 2023, the full show is usually over by 11:00.