#cupsi 2018

[backshelfpoet]

second day of CUPSI: also incredible!! We’re not moving on to semi-finals but honestly that’s ok because tbh I ran out of poems, but we NAILED our bout today, the audience loved my piece (maybe gave me enough confidence to post it on here? We’ll see), and we got an entire box of baklava for $2.15 soooo noice.

[mercurialexicon]

Sentiments After the Slam or Death of an Unknown Poet at CUPSI 2018

CUPSI 2018 was a month ago and another mediocre poem came out of it.

6.9

8.5

10

10

10

an ass backward love poem to slam

even though I hate you most days

even though you ain’t shit

even when I know I’m not the only one that feels like this

I love you anyway

so much I keep standing in this ring

letting you rock my jaw

because a beating feels better than the poet I am back

home

all imaginary

all fantasy

all fiction

like so,

you see

the real poet only appears behind the mic

when I spit for YOU

open up my mouth and spill blood for a number

for judges on Armageddon

some community

“good” energy

snaps and a couple stomps

tried to make these words holy and still wound up devil

what good is a score if not to rip out your soul?

make it a ghost

you know,

cheapen it up

make it a chore

I’m tired of writing for you now

fashioning my trauma into a boutfit

to put on for sport and take off after show

because clothes don’t heal nobody’s wounds

these words don’t

either

is it worth it?

this spectacle

this breaking of bodies

this bleeding

this violence

for a 10

or an 8.2

on a poem about a nightmare I keep reliving

you should know the PTSD all too well

I’m not even sure I write for me anymore

but can’t give you up somehow

too trapped inside your glamour

or fake ass glory

your “community”

want to dull this sword disguised as a mic

it’s making a hole in my chest again

couldn’t stitch it up this time

couldn’t stop the bleeding

the death of another poet

how many more unmarked graves?

how many more eulogies without a name?

it’s fucked up really

how we drag ourselves through trenches for YOU

with no one to greet us after the war except a whiteboard with questionable scores sometimes

maybe some tears

maybe our teammates

is this what it is to be unrequited?

to rain into a storm drain

and have to call a sewer home?

you should know this love still pours over

even with your whiteboards and double edged swords

the death of so many poets in unmarked graves

it still flows

so why can’t you just love us all

back?

[backshelfpoet]

First day of CUPSI was AMAZING, my team KILLED IT and I’m so proud ♥♥♥

[letromefall]

Say 'YAAAAASSSSS' --ethnics only.

CUPSI 2018 FINALS

[backshelfpoet]

Fun CUPSI update, I yelled so much at semi-finals that I lost my voice 

[backshelfpoet]

It's 5 a.m. & me & the kids are at the airport heading to CUPSI!!

[bostonpoetryslam]

UPDATE 4:57 PM: due to the weather, tonight’s show is CANCELLED! Stay safe out there, and we’ll see you next week!

Tonight at the Cantab, it’s the CUPSI Warmup Slam! Teams from Emerson College, Wheelock College, Wellesley College, and Smith College will face off in a 4x4 poetry slam before they head off to compete in Philadelphia next month. Featuring sacrificial poems from UMass Boston and four-time Emerson CUPSI competitor Kieran Collier as your host, you don’t want to miss this slam.