The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
the best boston and national bands, best music poll, boston phoenix

That midnight train to Alewife: Poets slam on the MBTA

Whether it's the clacking of the Orange Line as it comes above ground or the unmistakable screeching of a B train pulling into Park Street, there's a rhythm to the T. And public transit in Boston is an emotional experience -- an express train can make your day; a missed one can break your heart.

Where there's rhythm and emotion, poetry logically follows, so a collection of local writers took to the stage at the Cantab Lounge Wednesday for Boston Poetry Slam's tribute to the MBTA.

The evening kicked off with an open mic, in which Boston Public Schools teacher Ashley Rose spoke on Ruggles Station as a cultural divider in the city, and a black-windbreaker-clad, gray-bearded man introduced only as E.E. Cummings (too substantial-looking to be a ghost, but perhaps a reincarnation of the illustrious Cantabrigian?) gave a dramatic, interpretative recitation of a train-themed Mother Goose poem.

So how do slam poets describe their love-hate relationship with the Boston transportation system? Four teams of poets -- most of them Boston Poetry Slam vets -- represented the Blue, Green, Red, and Orange Lines to sound off on their respective T lines in front of a panel of judges.

To Hakim Walker, the Blue Line is the "crack vein of the MBTA." To Michael Quigg, the Red Line is what brings him home, be it Alewife or the Motel 6 nestled beside Braintree.

"The folk singer sounds like the Orange Line, but less in tune," says Christopher Kain, who then describes the train as a "sick dolphin." For Casey Rocheteau, it's what happens inside the Orange train that strikes her: "You'll get home, eventually -- but not without a fight."

Oh yes, then there's the Green line, that "overprivileged octopus," as poet Simone I. John put it. As a resident of Allston, the poems by the Green Line team (John, Carlos Williams, Maya Phillips, Adam Stone and the breathtaking Kemi Alabi) really hit home, and it was no surprise that their fierce odes about frat boys, hipsters, and PDA placed the team in first with a score of 139.9.

My favorite individual performance was April Ranger's evocative, sharply personal poem about heartbreak on the Orange Line. For many, love and relationships take on special meaning on the MBTA.

"Being on a train in Boston is a little like being in love," slam poet and event organizer Steve Subrizi said in a phone interview before the event. "There's some place you want to reach, but sometimes you have to wait in the middle of the tunnel, and the lights go out. You think you might suffocate. You're trapped with these people all around you that you don't know. It's really awkward."

Keeping the "T" in poetry, Friday marks the start of the MBTA ad campaign for the National Poetry Slam, to be held in Boston and Cambridge from August 9-13.  So if the chaos of the Red Line at rush hour isn't enough to inspire you, at least a glance to the train's walls can tell you when to get your next fix of lyricism and storytelling.

--by Wei-Huan Chen and Katie Lannan

| More

Leave a Comment

Login | Not a member yet? Click here to Join

(required)  
(optional)
(required)  
 Friends' Activity   Popular   Most Viewed 
@LaserOrgy

Follow us on Twitter for daily updates and links to general coolness

All Blogs
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Articles

That midnight train to Alewife: Poets slam on the MBTA
Boston Phoenix
That midnight train to Alewife: Poets slam on the MBTA
Published 7/1/2011 by Team Laser Orgy
Whether it's the clacking of the Orange Line as it comes above ground or the unmistakable screeching of a B train pulling into Park Street,...

Boston Phoenix
The Week in Geek, June 27-July 3: School’s out, but we’ve still got class
Published 6/27/2011 by Kelly Dickinson
We have finally reached that point in the summer where all the local schools are out. Swarms of children roam free; already, their vacation-slackened brains...

more by Team Laser Orgy
That midnight train to Alewife: Poets slam on the MBTA | July 01, 2011
Super 8 Is Enough: If J.J. Abrams ran Hollywood | June 16, 2011

 See all articles by: Team Laser Orgy

Follow the Phoenix
  • newsletter
  • twitter
  • facebook
  • youtube
  • rss
Latest Comments
Q&A #1: State Ethics Rules - I have been trying to obtain information of the sale of country wide stock by the first lady Diane Patrick...

By kevin mcgee on 07-02-2011 in Talking Politics

Ask Me Anything Friday 7/1 - Do you have any insight on redistricting? Lynch-Keating? Tierney-Tsongas? Olver? Will someone run for...

By Drew on 07-01-2011 in Talking Politics

Ask Me Anything Friday 7/1 - Do Will Dorcena or Sean Ryan have a snowball's chance in hell at getting elected? Would could change...

By John Boston on 07-01-2011 in Talking Politics

Meet the Mayor: Boston Public Library - Usability. Navigating our Boston Public Library Copley Square buildings, floors, departments, collections...

By thezak on 07-01-2011 in Phlog

Ask Me Anything Friday 7/1 - Is there any historical precedent for the four at-large councilors effectively endorsing each other?...

By Johnny on 07-01-2011 in Talking Politics

Latest Comments from Laser Orgy
Most Viewed
Richard Russo chosen for One City, One Story
[tonight] Love Inks @ O'Brien's Pub :: UPDATE: show canceled
[live review] Movement Electronic Music Festival 2011
Tickets on-sale alert: The National, Lil Wayne, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Handsome Furs + more
[tonight @ church] People At Parties (ex-Von Iva, Boyskout), Vanity Theft, Andre Obin
[tonight @ enormous room] Bad Rabbits get FREE + Bodega Girls & Mystery Roar DJ sets
MP3 of the Week: Drummers "Planes II"
Most Viewed from Laser Orgy
Search Blogs
 
Sunday, July 03, 2011  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
thePhoenix.com
Phoenix Media/Communications Group
Copyright © 2011 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group