Who do you think is going to win? Vote in the poll below, and sound off in the comments.
 
This week's Last Poet Standing was electric. For the first time in Last Poet Standing history the competition began only with the fifteen semi-finalists. With nearly seventy poets applying, each of the poets that made it had already proved their mettle. The evening started with each of the poets being introduced to the crowd of nearly three hundred. 

Some of the highlights of the evening:

Elise Angerbauer, a returning poet from last season, demonstrated her control over form in her "Sonnet of the Sandwich." Not only did Angerbauer have complete control over what she was doing she managed to get the audience to laugh as well. 

Elena Van Horn meanwhile may have had the most enduring image of the night. In her poem "Eruption" the ash finally settled into what she described as "Hills of Oreo-ice cream.

Gregory Barker delivered one of the most crowd pleasing poems of the night. "Silent" went into great detail about trying to grapple with your roommate snoring. 

Other poets of note:

Denver Nash read an off the wall piece about the Sphinx giving a man named Dan Planters peanut. Nash brought a copy of the poem on stage and showed the audience that he had designed it to look like the Planters peanut man (the peanut in the top hat.)

On the more serious side, Carly Eggett read a moving poem about discovering the mortality of her father, using interesting super hero imagery. She also had an extended meditation on the word white representing her earlier innocence.

Bobbie Gross, another of the other returning poet, also delivered a moving piece about her relationship with her grandfather using traditional Christian imagery in innovative ways.

The winner of tonight was Melissa Miner. Miner's poem seemed to start off very goofy. She got on stage and took a picture of Hugh Jackman and taped it to the top of the mic stand, and began her "Ode to my Cardboard Cutout of Hugh Jackman." As Miner went on, however, this cardboard cutout became a symbol of the one constant in an otherwise unsure and self-doubting life. In one poem she managed to make the audience both laugh and think deeply about themselves.

On the other hand, as Last Poet goes one poet had to leave tonight, and tonight it was Preston Cathcart. Preston who had been initially cut from the program because he was not there, showed up just as the voting was about to wrap up. The event organizers decided to let him read, but unfortunately he was obviously in a rush and didn't give his poem the reading it deserved. And since most people had already voted by the time he arrived, it was little surprise that he was the one who ended up being cut. Best wishes to Preston in the future.

Other poets who participated last night: Steven Duncan, Burkley Rudd, Jackie Argyle, Sydney Adams, Sherilyn Jensen, Andrew Horner (who is participating for the third straight year), and Anna May.


Next week's prompt is Groundhog's day. I'm looking forward to hearing how the poets can turn the theme into something meaningful and artistic.

 
An Ode to My Cardboard Cutout of Hugh Jackman 
by Melissa Miner

You never judge
You never tease 
You think I’m beautiful when I’m on my knees 
Sobbing into my carton of Chocolate fudge brownie ice cream. 
JACK DIDN’T HAVE TO DIE! 
You love the way I spend the day in my rubber duck pajamas. 
Messy bun with hair all over the place 
Nail polish chipping 
Not a single speck of make up on my face. 
You listen. …when my prom date cancelled the week of prom, 
when I was egged by a car of boys in front of the Spori, 
when my roommates were on dates and I was watching cat videos on YouTube, 
You were there for me. 
You think my Supernatural addiction is a testament to my good taste in television shows. 
You think I’m adorable when I eat Three corndogs, a can of chili, six mini snickers and a piece of left-over birthday cake For dinner. 
You know that all my quirks are what makes me, Me. 
And you don’t think that should ever change. 
So let this be a simple thanks 
You are the Wilson to my Tom Hanks