Communities across the country are voting today, but Cambridge is the only one doing it this way. This is the only city in the country using proportional representation to elect city councilors and school committee members. “I live in Somerville,” Ivan …

J*me performs at a Lizard Lounge Poetry Jam in 2005, with the Jeff Robinson Trio as accompaniment. The Cambridge lounge also hosts weekly poetry competitions. (Photo: Lawrence E. Miller) In a dim, red-lit room with low ceilings and Persian rugs, the me …