Slam Nuba is a

performance poetry Performance poetry is a broad term, encompassing a variety of styles and genres. In brief, it is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe p ...

event based in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Colorado, USA. It originated in 2006 as a program of the Pan African Arts Society and certified by

Poetry Slam, Inc. Poetry Slam, Inc. (PSI) is a non-profit organization that runs three poetry slams: the National Poetry Slam (NPS), the Individual World Poetry Slam (iWPS), and the Women of the World Poetry Slam (WoWps). Poetry Slam, Inc. was established in 1997 ...

Slam Nuba holds its poetry events at Cafe Nuba, and the major slam at The Crossroads Theater, both located in the Five Points neighborhood in Denver.

History

Slam Nuba was conceived by Ashara Ekundayo, Ken Arkind and Panama Soweto. Café Nuba had been a registered Poetry Slam, Inc. venue for several years and had never sent a team to the National Poetry Slam. Slam Nuba is a registered program of a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. In 2007, its first year of competing, Slam Nuba had four competing members, Jai Harris, Bobby LeFebre, Panama Soweto, and Lucifury (Theo Wilson).

Suzi Q. Smith Suzi Q. Smith is an American an award-winning artist, activist, and educator who lives in Denver, Colorado. Poetry She began writing poetry in her elementary years and by high school was participating in poetry readings and poetry slams. She b ...

was the team's founder and Slam Master (organizer and manager), and Bianca Mikahn was the team's coach. 2008 saw a change for Slam Nuba. Several of the previous teams members remained but a few new ones were added to the troupe. Bobby LeFebre, Panama Soweto, Lucifury, Original Woman, and Ayinde Russell represented Slam Nuba during the 2008 slam season. Smith left as Slam Master, but Bobby LeFebre and Panama Soweto replaced her. Mikahn remained on as coach. During the 2008 season, the team performed at the wrap up party for DNC (

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

) volunteers. The team was also featured in an article in ''El Semanario'', Denver's weekly Latino newspaper. In 2009, the poets representing Slam Nuba on a national level were Bobby LeFebre, Ken Arkind, Panama Soweto, The Original Woman, and Lucifury, joined by their coach, Smith. The 2010 team was coached by Lucifury and added to the team Jen Rinaldi, Jovan Mays, Megan Rickman, and Amy Everhart. The 2011 SlamNUBA team, consisting of Theo "Lucifury" Wilson, Brando Chemtrails, Ayinde Russell, Jovan Mays Dominique Christina and Mikena Richardson, and coached by Jen Rinaldi, won the 2011 National Poetry Slam. Also in 2011, SlamNUBA was inducted to the Denver Westword's Mastermind Class of 2011.MasterMinds: Slam Nuba, Denver poets
Westword, 2011-02-15.

References

{{Reflist

External links

* http://www.slamnuba.com/
Denver Crossroads Theater

Westword

What is poetry slam?
African-American history in Denver Five Points, Denver Poetry slams