Slam Nuba

Slam Nuba is an award-winning performance poetry event based in Denver, Colorado, USA. Originated in 2006 as a program of the Pan African Arts Society and certified by Poetry Slam, Inc., Slam Nuba has become a collective of many of the nation's finest poets.

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

The National Poetry Slam is the largest team performance poetry event in the world. Teams from all over North America and a few from other countries converge in a different city every summer for five days of poetry, revelry, and competition.

In 2007, the Denver Slam Nuba team placed fourth in the United States. In 2008, Slam Nuba won two separate regional bouts including the Southwest Shoot Out Poetry Slam in Dallas, Texas, and The Denver 40 ounce Poetry Slam. Slam Nuba competed at The National Poetry Slam in Madison, Wisconsin in 2008 and made it to semifinals for the second successive year. In 2011, the Slam Nuba team won The Nation Poetry Slam Championship.

Slam Nuba was conceived by Ashara Ekundayo, Ken Arkind and Panama Soweto. Café Nuba, Denver's premier monthly poetry showcase, had been a registered Poetry Slam, Inc. venue for several years and had never sent a team to the National Poetry Slam. With the support of the community Slam Nuba was created for the purpose of representing the versatility of Denver's poetry scene under its parent organization of Café Nuba.

Slam Nuba is a registered program of a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization meaning that their funds are from donations and fundraising. This keeps the group close to Denver and helps further the sense of community in the metropolitan area.

The team has performed in many places outside of poetry slam including an event hosted by Democracy Now, sharing a stage with Amy Goodman, opening for recording artists Les Nubians, sharing a stage with the hip-hop group Dead Prez, and at such local events as Denver's Black Arts Festival, The Poet As Muse, Club Reign, and Café Cultura.

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 was the team's founder and Slam Master (organizer and manager), and Bianca Mikahn Shaw was the team's coach. Most of the team were rookie slammers yet they won several regional bouts including the Lincoln, Nebraska Invitational and the Dallas Invitational Poetry Slam.

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