Suzi Smith

Ten best concerts to see in Denver this weekend

NATHANIEL RATELIFF & NIGHT SWEATS @ BOULDER THEATER | 5/17 At this stage of his career, particularly in Denver, Nathaniel Rateliff is a man who requires absolutely no preamble. Nonetheless, the limited-edition two-song seven-inch he produced for Record Store Day feels like a fresh and glorious reint ... More >>

The ten best concerts in Denver this weekend

PRINCE @ OGDEN THEATRE | SUN & MON, 5/12-5/13 Prince became a household name after the release of his third album, 1982's 1999. Over the years, his perfectly realized blend of rock, pop, funk and jazz has proved equally popular with audiences and critics. Throughout the '80s, Prince released hit rec ... More >>

Say It Loud

Discover ten stars of Westword's Artopia 2013

Now in its 18th year, Artopia is a signature event showcasing a wide array of Denver's music, art, performance, food and more. At several venues along Broadway this Saturday, February 23, from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m., dozens of the city's cultural components will come together as they share their creative ... More >>

Resolutions for 2013: Bring on the rejection letters

One of the aspects of Twitter I love more than any other social-networking site is its actual ability to connect you with people with whom you might otherwise not cross paths. (I also like that 140 characters limits the amount of proselytizing one can do at friends and strangers, unlike the volumes ... More >>

3 things to do for free this week, November 5-8, 2012

Sometimes the best things in life really are free. This week, for example, you can experience slam poetry, catch a film screening, or learn about a magical realist legend -- and you won't be charged a thing. Keep reading for three free things to do this week; for a full listing of entertainment opti ... More >>

The Narrators returns with real-life storytelling at the Deer Pile

After a hiatus, The Narrators is back. The monthly evening of truth- telling was started two years ago by writer and comedian Andrew Orvedahl at Paris Wine Bar (his efforts earned Orvedahl a MasterMind); he has now enlisted his friend and Narrators regular Robert Rutherford to co-host -- and moved t ... More >>

Last Poet Standing

Tonight: Help send Slam Nuba off to Charlotte

The 2012 Slam Nuba slam poetry team has a big reputation to uphold when it heads to Charlotte on August 7 for this year's National Slam Poetry Meet: It's a new and differently configured team that will be defending the group's 2011 first-place title. See also: - Meet your 2012 slam poetry teams: Sl ... More >>

Reader: Thanks for covering slam community, Colorado's poem on the range

The lineups are now complete for Denver's big slam poetry teams: Mercury Cafe, Slam Nuba and Minor Disturbance. These contemporary poets are very at home on the range -- and a real asset to Denver.

Meet your 2012 slam poetry teams: Slam Nuba, Mercury Cafe and Minor Disturbance

Among the lines delivered at poetry slams, one is often repeated: "The point is not the points; the point is the poetry." This has never been more true than over the last week and a half in Denver, when all three of the city's national teams -- Slam Nuba, the Mercury Cafe team and teenage dreamers M ... More >>

The Women of the World Poetry Slam prelims kick off tonight -- on International Women's Day

So today is International Women's Day, and regardless of whether you already knew that or even care now that we've told you, Denver is placed particularly well for some serious celebration this year. Today marks the first day of competition in the Women of the World Poetry Slam, which is in turn a f ... More >>

Reader: Has Westword ever met a sad felon it didn't love?

Poetry Shout-Outs

The Women of the World Poetry Slam marks Denver's largest slam gig to date

Denver's share of the country's slam-poetry scene is already a large one, with two nationally competitive teams and a role as the reigning national champion city. But from March 7 to 10, its role will grow even bigger as Denver hosts its first national slam competition, the five-year-old Women of th ... More >>

Video: Suzi Q. Smith performs her most popular piece

Suzi Q. Smith -- profiled in this week's cover story "Slam, Bam, Thank you, Ma'am" -- has performed poetry for more than a decade, and slammed competitively since 2006. Onstage, the Denver artist augments both her voice and her physical stature, increasing both her volume and her height as her messa ... More >>

Video: Suzi Q. Smith slams with champions Bobby Lefebre and Theo Wilson

In this week's cover story, "Slam, Bam, Thank You, Ma'am," Westword shadowed Denver poet Suzi Q. Smith and traveled to Wyoming with her and two other big names on the national touring roster: Bobby Lefebre and Theo "Lucifury" Wilson. Aside from a lowly Westword writer, the rental car held three sepa ... More >>

Slam poet Suzi Q. Smith brought a national championship to Denver

Suzi Q. Smith: Read the poetry created by this week's cover artist

In this week's cover story, "Slam, Bam, Thank You, Ma'am," we profiled Suzi Q. Smith, one of Denver's strongest voices and the number three female slam artist in the world. Smith spends 30 percent of her year traveling to teach and promote poetry outside of Colorado, but she spends 100 percent of he ... More >>

Suzi Q. Smith, this week's cover poet, nominated for a Cultural Arts Leader award

​In this week's cover story, "Slam, Bam, Thank You, Ma'am," Westword followed local poet (and national award winner) Suzi Q. Smith on her journeys as a full-time artist. Smith's list of accolades is not a short one: She is currently ranked the number three female slam poet in the world, and he ... More >>

Suzi Q. Smith: Watch our cover poet perform with Lady Wu-Tang, Denver's raw and rowdy female tribute

Image via​When we wrote on this week's cover that local slammer Suzi Q. Smith is "poetry in motion," we weren't kidding. In addition to owning one of the boldest voices in Denver's prolific poetry scene, Smith and her poet peers have also breached the world of music. In local tribute band Lady ... More >>

Flobots.org seeking donated instruments for its Art 2 Action and Youth on Record programs

Have an old guitar lying around collecting dust that you've been meaning to play but somehow just never got around to actually playing? Yeah? How about putting it to use? Flobots.org is seeking donated instruments for its Art 2 Action and Youth on Record programs. As you're probably aware, the names ... More >>

The Merc Slam Team's Suzi Q. Smith opens strong at the Slam Nationals, Denver teams advance

The Mercury Cafe Slam Team, reppin'.​Slam poetry is to the literary world what hip-hop music is to jazz -- a progression of talent and a revolutionary outlet. Denver is lucky to boast of two solid teams that compete nationally. Both Slam Nuba and the Denver Mercury Cafe Poetry Slam Team advanc ... More >>

When the going gets tough, the tough get going: SlamNuba's final faceoff commences tonight

​There are slam poets, and then there are SLAM POETS: Though there's more than a little love and support spread around in the performance poetry community, it's still everybody for themselves when they hit the stage. That means there's going to be some fierce nitty-gritty going down at Westwor ... More >>

All-female Wu-Tang Clan cover group sells out Walnut Room, 1/22/11

Stephanie Auld​ The first edition of Hip-Hop Covers, an all-female Wu-Tang tribute, was way beyond sold out. By the time the nine local MCs, poets and singers took the stage, the Walnut Room was at capacity, and there was a crowd of people waiting outside the door. It didn't matter if you wer ... More >>

Hip-Hop Covers: The Wu-Tang Clan tribute at the Walnut Room

You're familiar with the Wu Tang Clan, we presume? Yeah? Meet the Ru Tang clan. Okay, that's not the name these ladies are going by, but it seems like a fitting enough handle seeing as how our own Ru Johnson is helping put together this very special show at the Walnut Room this Saturday, January 2 ... More >>

10 things to do for $10 this weekend, December 17-19, 2010

Home for the holidays!​As estranged family members start trickling into town this weekend for the holidays, chances are you're looking for something to do to show off this great city. You're probably also trying to do it on the cheap so you can save up for some awesome last minute gifts (or pa ... More >>