Guess who’s back? Only a couple weeks after claiming victory at our most recent Final Friday Slam, Kaleo continues to put in work, winning his fourth Nuyorican Bowery Slam of the year! With a commanding workmanship with words and a voice that tugs at audiences’ heartstrings, Kaleo earned the highest scores in both the first and second rounds, taking home the spoils for the night and another invitation to this month’s Final Friday Slam!

To learn more about Kaleo’s work and to stay in the know with upcoming performances, check out his page @kaleokauhola on IG!

Congrats to the phenomenal Ali for winning our most recent Nuyorican Bowery Slam!

Following a rousing first round, a 2nd round with two perfect cumulative scores, and the first tiebreaker of the year at the Bowery, Ali’s dynamic virtuosity and electrifying passion won over the crowd in a neck-and-neck finish for the victory. From the first piece to the last, Ali’s poetic prowess remained unwavering, earning her an invitation to compete at our end-of-the-month Final Friday Slam.

As a multi-disciplinary artist, Ali’s poetry not only shines on the slam stage, but also through her incredible songwriting and original music. To show love and stay in the know about Ali’s work, check out her page @imalwaysali on IG!

Shout out to Jeri Rae for winning the last Nuyorican Bowery Slam for the month of June! Jeri Rae’s work resonates with our slam crowds because it contains the perfect dose of feminine observation and cynicism for modern standards of romance. When Jeri Rae gets on stage and spits, we all feel seen because we’ve all been misunderstood, betrayed, and taken advantage of by people who we let into our lives with willingness and compassion.

The Nuyorican Poets Cafe gives Jeri Rae all the kudos they deserve. If you hope to see those heartbreak stories turn into success stories, follow this amazing poet @jeri_rae today!

Kaleo is June 2026’s Nuyorican Poets Cafe Final Friday Slam Winner! 

Kaleo’s work ethic in the poetry scene is second to none, and their willingness to repeatedly hit the pavement to compete in the next poetry slam has brought them closer and closer to spoken word’s “metaphoric” finish line; the Nuyorican Grand Slam!

As of now, Kaleo is amongst a small handful of ultra-talented poets that have qualified for this year’s Grand Slam, but the standings are subject to change until the last month of the slam season! Check the standings out at nuyorican.org/slam and give @kaleokauhola a follow to watch their rise to the top!

Kaleo finds himself in the winner’s circle once again this week!  Kaleo’s poetry revolves around themes of colonialism and pairing with items and luxuries commonly considered non-offensive in the modern western world. Their poetry rightfully brings audiences’ attention to the unseen harm inherent in the fruits, material, and the comforts we enjoy every day. 

For their courage in standing up to our worldview which is totally oblivious to the contentious reality it creates throughout the rest of the world, we give Kaleo all their flowers. 

Oh you didn’t know? Boys like flowers too!

Jayden’s return to our Nuyorican Bowery Slam this week can only be described as… heroic! Like a bard of eld, Jayden brings his poetic works and trusty typewriter between cities and performs in dark, intimate locales. Now that we think of it, the Bowery Poetry Club is nowhere near as dingy and decrepit as the tavern poets had to brave for most of history. 

Anyway! Jayden’s presence at any one of our events is a real treat. Apparently, our crowds have felt his absence as well, because he was scored highest amongst all of our contenders in one of our most competitive slam line-ups of the year. 

Y’all, this youngin is talented! Give credit where it’s due and follow this rising star of the next generation of poets @jaydenantwine !

Arizona popped out to our Nuyorican Bowery Slam this week and landed with a boom! Tonalli’s poetry that night represented not only our neighbors from the far west, but also latin teachers from all over the globe. His work communicates the issues Tonalli faces in his battles with patriarchal traditions and how he distills his experience from those battles to his young pupils. 

Monday night’s competition line-up was not an easy one by any sense of the phrase, making his victory one for the history books! If you’re curious why our Nuyorican Bowery Slam crowd loved Tonalli’s work so much, check out his IG @o_tonalli_o and see for yourself the amazing work he’s done!

In what can only be called a match for the ages, our heavyweights popped out to the Nuyorican Bowery Slam this week and gave the crowd a clash of figurative titans! Having won his share of poetry slams within the Nuyorican Poets Cafe circuit quite a few times this year, Habib was assumed to be the front-runner for tonight’s competition. However, the margin of victory for his win was the absolute smallest possible, a mere .1 points. Habib’s talent, experience, and dedication to the craft can be said to be the reasons for this victory. 

We congratulate Habib for his win as a regular competing poet, and we hope our other poets take note of the levels of grit, and unflinching courage it takes to perform as he did under the pressure of the judges’ scores. Check out @habibbello_ on instagram to see more of this awe-inspiring poet!

Our 2025 Nuyorican Grand Slam Champion popped out to the Final Friday Slam this month, and gave us an absolutely amazing showing. Shout out to @_marcus_stokes for his amazing win, as well as the rest of the competitors of the night, including our beloved Nuyorican Slam Team! We are so proud to host you all, and hope to see you succeed in all your future endeavors!

At our Nuyorican Bowery Slam this past Monday, Kai took a resounding win. Kai, along with the rest of our Slam Team is in peak form as they prepare to take the chip at this year’s Southern Fried Poetry Slam. Practice reps against the various skills and styles of our Monday slammers is the best kind of competitive preparation one can engage in before crunch time, and Kai is dangerous because they never give up a chance to progress as a poet!

Between their dogged determination and natural talent, Kai has become one of the most amazing spoken word poets in the country. We are blessed to have hosted Kai on our slam team and implore you to follow them @KaiDGPoet to provide moral support before the represent us on the national stage!

Shoutout to Mich the Aurator for winning another Nuyorican Bowery Slam! With the list full of heavy hitters and new faces, Mich emerged victorious with some signature pieces, illustrating personal anecdotes and blending them with passionate outlooks on identity and universal truths. Despite a stacked second round, Mich garnered the only two 10’s of the night and took home her second Bowery win of the year, earning an invitation to this month’s Final Friday Slam!

To stay in the know with Mich’s work and upcoming performances, make sure to give her a follow @micharbid on IG!

AP brought out all the stops to get the win at this week’s Nuyorican Bowery Slam! Her work conveys widely experienced themes of poverty, discrimination, and womanhood, which resonated so strongly with the crowd this Monday, that the judges gave her a close win over some of NYC’s most competitive spoken word poets. 

It’s always a treat to host AP at our events, because is she both an extremely talented and creative artist, and a wonderful person to interact and be friendly with! If you’re looking to see more of AP the Poet’s work, you can find her at May’s Final Friday Slam! Give AP a follow on Instagram @ap_the_poet.

At this week’s Nuyorican Bowery Slam, Kaleo posed an extremely important question to the crowd: Do you like pineapple on pizza? 

All jokes aside, Kaleo scored a perfect 60.0 at this week’s slam because their poems take seemingly small details and relate them back to largely ignored human consequences behind aspects most people accept as the norm. Kaleo established themselves as the target of colonial injustice, allowing viewers to take note of the human cost underpinning products generated by unseen and exploitative labor.The poem is so poignant that even we at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe can’t help but think twice when we see pineapples on sale in the markets!

Give Kaleo their much deserved kudos by swinging a follow @kaleokauhola and supporting their other artistic endeavors!

Midnight’s  poems brought all the intensity of a seasoned orator, with the content and depth of what can only be referred to as the musings of a modern philosopher. We love seeing new, interesting styles on the stage, and Midnight brought that to the Nuyorican Bowery Slam in spades!

Check out more of his poetry on his page @13thmidnight and watch the rise! The Nuyorican Poets Cafe hopes to see you at more of our slam events!

Imani’s showing at this month’s Final Friday Slam was nothing short of phenomenal! His work in the legal field definitely informs several of his poems, including his second poem of the night. He wowed the crowd with his comparison between the system of chattel slavery and modern policing; using a subtle touch that brought the whole allegory together. If this topic interests you at all, you missed out on an amazing series of performances from our April Final Friday Champion.

We’re so glad to see Imani shine after his shows of dedication at many of our Monday slams, and hope to see his efforts in the field bring him to even greater heights. Follow Imani on IG at @abrotherinlaw and show him some love!

Daniel Letona is one of our most cherished poets, not only for his considerable poetic skill or tireless dedication, but because of his open and welcoming attitude when it comes to being a part of our poetry community! As displayed by his multiple showings at the top of our slam listings, Daniel is an absolutely amazing poet; but this week we at the Nuyorican want to laud him for his amicable attitude and willingness to invite and share space with new poets and interested audience members at our events. 

Swing a follow to @doktordan10 on Instagram and maybe even send him a message to see what new events he’ll be performing at.

Give Kai their flowers! Kai’s position as a competitor at the top of the level of spoken word poetry in NYC and beyond is indisputable. Whether it’s tempo, delivery, diction, or thematic depth, Kai’s work is nearing the absolute peak of what you’ll see at any poetry event in the world! We at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe are so glad to be able to host them at our regular monday events and be part of the system bringing awesome art to our beloved audience.

Give some love to Kai by following them on IG @kaidgpoet and check out some of their features around the tri-state area!

Congrats to Mich the Aurator for winning our most recent Nuyorican Bowery Slam! In a night brimming with fierce competition, Mich emerged victorious with passionate performances of her work, characterized by vivid, heartfelt storytelling as well as nuanced perspectives on global issues. In a tightly contested second round, Mich rose to the moment with a stellar second piece, winning by a margin of 0.1—not only did Mich earn her first Nuyorican Bowery Slam victory, but she also received an elusive perfect cumulative score!

To learn more about Mich’s work and upcoming performances, make sure to check out her page @micharbid on IG !

Story Teller Gordon came out to win this past Nuyorican Bowery Slam! If you’d taken a look at him in the crowd during Monday’s show, you’d have seen determination, focus, and that signature competitive edge written all over his face. He has been part of the past few Nuyorican slams, and it seems like a few small adjustments to his style and delivery have brought him to the top of this week’s heap of poets. 

The depth of his work spans a massive range of topics, from relationships, to his experiences as a POC, to the gripes he has with poetry and the spoken word scene. If you want to see what poems got him his win at this week’s slam, check his page out @storytellergordon or subscribe to our Patreon to watch the event from start to finish from the comfort of your home.

You had to be there to understand the magic of the night! Sold out show, free drinks flowing, and everyone waiting with baited breath to find out who will be crowned March 2026’s Final Friday Slam…. King. The poets this Friday were so talented that the crowd begged for both of our finalists to win! However, to keep the integrity of our bracket intact, only one poet could walk away victorious. 

King Kamayera is the victor of March 2026’s Final Friday Slam! Jubilance, solemnity, anger; King’s wonderful poetry brought a whole slew of emotions out of this crowd this past Friday. Even though his work may seem contentious, we at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe believe that crowds, and poets, love him even more for his courage in sharing it. 

Make sure to support @king.kamayera poetry ventures by giving a listen to his debut spoken word album, “Blackberry Molasses” and checking out some of his incredible feature performances! Thank you Kamayera! Hope to see you at more of our slams

TWO-PEAT! Imani came back to our Nuyorican Bowery Slam after last week’s win as if nothing had changed. The hunger to win and connect with the crowd was still there, and boy did he! Imani’s works this week discussed themes related to life as a young man of color. Particularly beloved was his second round poem, which centered on feeling “heard” by his chosen community over the community society prescribed to him. 

Anytime Imani graces our stage, Nuyorican crowds and poets are in for an amazing show! If you haven’t already, please check out Imani’s IG @abrotherinlaw to see other ways he invests in our wonderful spoken word community.

What would you know, one of the newer faces at our Nuyorican Bowery Slam (but not on the slam scene) has captured his first win of the 2026 Nuyorican Poets Cafe slam season! Imani’s work both on and off the stage have long reverberated throughout the NYC poetry community, but it’s rare that a person who understands the foundations of slam poetry can get up on the stage and rock the mic like he did this last Monday! 

Go and check out Imani’s Instagram, his podcasts, and other artistic ventures @abrotherinlaw and keep up with him as he continues to elevate the poetry scene! Thank you Imani, looking forward to seeing you at future events!

This week’s Nuyorican Bowery Slam saw a mix of new, awesome poets and time-tested Slam veterans battle it out head to head until only one remained. But it was Avé Maria and her poems that were equal parts riqué, humorous, and introspective that edged her score-total out over the considerable competition of the night. 

If you want to see her perform live, Avé Maria will be featured at our FREE Poetry en el Parque event in partnership with the Battery Park City Authority April 4th, 2026. Check out @author.avemaria on Instagram and give them their flowers for an exciting and victorious poetry showing at our slam!

If you weren’t at our Nuyorican Bowery Slam this past Monday, you missed out on one of the most electric and competitive New York poetry slams of the year! Monè came out of the gate with some “new sh*t” and blew the crowd away! Her work gives audience members a tangible and revolutionary outlet to express their fears and misgivings with the state of their communities. Best of all, the historical lens Monè passes her work through brings all of her observations full circle, amplifying the impact of her message.

Check out Monè’s instagram @_heymone to follow her poetry journey from DC to NYC, and show out at her events!

PHEW! Jeri Rae has taken the February Final Friday Slam win with the closest margin of the year so far! .1 Points demarcated the line between victory and extra rounds this Friday, but Jeri Rae’s contemporarily resonant performances gave her the edge needed to get that win and take home the prize. 

As a Monday and Friday Slam winner, Jeri Rae has done much of the work to nominate herself for 2026’s Grand Slam, but nothing is set in stone, yet. Check out her Instagram @jeri_rae to follow her path to the top of the Nuyorican Slam ladder and provide her the much needed support competing artists deserve!

Jeri Rae brought out the big guns this past Monday in her first Nuyorican Bowery Slam win of the 2026 slam season! Her themes and poetic comport straddle the line between humorous and wounded, so when she delivers her poems on romantic relationships or the familial bonds she shares with her father, crowds can’t decide whether to smile or gasp! 

Congratulations Jeri Rae, we’ll see you at this month’s Final Friday Slam at the Loisaida Center! Swing her some love on IG @jeri_rae and check out some of the other poetry centered events she’ll soon be competing and performing in.

Court’s showing of poetic skill and slam mastery was fully on display this past Monday! For those who don’t know, Court’s win at our Nuyorican Bowery Slam has her ranked #2 of our early competitors for the 2026 slam season. All that’s necessary for her to secure her nomination is to win at one of our Final Friday Slams; which is definitely soon to come if she keeps delivering her signature taboo talking point poetic style that’s interspersed with phenomenal wordplay and relatable, sometimes humorous, sometimes painful, themes.

All glory to Court and her dedication to the art of Spoken Word as well as the spoken word community! Please show her the love she deserves on Instagram @through.cs.lens and keep up with her as she becomes one of NYC’s most premier poets!

Kaleo snatched a victory from the closest margin of defeat this Monday! Their victory is made all the more impressive due to their exclusive performance of new poems! 

The amount of courage and sheer talent Kaleo displayed on stage this Monday cannot be overstated because their work related to polarizing current events surrounding American politics, immigration, and the public’s perceived role in the fight against injustice! It’s apparent that Kaleo was driven by the spirit of inspiration that takes great artists when the theme of their work is in confluence with relevant issues that relate to their audience. At that point, a slam win isn’t a surprise to any of our OG Nuyoricans.

For having the bravery to speak on behalf of the marginalized and to perform “new sh!t,” Kaleo deserves all the kudos! Swing them a follow @kaleokauhola and show them some love on their poetic journey!

Daniel Letona has done it! After an amazing show out to win the last Nuyorican Bowery Slam, he carried over his unstoppable momentum into Final Friday and convincingly took the first ‘chip’ of the 2026 Slam Season! 

Daniel’s poetic acumen is second to none, and he showed that considerable wealth of talent tonight when he made his ‘cry for life,’ labelling his literary art as Post-Post Impressionistic. He proved his words weren’t just works of art, but figuratively applied brush strokes! His words slowly became the incandescent purples and striking azure lights in Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Bold claims, made all the more compelling by the manner of their declamation, shook Final Friday’s crowd and brought Daniel’s score to the top of the heap. 

Daniel’s poems were all about risk last month; and with his win, he showed that his gamble paid off! Give Daniel a follow at @doktordan10 and check out his amazing journey throughout our Nuyorican Poets Cafe Slam Season 2026!

This week we recognize Daniel Letona @Doktordan10 for his amazing victory at the Nuyorican Bowery Slam! Daniel is a mainstay at our events who is constantly providing his time, energy, and awesome vibes to the spoken word community. As a result, Daniel not only regularly elevates his awesome poetry but also his fellow poets!

Daniel’s poetry is a deep dive on the issues of immigration and ostracization in America. These themes resonate strongly with current events and the crowds at our events, making him a favorite poet of many audience members. We hope to see him at our January Final Friday Slam and hope he can continue to ascend to greater heights with his phenomenal art!

Swing Daniel a follow at @Doktordan10 and show him the same love he shows the poetry community every day!

Big shouts out to Avé Maria who secured her first Nuyorican Bowery Slam win of the 2026 Slam Season at a competition that nearly ended in a dead heat! At the end of the night, the top 5 had a bare 0.4 difference in scores between Avé Maria’s winning score and the fifth place winner. 

Though the show was extremely competitive, she was able to secure the top spot of the night with her amazing mastery of spoken word using poems that highlight her femininity in equal parts with her trauma, creating compelling literary concoctions that sent craters through the crowd. 

We are so glad to have Avé Maria as an invited participant at our January Final Friday Slam and wish her all the best at our future competitions! Please show her some love by swinging her follows @author.avemaria on Instagram.

Our first Nuyorican Bowery Slam of 2026 went off with a BANG! Court took the victory after two three-way ties, forcing the crowd to vote for the night’s winner with applause. Slam poetry is a delicate science, but the amount of talent on Monday’s lineup made it just about impossible for the Judges to decide the night’s winner, yet Court still took the win! 

Court’s shocking poetry brought the spotlight to themes that we usually let stay unsaid, which is a strategy that can go wrong if it rubs the crowd the wrong way. However,she manages not only to perfectly execute her poem, but also brings the crowd together to root for her in the end. After seeing her performance this Monday, it’s easy to see why she’s one of the best poets in NYC.

We’re so proud of Court’s win and are excited to see her at this month’s Final Friday Slam taking place off-Broadway on January 30th at the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater. Please give Court her due credit and follow her at @through.cs.lens in order to keep up with her phenomenal rise!

Marcus Stokes is the 2025 Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam Champion! In a year full of ups and downs, twists and turns, and everything in between; Marcus has managed to overcome all obstacles and climb his way to the top of NYC’s Slam ladder! 

If you missed out on Marcus’s ascension, here are a few details; Marcus performed both old and new pieces, all of which demonstrate his tried and true poetic style of pointing out accepted inconsistencies and hypocrisies we accept as normal in our society. Add in his signature assertive and rhythmic diction, which masterfully entrances the crowd with wordplay and double entendre, and you’ll be left cheering him on just as the crowd did on December 26th!

The Nuyorican Poets Cafe is so glad to be a part of Marcus’s journey as he achieves his artistic dreams and we look forward to seeing him kill it as a member of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe National Slam Team! We send a heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS to our new Grand Slam Champion! You’ve officially entered the realm of legends! Now the sky is the limit!

Get in the know about the 2025 Nuyorican Grand Slam by checking out his IG @_marcus_stokes !

Jayden killed it at this week’s Nuyorican Bowery Slam! His efforts in elevating his spoken word throughout the year have also been paying off because he convincingly won this Monday’s competition! Jayden’s work is great because it mixes issues of current events with recognizable tempos and political messages that resonate strongly with young crowds. At just the right moment, he delivers the dagger that subverts or deepens his original theme and leaves the audience aghast!

Please give your support to Jayden and follow him on the ‘gram’ @jaydenantwine and give him the support and congratulations he deserves for his amazing work! 

We happily welcome Jada Imani to our 2026 Nuyorican Bowery Slam Winner’s Circle! It may seem like a wild claim, but the Nuyorican Poets Cafe truly has one of the most extensive communities of Spoken Word Poets in the world because poets like Jada are constantly showing up and bringing their talents to bear at our events! 

Jada’s poems are beautifully latticed tapestries that create deeply resonant themes tied to motherhood! Most importantly, her emotive style communicates the depth of meaning and painstaking investment she puts in every poem. It is through these masteries of the craft that Jada was able to get the win at this week’s Nuyorican Bowery Slam!

Please give your support to Jada by following her on Instagram @jada_didit and show some love for her amazing work! Thank you Jada, we hope to see you at more of our events in the future.

Habib Bello has taken the win at the second Nuyorican Bowery Slam of the 2026 Slam Season! Habib’s work has taken the spoken word scene by storm with signature flows that differentiates strongly between poems. Whether it’s solemn contemplations on family, or more lighthearted takes that incorporate humor and philosophy, Habib is beloved by all of our audiences!

Congratulations Habib! We hope to see you at our January Final Friday Slam. If you’d like to support him, give him a follow at @habibbello_ to keep up with this awesome poet!

Marcus is starting our 2026 Grand Slam Season off right! This week’s win comes in preparation for the Slam at the end of this month! Since the 2025 slam season is Dec ‘24 - Nov ‘25, his Nuyorican Bowery Slam win counts on the scorecards for next year’s standings! 

His work resonates deeply with our slam crowd because Marcus’s masterful flow and deep insight pair beautifully to make amazing spoken word! Crowds love his ability to draw out the inherent hypocrisy in things that we accept as normal, all while speaking to the crowd like a friend who’s making an emphatic point!

We want to give every shout out to @_marcus_stokes for his amazing performance at our slam, and hope to see him at future Nuyorican Poets Cafe events. Give him a follow and congratulate him for his amazing talent!