Ihema Uzmba

performance poet. multimedia artist. filmmaker.

Iheoma Uzomba in yellow dress smiling.
Iheoma Uzomba in yellow dress smiling.

Born in Nigeria and now based in Canada, Iheoma Uzomba goes by the stage name Oma is Loud. Her work spans spoken word poetry and multimedia storytelling. Her writing has appeared in Prairie Schooner, Rattle Magazine, Palette Poetry, The Chestnut Review, The Shore Poetry and other journals, earning honours such as the Glenna Luschei Award for Poetry (2025) and the Lagos–London Poetry Prize (2022). A two-time winner of the Calgary Poetry Slam (2025) and the Vancouver Poetry Slam (2025), she is a Poetry Translation Center (UK) UNDERTOW Fellow. Currently serving as Artist-in-Residence with the Libraries and Cultural Resources at the University of Calgary, she is conducting archival research on the Edith Fowke Fonds, culminating in a multidisciplinary theatre production titled Dangerous Woman: Four Acts on Historical Womanhood (2026). A stark raving mad poet, she stays wild in her musings until 9 pm or so.

Discover

Unapologetic: Open Mic Poetry Event
Unapologetic: Open Mic Poetry Event
Upcoming Events

An open mic poetry event that presents a space for people to experience release and self-expression without the fear of judgment.

Unapologetic: Open Mic Poetry

Date: February 24, 2026

Time: 3pm

Press Highlight

Iheoma Uzomba in yellow dress smiling
Iheoma Uzomba in yellow dress smiling

Iheoma Uzomba Wins Glenna Luschei Prairie Schooner Award for Poetry

The Nigerian poet, a staff writer at Open Country Mag, will receive $1,500 for three poems in English and in Pidgin. It is the renowned magazine’s top honor.

Upcoming Events
Latest Blog Posts
Maria the Scientist and Young Thug in Pink and White
Maria the Scientist and Young Thug in Pink and White

What Maria the Scientist and Young Thug's Engagement Says about Modern Romance

Two musicians, opposing aesthetics and the internet's growing romance fatigue in 2025.

Iheoma Uzomba

December 26, 2025.

Gallery

performance. style. aesthetic.

Iheoma Uzomba performing poetry with Open Mic
Iheoma Uzomba performing poetry with Open Mic
Iheoma Uzomba performing poetry in dark concert room
Iheoma Uzomba performing poetry in dark concert room
Iheoma Uzomba stylish pose in red gown and black gloves
Iheoma Uzomba stylish pose in red gown and black gloves
Iheoma Uzomba performing poetry with stage lights over head and open mic black and white
Iheoma Uzomba performing poetry with stage lights over head and open mic black and white