The oldest slam?

Interested in the claim from PuroSlam in San Antonio that it is/was the first ever. Is this true?

Benjamin Ortiz founded PuroSlam in 1999. And it had a name as the "toughest, roughest, rowdiest poetry slam in the United States".

Were you there in the 90s? How about Larry's Bar, Columbus, Ohio in the US? And the ever lovely Sara-Jane Arbury and Marcus Moore still slamming in England? Not to mention Galicia. Intrigued now...

Anyway more on PuroSlam here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puroslam (yes, a wiki page!).