We are thrilled to announce that Cormac Mac Gearailt, All Ireland Slam champion has also won Slam-O-Vision 2024 held at Manchester Poetry Library on Thursday 12 December. Cormac’s wining poem was Caoineadh na gCrann and this is the first time Ireland has won the competition.
Cormac is a bilingual spoken word artist and poet from Dublin, who explores profound themes such as the passage of time, urban isolation, addiction, ecological collapse, the loss of native language, along with love, family, and the beauty of nature.
This was the largest Slam-O-Vision to date, and arguably the most competitive yet. Each finalist had already got through at least one local heat and delivered their best performance to compete for the coveted title of champion. A close second place went to Manchester’s own Griot Gabriel, closely followed by Thomas Valcourt from Québec City in third.
The ‘Eurovision for the Spoken Word’ has been contested since 2019 and is aimed at increasing cultural participation within individual cities as well as showcasing local talent on an international stage.
Fourteen Cities of Literature participated in Slam-O-Vision 2024, three cities for the first time ever: Bremen (Germany), Dublin (Ireland), Exeter (UK), Gothenburg (Sweden), Iowa City (US), Kutaisi (Georgia), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Manchester (UK), Nottingham (UK), Québec City (Canada), Reykjavik (Iceland), Tartu (Estonia), Vilnius (Lithuania) and Wroclaw (Poland).
Read, Watch, Listen
Dublin, One City, Many Stories - Video Two, The Writers' Roundtable
Fallen
If Ever You Go: A Map of Dublin in Poetry and Song
The Artist and the City
