Lit Crawl recap from Clarion Alley

Meet Me in the Alley ... for Literature (I Promise)

Saturday was the ninth and final day of Litquake, when Lit Crawl invades the Mission district roughly between 14th and 25th, Capp and Guerrero streets.This is the largest literary pub crawl in the world, with over 300 authors reading at 54 venues in only 3 hours. This, people, is literary mayhem.

I'd had enough. I was tired again, part of the yo-yo effect of trying to cover this mammoth festival that opens with a bang every year and just keeps going and going until you think there can't possibly be another person in the world who could impress you with words, unti you are impressed with words again and enthused by the prospect of a festival in literature's honor that will never, ever stop. I was so tired I decided that, instead of actually rushing from place to place (and risking being caught in packed rooms not conducive to quality footage), I would stay in Clarion Alley and document everything that happened there. I had been wanting to meet Tony DuShane for a while now and he was the moderator for the Alley, and new friend Amanda Coggin was the curator (and originator) of the Alley series.

Oh, Litquake is a long and crazy parade of authors and events. I am in the process of writing a restrospective of my nine day affair with Litquake, which will be published at SFGate, so I won't go into that here. I would describe Clarion Alley for you but last week I went and took (nearly) comprehensive photos of the graffiti that covers both sides, and I've included those pics in a slideshow. The videos below include almost everything that happened there Saturday; as some of these authors are absolutely completely new to this whole reading in public thing and all did a fine job, I've inlcuded everything I shot (which is why this has taken me an extra day to post). I would also like to apologize to the authors I did not film. And while I'm at apologies, I'm sorry for the reflection of light you can see when the sun goes down. (I'm also sorry for earthquakes, monsoons, and other natural calamities.) As you can see at times the alley was pretty packed, and as the DJ was beside the light it would have been even harder to get a good shot from there.

I want to thank all of the Litquake committee for working so hard to provide San Francisco such an invaluable service. I learned so much about what's happening here and met so many amazing people I can only hope to show you how grateful I truly am. To the authors I have featured and included in my articles, thank you for being so amazing, and for the people who have contacted me for that opportunity, please be patient - I am organizing my tiny mountain of new contacts and passages to go through this very afternoon (so keep an eye out!). For those of you who are reading and would like to submit, please, I encourage it. For the first time in my life, I think, I want my mountain of 'things to do' to grow even larger; it is bursting with fresh voices, good ideas, and potential that I have the power to unleash (and oh, unleash it I shall!). Thank you all for this, for an amazing first (er, tenth) Litquake, and, well: here's to a brilliant year, here's to seeing what we can each accomplish before Litquake 11!

This first video is of Jen Siraganian, who has had a poem nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

Next was DR Haney, author of Banned for Life.

Amanda Coggin, originator, curator, and author, followed with a story entitled "I Know a Girl:"

Andre Perry contributes to The Believer and is working on a book about his experiences in Bay Area bands. Here he reads a selection from said work about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and, more importantly, the difference between being part of a scene and studying one.

Cynthia Gentry, author of Secret Seductions, What Men Really Want, and What Women Really Want, reads a piece called "Following Anais" in which she explains how she became a sex writer.

Diane Karagienakos, aka Vulva Fervor, the glamorous, elite, international peacekeeping agent whose powers of persuasion are far more deadly than any show of force, brought her own impossibly stylish security (naturally) for Operation Lit Crawl.

Stefan De La Garza has recently been published in the Columbia Review. Here he reads an excerpt from a story called "Strange Bodies." Stefan is a great up-and-comer and you can read an excerpt of another story by clicking on his name.

Tony DuShane, founder of Cherry Bleeds and host of Drinks with Tony and, of course, our very own special host, does Anthony Robbins' schtick on "How to Sell a Book." You should watch and learn, because Tony's own, Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk, will be out come February.

That was the end of Round 1 in the Alley. Round 2 features writers who put their names in a hat during Round 1 and were selected to read. Honestly, I was pretty surprised at how talented they all were. It gave me the feeling that everyone in the crowd had a manuscript waiting and would have gladly read in a moment's notice.

First up is Lauren Becker. You can read one of her flash stories here. Even better, you can see her in the flesh this coming Sunday, Oct 25 from 4-6 PM @ East Bay on the Brain, which she is hosting, at Beckett's Irish Pub in Berkeley. The address is 2271 Shattuck Ave (and I'll be there!). Other writers will be: Timothy Crandle, Andrew O. Dugas, Heather Fowler, Stefanie Freele, Greg Gerke, Roland Goity, Ethel Rohan, and Reynard Seifert.

Monica Storss, who runs a reading series on West Portal called Venom and the Anecdote, reads a story entitled "The Punk Rock Marriage."

Meghan Thornton, who authored a vampire romance novel while still in high school and is currently editing her second novel - a fantasy horror - reads a short story called "The Number."

Scott Sanders reads a story called "Kidnappers, Torture, and Celebrity Penile Injections."

 Jesus Angel Garcia, author of the novel Bad Bad Bad, reads a selection below. His site is pretty neat, despite being new, and I suggest you poke around and read some excerpts.

Unfortunately, I put the camera down for a slice of pie and did not record Rajshree Chauhan's beautiful poetry. But you can read some here (and I recommend it). She has published two parts of a novella in Red Wheelbarrow, and her poetry can be found on her blog.

If you read in the Alley and I don't have footage or a shout-out here, please email me and I'll give you a plug. I was very tired toward the end of this day and, I'll admit, starting to drink amber brown. Here's a little video from yours truly, overwhelmed by the fact that Litquake was dwindling and soon to be over:

I figured why not? I'm already loading so many videos!

That was the end of Round 2. Round 3 features the comedy of Kasper Hauser - a true, laugh-out-loud, hilarious hoot. Kasper Hauser is a San Francisco-based comedy troupe that performs some sketch and some improv below. I'm not going to comment on these, because they speak for themselves. Hear me laugh and even ask a question!

Thanks for reading everyone! Please stay tuned as I truly do have a mountain of really talented writers I will be featuring soon. In addition to the above-mentioned East Bay on the Brain I will be checking out Center for Literary Arts' series on Wednesday night to see Kim Addonizio, who I first saw Friday at Mouthy Dames! That event starts at 7 (if you plan to go to this or any other event I advertise, please let me know and maybe we can get together first/after). Also, Bickram Writing is coming up again - this Sunday at 10 AM at the Main Library. See you there!

Wish my articles were organized by topic in a handy table with feature pictures? They are!