Litquake resonates with Mouthy Dames and Drums Inside Your Chest (Crawl today!)

October 17, 12:12 PMSF Literary Culture ExaminerEvan Karp

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Mouthy Dames! (At it Again)

Just when I think: Litquake's played all its cards, I'm tired and no longer interested, I don't want to write anymore or have anyone see me, I want to stay in and sleep until Litquake is something I dreamt and a good dream until I couldn't wake up ... and then actually wake up and go for a nice long bike ride and get on with my life ... that's when, of course, Litquake kicks me in the butt again, and I remember why I like to write, and why it always does bite me in the rear when I start to give in to preconceived thoughts about anything. Day 8 of Litquake, you guys, day 8 was inspiring.

I didn't get out of bed until 1:30 in the afternoon. I was drained, physically, emotionally, psychosomatically, et cetera. There wasn't enough in me to form a single emotion - much less any value. I awoke after 12 solid hours of unconscious bliss (probably what I've had in total the last 6 days) and wrote about yesterday. That was the first time I didn't post before sunrise. I had planned on going to the Underground Exposed function, and only that, but decided I would go out of my way to do something unexpected. Even though I knew I would miss at least half of it, I leisurely headed toward Hotel Monaco, where Litquake was holding its annual women's night, Mouthy Dames! I made sure to slacken my naturally quickening pace; I do not need to be worried about coverage, I reminded myself. "Enjoy this. Take your time and show up when you do. No one wants to see or hear anything that doesn't directly convey your enthusiasm. To rush is to destroy any chance at quality footage." (A quality reminder.)

When I started this I had no intention of covering the whole thing. I thought I would take my cameras with me to every event I attended and attend as many events as I wanted. But as the week progressed I found myself in a unique position. I could literally create a documentary of this festival; I could cover as much as physically possible for one person to cover. My cameras and the idea of being a reporter became an impetus for experiencing more events than I probably would have otherwise. I embraced this. I know that to live a truly satisfying life it is necessary to push yourself way out past your comfort zone to do things you know you'll enjoy, even if you don't feel like doing them right now. There isn't anything besides right now. Do it!

So I found myself at Mouthy Dames! and, lo and behold, I was at the pulse again. The hotel's ballroom, yet another in the fabulous and eclectic collection of Litquake destinations, was filled with women who really appreciate writing. They were hanging on every word, and for good reason. Every reader I saw was fantastic, and I even missed the big gun (Terry McMillan). When I got there Wendy Merrill was reading a selection from her new Falling into Manholes; when I walked in, the room was laughing and had obviously been communing for quite some time.

As I discovered later, Jane Ganahl, co-founder of Litquake and emcee of the event, started it off with a reading from her own book Naked on the Page: the Misadventures of My Unmarried Life; I can only assume the room had been communing since at least then.

But next up was Kim Addonizio, who, as Jane said in her introduction, is a serious writer. Guffaw! Understatement! Who is this woman?

Every time I see someone of this calibre who I'm yet unfamiliar with I hear "Idiot! Idiot!" in my head. But not really. I was hanging on her words (you should too).

Watch this video for one short and sweet (and yet another) reason to love Litquake, and then watch Christine Comaford perform her special reading.

Now. If you're looking for personality, watch the following video of April Sinclair. She makes me feel like I could be cool with any person in the world. This is a feeling I do have sometimes. It's like everyone in the world is your favorite teacher. Like everyone has the same heart. Mmm hmm. Click for feeling.

Oh, drats. A Pulitzer Prize winner. You know, as a sidenote, on the eighth day of Litquake, the founders gave to me... one PP winner, one Emmy winner, a poet who is better, and a pass to the after-party! Jane Smiley was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for her bestselling A Thousand Acres and reads here from her new The Georges and the Jewels.

Strangely enough I felt so distinctly that I'd heard Jane before and maybe even seen her (can't be. I don't ever forget seeing a PP winner). I felt the same way with Kim. Is all resonance, beyond a certain scope, familiar? One thing I loved about Jane was how she reads for exactly the allotted time, no matter what she's read; she could be in the middle of the sentence and when the signal is given (by a friend in the audience), she says thank you and takes a slight bow.

So I missed three of the eight readers (Kim Wong Keltner being the other). But the event was uplifting and hit me from many angles. The only thing these women really had in common, besides their femininity, was their passion for writing, and they each brought their own version of the almighty (and well-crafted) roar.

I mill about for a bit. I want to introduce myself to Ms. Addonizio but I've got nothing to offer more than "I just heard you for the first time and you're like, totally amazing. I want to read all your stuff and I'm going to, promise. You resonate. I dig you et cetera three times over," so I mill some more and kick it with the Litquake staff. We're family now. We spend our evenings together, complain about how tired we are, look after each other, make small talk, and no matter how we're feeling, we smile when we see each other. It feels good.

I leave. I want to go see Underground Exposed still but there's no chance; I didn't bring my bike and if I go I'll only make the tail-end - then I'll miss out on The Drums Inside Your Chest because they're too far apart. Relax, I remind myself. Stroll casually and with glee to your destination. Exult.

Boy, do I. Sidenote: there's usually not this much distance between events. I walked from 501 Geary to 3117 16th. I didn't know exactly where I was going. I'm not overly familiar with anything below Market and I just kind of headed SW, stopping at occasional bus stops for map help. I had a great conversation with a woman who could not believe how lucky I am as a human being. I assured her that I count my blessings daily and knew, more than anyone, how lucky I really am. "Doing what I love! Doing what I love!" Yes, et cetera. During this long walk through seedville I did not lower my singing voice; I did not think "I am afraid for my life" although perhaps I should have been. I thought: "I am walking through my favorite city on a Friday night to go from one literary event to another, in completely different districts and entirely of my own free will. I am alone and I am thoroughly happy." I could have walked a thousand miles with that feeling.

When I got to the Roxie there were Litquake people outside (not to mention Bucky Sinister). It was like my family was waiting for me. I had not been exactly pumped about this event because I saw it was produced by Amber Tamblyn, and, not knowing anything about her, I assumed that someone who stars in movies with the likes of Sarah Michelle Gellar and is generally a TV personality probably isn't a writer. Her good looks also convinced me of this; I am so very skeptical of a beautiful face. She did seem likable at the Death Match (where she was a judge), but it would have taken a lot of convincing Thursday night to make me like anything. But, wrong again.

The show was great and it was Amber who brought the fantastic lineup of Beau Sia, Buddy Wakefield, Derrick Brown, Jeffrey McDaniel, Mindy Nettifee, Bucky Sinister, and Rob Zabrecky together; she produced not only the actual show but the film, read in the show, and performed with her mother, live, right before our very eyes. It was touching, sincere, and just wonderful. By the time I met her afterward I had a hard time believing she was so cool. What do I know?

Hardly anything! The only poet I knew before the film was Bucky, and only from Punk Rockers Spill Their Guts on Monday night. But throughout the entire film, or most of it, I sat in my seat and periodically uttered four letttter words in disbelief. Like Old Faithful, only I spewed forth expletives. Listen out for it (or hear it in your own head). These poets are gooood. Really good. And the film is so well-put together it has the form of a poem itself, each writer forming a personal motif and then fading into the darkness.

The audience was unconscionably interactive. It was all we could do to laugh or clap or otherwise holler. I have moments when I am so filled with positive, affirmative energy that it is almost impossible to keep from jumping up and screaming Hallelujah! even though I don't believe in god and consider myself a very rational being. At these moments I know I have heard something or seen something that is enough; like Henry Miller once said about reading (and I paraphrase): 'When I come to a passage that blows the lid off I stop right there, I bookmark and know that I am done reading for the day. I do not need anymore. Anymore would ruin it.' If my brain had a gauge like any car does the needle would have been smacking the limit: "Lid off! Lid off!"

One more thing and I'll stop gushing: I kept thinking "I'm so glad I have this on film. So glad." Amber and director Stephen Latty have done a service to the power and utility of words. After the film Stephen said they are going to put the whole thing online, in a downloadable file, for absolutely no cost. This will not always be the case (future shows will be for sale), and he couldn't give me a date yet, but keep checking their site for a full-length, full-quality cut. I have virtually the whole thing already and I'll download it. I might even burn copies and hand them out to people (because that's just how cool I am).

Well, the sun has been up for a long time now (don't worry, I took a break). Today is the final day of Litquake X. Today is the Lit Crawl. What should I wear? Answer: comfortable shoes. What should I bring? Answer: pocket liquor, recording devices, snacks. Don't forget to eat today. Also: let me encourage you to take as much footage as you can. Take a camera. Take video footage if you have a digital camera or a Flip or skillz with a smartphone. Send it to me. Show me amazing. Best video gets a prize ...

Click here for a full-on schedule of the Crawl. Grab a program and rip the red out. Have plans but be ready for anything. Your plans are not going to work out. You're not going to care.

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