I've attended LitQuake and LitCrawl in San Francisco for years now, and it's always a fun-filled smorgasborg literary experience. You really never know what will happen.
When my friend Na'amen asked me to read for LitCrawl this year in a multicultural reading, I happily agreed. I had previously met my co-reader Heather Eccles, who is cool has awesome tattoos, and a third multicultural reader, Ayize Jama-Everett, who I would meet at LitCrawl.
Phase I: 6:00 PM
Hidden Passages, Twisted Families & Broken Landscapes
First, I missed the BART that would have taken me to the venue an easy 30 minutes before my reading. The next BART would arrive 10 minutes before the reading, and it took me all 10 minutes to find the venue on Capp Street. When I arrived, there was a large crowd of 20-30 people waiting outside in the cold. The person who was in charge of the venue (who was not Na'amen) did not show up.
Na'amen decided to have the reading anyway outside on the sidewalk. In the middle of busy San Francisco traffic. With sirens blaring every few minutes, hip hop music blasting from residential apartments across the street, people cutting through the reading, people telling us to stop leaning on their cars so they can drive off in the middle of the reading. The sidewalk was about 12 feet wide, plenty of space to sit, though some chose to lean against the cars parked on the street. Each reader stood on the sidewalk stage, which we designated as right next to the very closed and very locked door of the venue.
Each of us were allotted 15 minutes, and there were only three readers. As first reader, Heather read a funny and fun story. The second reader Ayize dropped his pages on the sidewalk as he was reading. At 6:25, while he was still reading, a random older man carrying a small package wrapped in aluminum foil walked through the audience. And while Ayize was reading and dropping pages onto the sidewalk, this older man, stepped up to the door right next to the reader, took out a bundle of keys, opened the door, and walked into the venue. All while the second reader was reading.
As soon as Ayize finished reading, the older man came out and asked when the event started. Na'amen said "6 o'clock." The older man then asked if we wanted to go inside. Na'amen took a quick look at the audience before saying, "No, I think we'll finish out here." On the sidewalk! Yay!
At 6:30, I started reading, and I was conscious of the setting sun and the sudden brisk winds, so I made sure I read only my 15 minutes, no more.
I read three very short fiction pieces to fit the theme of the reading:
1) Broken Landscape = Unicorn's Patience: After the Hunt - a drabble (exactly 100 words)
2) Hidden Passageway = An excerpt from my newly sold story "The Binding of Ming-tian" about Chinese musicians and footbinding. This story which will be published in Apex Magazine
3) Twisted Families = A story that still hasn't found a home or a title, but it is a sad retelling (with a twist!) of a famous Chinese myth about a Chinese dragon and what it eats.
Such a memorable experience! Thank you sooooooooo much to my friends (Cassie, Megan, Cathy & her bf, Elsa & her gf) and my new literary buddies who showed up and occupied the sidewalk in solidarity!
Phase II: 7:15 PM
Beauty Bar featuring the Saint Mary's College MFA faculty Marilyn Abildskov, Rosemary Graham, Brenda Hillman, Chris Sindt, and Lysley Tenorio! It was great to see fellow alums Sara and Rebecca, and the bar was standing room only.
Phase III: 8:30 PM
Literature to Shift your Perspective
Borderlands Reading featuring SFF writers Terry Bisson, Claire Light, Madeline Robins, and Na'amen! Borderlands was absolutely PACKED.
There's just too much awesomeness happening at LitCrawl, and I could hear everything. I regret not being able to attend the readings of other wonderful writers, including Seanan McGuire, Cassie Alexander, Charlie Jane Anders, Annalee Newz, Jennifer Derillo, Juan Alvarez, and Graham Foust.
But I can't wait to be a part of Litquake next year!
When my friend Na'amen asked me to read for LitCrawl this year in a multicultural reading, I happily agreed. I had previously met my co-reader Heather Eccles, who is cool has awesome tattoos, and a third multicultural reader, Ayize Jama-Everett, who I would meet at LitCrawl.
Phase I: 6:00 PM
Hidden Passages, Twisted Families & Broken Landscapes
First, I missed the BART that would have taken me to the venue an easy 30 minutes before my reading. The next BART would arrive 10 minutes before the reading, and it took me all 10 minutes to find the venue on Capp Street. When I arrived, there was a large crowd of 20-30 people waiting outside in the cold. The person who was in charge of the venue (who was not Na'amen) did not show up.
Na'amen decided to have the reading anyway outside on the sidewalk. In the middle of busy San Francisco traffic. With sirens blaring every few minutes, hip hop music blasting from residential apartments across the street, people cutting through the reading, people telling us to stop leaning on their cars so they can drive off in the middle of the reading. The sidewalk was about 12 feet wide, plenty of space to sit, though some chose to lean against the cars parked on the street. Each reader stood on the sidewalk stage, which we designated as right next to the very closed and very locked door of the venue.
Each of us were allotted 15 minutes, and there were only three readers. As first reader, Heather read a funny and fun story. The second reader Ayize dropped his pages on the sidewalk as he was reading. At 6:25, while he was still reading, a random older man carrying a small package wrapped in aluminum foil walked through the audience. And while Ayize was reading and dropping pages onto the sidewalk, this older man, stepped up to the door right next to the reader, took out a bundle of keys, opened the door, and walked into the venue. All while the second reader was reading.
As soon as Ayize finished reading, the older man came out and asked when the event started. Na'amen said "6 o'clock." The older man then asked if we wanted to go inside. Na'amen took a quick look at the audience before saying, "No, I think we'll finish out here." On the sidewalk! Yay!
At 6:30, I started reading, and I was conscious of the setting sun and the sudden brisk winds, so I made sure I read only my 15 minutes, no more.
I read three very short fiction pieces to fit the theme of the reading:
1) Broken Landscape = Unicorn's Patience: After the Hunt - a drabble (exactly 100 words)
2) Hidden Passageway = An excerpt from my newly sold story "The Binding of Ming-tian" about Chinese musicians and footbinding. This story which will be published in Apex Magazine
3) Twisted Families = A story that still hasn't found a home or a title, but it is a sad retelling (with a twist!) of a famous Chinese myth about a Chinese dragon and what it eats.
Such a memorable experience! Thank you sooooooooo much to my friends (Cassie, Megan, Cathy & her bf, Elsa & her gf) and my new literary buddies who showed up and occupied the sidewalk in solidarity!
Phase II: 7:15 PM
Beauty Bar featuring the Saint Mary's College MFA faculty Marilyn Abildskov, Rosemary Graham, Brenda Hillman, Chris Sindt, and Lysley Tenorio! It was great to see fellow alums Sara and Rebecca, and the bar was standing room only.
Phase III: 8:30 PM
Literature to Shift your Perspective
Borderlands Reading featuring SFF writers Terry Bisson, Claire Light, Madeline Robins, and Na'amen! Borderlands was absolutely PACKED.
There's just too much awesomeness happening at LitCrawl, and I could hear everything. I regret not being able to attend the readings of other wonderful writers, including Seanan McGuire, Cassie Alexander, Charlie Jane Anders, Annalee Newz, Jennifer Derillo, Juan Alvarez, and Graham Foust.
But I can't wait to be a part of Litquake next year!
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