Journal

NYC, Ep. 29

2010-08-18T16:26:00Z

August 19, 2010 — We promised a hot and sticky night, and NYC, Ep. 29 did not disappoint! After a quick and dirty run through of the rules and regs, NYC Exec Producer Ann Heatherington assembled and dissembled judges Bruce Benderson (complete with high-tech nicotine distribution system), Michael Hearst of One Ring Zero (who sadly has never had a run-in with Geraldo Rivera), and Elna Baker (formerly Mormon, currently hilarious). As is LDM custom, the audience selected at random the first round readers, Melissa Petro (of Sex Work Matters: Power and Intimacy in the Sex Industry) and Benjamin Hale (The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore).

Edinburgh, Ep. 1

2010-08-14T19:57:00Z

August 10, 2010 — Deep in the recesses of a brilliant dungeon (a.k.a. The Banshee Labyrinth), the Literary Death Match's Edinburgh debut — teamed with Utter! at the Free Fringe — was pitch- and picture-perfect, with Scotland's homegrown Jenny Lindsay narrowly winning over Molly Naylor (Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think Of You) in a breakneck game of Pass-the-Haggis to take the LDM crown.

SF, Ep. 32

2010-08-12T20:49:00Z

August 13, 2010 — In a finale seared into the collective unconscious of the Elbo Room crowd, poet D. A. Powell came from behind to snatch victory from novelist Tanya Egan Gibson. After citing the correct Shakespearean play, he claimed the winning point by thrusting his cactus forward to pop host M.G. Martin’s cherry (balloon). And yes, the exploding balloon did spew forth a distinctly blood-like liquid.

London, Ep. 8

2010-08-11T12:18:00Z

NYC, Ep. 28

2010-07-15T08:44:00Z

July 15, 2010 — Literary Death Match went all poetical for the event's 28th-ever NYC-based episode, that saw a breakneck game of Shove the Balloon through the Hoola Hoop won by Jon Sands over C.S. Carrier by a 4-1 margin.

But before the first balloon was hoisted, LDM NYC Exec Producer Ann Heatherington and co-host Melissa Broder (When You Say One Thing But Mean Your Mother) and creator of The Polestar Poetry Series, commiserated about vermin, reviewed the rules of engagement, and brought out the trio of all-star judges: mega-watt poet Jeff McDaniel (Best American Poetry 1994 and New (American) Poets), high priestess of visual wordplay Kay Rosen (MoMA, The Whitney Museum) and Slam Master Flash Lynne Procope.

Round one pitted one-man soul train Sands (representing Write Bloody Publishing) against verse virtuoso Michael Morse (representing Spinning Jenny).

London, Ep. 7

2010-07-14T15:42:00Z

July 14, 2010 — The Literary Death Match launch of Bret Easton Ellis' Imperial Bedrooms was a ridiculous success, as the '80s-themed evening at Concrete ended with a wild game of Guess the Musical Artist that saw novelist Lee Rourke (representing Melville House) narrowly claim victory over poet Clare Pollard (representing Bloodaxe Books) by a final score of 7-6.

SF, Ep. 31

2010-07-09T20:00:00Z

July 9, 2010 — LDM SF's 31st episode came to a creamy climax when spoken-word artist Kirya Traber raised her face, smeared with white goo, to the mic and gasped, “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times … A Tale of Two Cities!” narrowly out-pie-eating/quoting/citing memoirist Andre Perry for the crown.

NYC, Ep. 27

2010-06-17T09:53:00Z

June 17, 2010 — Brilliance reigned supreme at New York City's 27th-ever Literary Death Match, as four heavyweights slugged it out at Bowery Poetry Club, with The Rumpus founding editor Stephen Elliott out Card Shark'd co-finalist Rakesh Satyal by a final score of 2-1, avenging his LDM first-round knockout 90 episodes ago in San Francisco, and claiming the LDM crown.

SF, Ep. 30

2010-06-11T19:14:00Z

June 11, 2010 — All would agree: It was spectacular, and it was spectacle. The Literary Death Match's finest hour, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Forum, saw a record-breaking audience witness an epic and sensational battle that concluded with Etiqueta Negra reader-rep Daniel Alarcón narrowly out-shining Porchlight's Beth Lisick by a score of 6-5 in a Literary Geography Bee that went down to the final, confusing, tie-breaker question. Alarcón, the event's ultimate champion, was sashed and medaled in front of a thrilled and raucous crowd.

London, Ep. 6

2010-06-03T16:40:00Z

June 3, 2010 — Literary Death Match London's return to where it all started — at Old Queens Head — was a levity-fueled evening that saw Big Green Bookshop's Greg Stekelman (A Year in the Life of TheManWhoFellAsleep) out-boot co-finalist Evie Wyld (Fire a Still Small Voice) in a wild World Cup-themed finale by a final, Literary Death Match championship-winning score, of 3-2.