litquake...Litquake...LITQUAKE!!!

Oh yea, it's on!

Join me this Friday at The Verdi Club for the dirt-cheap opening night party of San Francisco's Litquake Festival, now celebrating its 12th spectacular year. 'The Devil's Lexicon : Litquake's Nod to the Dark Side of Literature' kicks-off at 8pm, and there will be cocktails, so let's keep this one strictly 21UP, ok, you devils?

And speaking of 21UP, this year's Litcrawl on October 15th (fills me with civic pride every time) will debut the Litquake Book Bar, a mobile, interactive installation on a trailer that aims to entertain and engage San Franciscans by conducting live interviews with authors, artists, and musicians in parking spots around the city. So there's that. . . in addition to what, 300 readers in over 50 venues peppered along the Valencia corridor? Many of which are also bars! So massive in fact, that this year's Litcrawl has its very own website: http://litcrawl.org/sf/schedule/ . Did you click it? Pretty massive, huh?

Don't worry, the middle isn't just filler either - instead, days and days of top-notch talent from all over the world will descend upon the Bay Area every day and night of the week from October 7th through October 15th in dozens of venues. Overwhelming, sure, but fret not; here's the plan from Litquake, and a few suggested high-lights from our most recent Green Apple Newsletter.

I'm excited. I'm kind of afraid. I need to go now and save my energy - but please say "Hi" if you see me, or any of the other Green Applers that you spot around town lending our hands to this huge undertaking. And thanks Jack, Jane and Elise for what promises to be another stellar season!

Oh, what a night...

So yesterday was a pretty big one for me, as I tuned 40 - gulp! The cake was fantastic, but without a doubt, the highlight of my celebratory romp around The City last night was being able to catch the wonderful new production at A.C.T. called "The Tosca Project".

As any reader of this blog will tell you, many of us at Green Apple enjoy the periodic tipple (although we justify this interest well with our sterling book recommendations), and when we get to North Beach, there has only been one bar we prop our elbows on - Tosca Cafe, the most literary bar in San Francisco (sorry Vesuvio, but you know it's true).

"The Tosca Project" was a beautiful collaboration of theatre and dance; more dance in fact than I expected, but as many of the performers are active in the San Francisco Ballet, the dancing was top-notch. Curious that there was little (if any at all) dialogue during the performance. Indeed, the tale of Tosca's decades was told via moody lighting, kaleidoscopic colors and costumes, costumes, costumes. And dance.

Good news for those of you who haven't been able to score tickets to this World Premier - "The Tosca Project" has just been extended through July 3rd! Take someone special, dig some artistic history, then head north to the authentic Tosca Cafe for a nightcap. And if you catch Jeanette or Peter near that velvet rope, please tell 'em that the folks at Green Apple send our love.

Join me for a drink?

I’m growing more and more impressed with the quality and uniqueness of literary events in the Bay Area these days - impressed yes, but not surprised… In a city that leads the rest in dollars spent per capita on books and booze, I’ve come to expect (and also work hard to organize) authors from far and wide pimping their wares in watering holes that range from dive bars to speakeasies to penthouses to cafes. If there’s a table and a stage – OK, maybe some haven’t had a stage, but still – literature in The City flows like fine wine; or at least MD2020.

Over the past couple of months I’ve attended sold-out Literary Death Matches, a packed Porchlight and a really rambunctious Quiet Lightning. Sad that I missed the most recent Writers With Drinks, but I do believethat I'll be there next time...

So when I encourage you to brave the rain tonight and join me at The Knockout for another in the continuing Drinks With Tony series, you know that I know what I’m talking about. Tony Dushane has been recording a live talk-radio show there for some time now, but tonight’s scene will be a bit different, as we’re celebrating the release of Tony’s new book, Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk – his memoir of growing up Jehovah Witness. Interesting, indeed! Joining Tony on stage this evening will be Alan Black, Harmon Leon and Marisa Matarazzo with musical guests Vagabondage.

Tonight's event is FREE, so please try and make it down and support your local scene!

This blog post is brought to you by Snuggie

Having spent most of my life on the east coast, San Francisco's subtle seasons often left me disappointed. I thought I missed the bracing cold of a January morning or August's oppressive humidity. Now that I'm four months into a Midwest winter (I'm promised it'll last only two more months), I realize I was being sentimental. I'm prone to that sort of thing. However! rather than complaining too much (on a public forum), I'll do my best to remain positive. Yes, I will. I will, yes. I am trying. It's just the wind... and the snow... and the way you can feel your breath freezing in your nostrils and you know that you're bleeding from your nose but the blood freezes on your face and everyone's looking at you and wondering why the hell you aren't wearing a hat and...

[Deep breath.]

One of the (few) positive things about being unable to disrobe from my Snuggie - which, of course, is covered in cat hair and crumbs - is that I have little recourse but to spend a lot of time finding out just how much interesting stuff there is on the Internet. (Oh, sure, I read books too. Sort of.) Who knew? Maybe you didn't, so I'm going to share some wonderful things I've found, like the photograph above of Billy Faulkner. Or this, which must surely be the work of the Devil. Or God, it's hard to tell. Either way, it scares me.

Without any former ado, here are the links:

1. The photograph of Faulkner was pulled from this gallery at Life Magazine of famous literary drunks and addicts. Not included was Alfred Jarry, who, in typical Ubu-esque fashion, offered this quip in reply to concern over his drinking habits: "We thought we had done once and for all with this question of alcoholism, and that all sensible people understood that the use, and even more the abuse, of fermented beverages is what distinguishes man from beast."

2. A few links for Bolaño enthusiasts: First, his story William Burns is available (for free) at The New Yorker. And second, Bolaño's "Advice on the Art of Writing Short Stories," originally published in World Literature Today, is available here.

3. Novelist and provocateur Tom McCarthy (Remainder, one of my favorites) has a long essay on Jean-Philippe Toussaint in the latest issue of the London Review of Books. (In case you forget how much we love Monsieur Toussaint, look here. He's good fer what ails ya.)

4. Coleridge or Wordsworth, eh? The former was an opium addict prone to wanderlust, the latter "the most sober of the great romantics, a water drinker, a walker of the hills, an exemplary family man." The choice is obvious.

5. Finally, Dolores Park will be closed for over a year starting sometime around September 2011. This is awful news, but take consolation in the Secret Spaces of San Francisco.