This year Litquake is delighted to partner with Berkeley’s Poetry Flash in a sacred and profane night of rock-star readings featuring current U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan, and current California Poet Laureate Al Young, both of whom live right here in the Bay Area. Also on board for the evening’s program will be poets Dan Bellm, Jane Mead, and D.A. Powell. “A Sacred and Profane Poetry Reading” takes place at Grace Cathedral atop Nob Hill, at 6 pm on Tuesday, October 7, and admission is free. Listen to Kay Ryan and many other English-language poets from around the world at the free online Poetry Archive.

The concept of printing books on demand has been discussed in the publishing world for several years. This week, an Australian bookstore announces the service to the general public. About the size of an office Xerox copier circa 1985, the “Expresso Book Machine” spits out a complete paperback with color cover, in seven to 14 minutes (maximum length 550 pages). So is this the future of books? Who knows. Expresso is offered by New York company On Demand Books, and the machines are already operating, primarily in libraries, in Vermont, Michigan, New Orleans, and here in San Francisco at the Presidio’s Internet Archive.

In reaction to recent presidential campaign hysteria, this week the Illinois Pork Producers Association unveiled a poem about lipsticks and pigs. “We’re happy to provide our side of the story,” says Jim Kaitschuk, the organization’s executive director. “After all, the topic at the center of the controversy — pigs — is our livelihood.”