San Francisco Bay Guardian - 10/06/06 - (read original here)

by Nicole Gluckstern

Are you ready for the big one? Don’t worry if you still haven’t gotten around to replenishing your supply of flashlight batteries ” the only trembler due in town this week is Litquake. From its beginnings as a modest two-day event in 2002, Litquake has expanded to nine days this year and will feature over 300 participating readers in a variety of venues. Like to hear what literature inspires your favorite musicians? The opening night gala at the Regency Hotel, “Between the Bridges,” features heavy hitters such as Dan “the Automator” Nakamura from the Gorillaz and Handsome Boy Modeling School, King Dork author and Mr.T Experience frontperson Frank Portman, the Avengers’ Penelope Houston, and San Francisco’s first lady of melancholia, Jill Tracy.

Want a literary experience of cataclysmic proportions? Head to the Koret Auditorium on Oct. 7 and 8 for one (or all) of more than 60 10-minute-long readings performed for free on a variety of subjects. You might have to toss a coin Oct. 9, when both Porchlight and Stephen Elliott’s Progressive Reading Series host Litquake lineups: Sean Wilsey versus Mary Roach ” it is indeed a tough call. Though pricey, “The Politics of Food” panel at the Commonwealth Club is our pick for Oct. 10, and for unrepentant breeders, there’s a free Kidquake at the Main Library on Oct. 11. Thursday and Friday are equally fun-filled and action-packed, but the crowning culmination of Litquake is, of course, the legendary Lit Crawl on Oct. 14: 31 venues, ranging from theaters to Laundromats, playing host to over 150 readers in a mere three-and-a-half hours. It’s certainly one way to catch up on your summer reading. (Nicole Gluckstern)

LITQUAKE Oct 6″14. See www.litquake.org for locations, times, and prices