Nashville, Ep. 2

April 15, 2015 — In an attempt to live up to our electric October debut, Literary Death Match teamed with The Porch Writers' Collective for our return to Nashville — the front-runner for our City of the Year in 2015 — and what a return it was at The Stone Fox, as it took sudden death for Adam Ross to topple Tiana Clark in an exhilarating game of Lone Star Lit, winning Ross the LDM Nashville, Ep. 2 crown. 

But well before the finale was even a consideration, the brilliant night began with Melanie Vare, comedy writer, comedian, and creator/host of That Time of the Month, reading a fantastic piece about having a baby without an epidural. Then it was Tiana Clark, poet who's appeared in Sisterhood, Southern Voices: Volume 8 & The Southwestern Review, who read a range of brilliant poems that included sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, the first of which featured first-time honeymoon sex and the eventual use of a vibrator. 

Then the mic was handed over to the night's trio of all-star judges: Andrew Maraniss, author of Strong Inside (about the first black SEC basketball player); Caitlin Rose, country singer and mind behind the albums The Stand-In and Own Side Now; and Mary Laura Philpott, editor of Parnassus' Musing blog & producer of I Miss You When I Blink. The trio lauded both writers before huddling up and making the night's first decision by naming Clark the night's first finalist. 

Then, after a brief and boozy intermission, Round 2 kicked off with Gary McDowell, the multi-award winning poet and author of Weeping at a Stranger's Funeral, who blew minds with a series of poems that began with poorly-written erotica that featured gems like "he shoveled his duck into her posse." Finally it was Adam Ross, author of Mr. Peanut and Ladies and Gentleman, who read a pitch perfectly performed piece that captivated the audience. 

The mic again was handed to the judges, with praise abound for McDowell and Ross, before making the night's second impossible choice: advancing Ross to the finals. 

Then up stepped LDM creator Adrian Todd Zuniga who announced the night's finale: Lone Star Lit — a game in which Zuniga read off 1-star Amazon book reviews written about classic books. The two finalists (Ross and Clark), were teamed with volunteers and they traded points, but with everything to play for, it was Team Ross who slapped the bell first, nailed the final answer, winning him the LDM Nashville, Ep. 2 crown, and literary immortality to go with it.