Chicago, Ep. 8

November 21, 2013 — After an awful-long absence, Literary Death Match returned to the House that Sandburg Built — and more specifically the Empty Bottle — for a night of Windy City brilliance that saw Lindsay Hunter outduel Danielle Susi in a Lone Star Lit finale by a score of 43-40 to win Hunter the LDM Chicago, Ep. 8 crown. 

But before the finale was even a consideration, the night kicked off with a magical story by Danielle Susi (recipient of a writer’s grant/residency from the Vermont Studio Center) about a dream trampoline that hushed the raucous crowd. Next up was Cory O'Brien (author of Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes: A No Bullshit Guide to World Mythology) who reeled off a laugh-inducing piece that ranted against birds and trees. 

The mic was then handed over to the trio of all-star judges: Simone Muench, 2013 NEA Fellowship in Poetry winner, author of Orange Crush; Damon Locks, visual artist and musician (Trenchmouth and The Eternals); and actor/writer/comedian Greg Mills. The trio reeled off an awesome string of compliments and peculiarities before making the night's first impossible decision, naming Susi as the night's first finalist. 

After a quick-and-boozy intermission, Round 2 kicked off with Christian Tebordo (author of The Awful Possibilities and The Bizarro Starter Kit) who started with a brief prayer, and finished with a fantastic piece entitled "Things to See in Toughlahoma." Finally, it was Lindsay Hunter (author of Don't Kiss Me and Daddy's and the co-founder of Quickies!) who read a lights-out, white trash-skewed piece about unfortunate adventures in babysitting that entranced the audience.

Again the judges were center stage, with wise cracks and applause delivered in the direction of both writers before they made their night's second impossible choice, naming Hunter as the night's second finalist. 

Then host and LDM creator Adrian Todd Zuniga took center stage, announcing the Lone Star Lit finale, in which he read off 1-star Amazon book reviews written about the 100 Best Books of All-Time. The finalists, teamed with a mix of volunteers from the crowd, took turns nailing book after book, but with everything to play for Team Hunter nailed the final answer, completing an incredible comeback for Lindsay Hunter, as she was crowned champ, winning the Chicago, Ep. 8 medal, and literary immortality to go with it.  

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