Edinburgh, Ep. 11

August 24, 2015 — In our second of eight-shows-in-eight days at the Edinburgh Fringe, Literary Death Match showcased a brilliant seven-some of geniuses, in a late-afternoon that finished with Dan Simpson trumping Sarah Maria Griffin 2-1 in a fast-paced Literary Pictionary finale, winning Simpson the LDM Edinburgh, Ep. 11 crown. 

But before the finale was even a consideration, the show opened with the brilliant Andrea Bennett reading an excerpt from her novel Galina Petrovna's Three-Legged Dog. Next up was the staggeringly talented Griffin, author of Not Lost, who read an original piece coveting clothing and the feelings she had about them. 

Then the mic was handed over to the trio of all-star judges: Rachel McCrum, performance poet extraordinaire and Rally & Broad ringmaster; Sarah Franken (Who Keeps Making All These People?), comedian, sketch-master, multi-voiced genius; and Phil Nichol (I Don't Want to Talk About It), comedian and musician. The three traded their impressions of the work before huddling up, then declaring Griffin as the night's first finalist. 

Then came Round 2, kicked off with wonder-poet Simpson, poet, the man behind the EdFringe show Nerdsmith and author of Applied Mathematics, who dazzled the audience with a pair of poems, one about shapes, another about love (through a math lens). Then it was the stirring Sean Michaels, author of Us Conductors, who wowed with an excerpt from his novel. 

The mic was again handed to the judges, who discussed the merits of both writers, with random mental wilings and general applause before deciding to send Simpson on to the finals. 

Then up stepped LDM creator Adrian Todd Zuniga, who announced the night's finale: Literary Pictionary — a game in which audience members drew the titles of great novels while the two finalists — Griff and Simpson — guessed, with the audience helping them out. With the game tied, and only one drawing to go, it was Dan Simpson who answered "Midnight's Children?" winning, which it was!, winning him the LDM Edinburgh, Ep. 11 crown, and literary immortality to go with it. 

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