SF, Ep. 46
Saturday, July 21, 2012 at 3:32PM July 21, 2012 — On a sun-drenched Saturday in San Francisco, Literary Death Match discovered that Saturday night was, indeed, alright for fighting, luring a raucous crowd into Elbo Room to witness a wonderful mix of literary sparring that concluded with Mariama Lockington outdueling Siamak Vossoughi in a wild Book Olympics finale to win her the LDM SF, Ep. 46 crown.
But well before finale hijinks ensued, the night began with Sex and Design Magazine founder Veronica Christina leading off with the sobering story of a father's death, followed by Lockington (of BitchYouLeftMe.com), who told a moving and wonderful story about love and its endless challenges.
The mic was then handed over to the night's esteemed judges: flash fiction firecracker Ethel Rohan (author of Cut Through the Bone), femme fatale chanteuse Veronica Klaus, and SFBG Senior Editor Marke Bieschke, who each took turns praising Christina's boldness and Lockington's skill, before declaring — after a lengthy deliberation — that Lockington would advance as the night's first finalist.
After a boozy intermission, Round 2 kicked off with Iranian fiction force Vossoughi leading off against tinseltown bard Steve Abee (author of Johnny Future and King Planet). Vossoughi was flawless while telling a rousing piece that dealt with TV's Columbo and airport security bent on halting terrorism, and then up stepped Abee, who read a hilarious excerpt from his new novel, Johnny Future, about a man attacking the logo on an exterminator's truck.
Again, the mic was passed to the judges, and again they reeled off praise, and after a second deliberation, they made the impossible decision and passed Vossoughi on as the night's second finalist.
Then LDM creator Todd Zuniga took center stage with LDM SF Producer Alia Volz — first luring four volunteers up to be part of the finale: Book Olympics. Round 1 saw each finalist and a volunteer teammate scoot across the stage with five books pressed between their hands. Both scored without effort. Round 2: the two volunteers were tasked with moving a stack of four books across the stage while pressed between their skulls. Again, success all around. Then came the dramatic Round 3 in which the finalists were paired with the other volunteer, and asked to scoot to the finish line with four books pressed between their rumps. After Team Lockington narrowly succeeded, Team Vossughi collective backsides didn't have the same grip, and their stack of books crashed down before the finish. The result: Lockington was crowned champion, not only winning the Literary Death Match SF, Ep. 46 medal, but literary immortality to go with it.
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