I'm fighting in Baltimore's first Literary Death Match! January 30, @ The Windup Space

I'll be duking it out as CityLit's representative in Baltimore's debut Literary Death Match, a multi-city reading/performance series sponsored by Opium Magazine and described as "the magic mushroom of Planet Lit." Here's a description from Opium's site:

Opium’s Literary Death Match . . . marries the literary and performative aspects of Def Poetry Jam, rapier-witted quips of American Idol’s judging (without any meanness), and the ridiculousness and hilarity of Double Dare.

Each episode of this competitive, humor-centric reading series features a thrilling mix of four famous and emerging authors (all representing a literary publication, press or concern--either online or in print) who perform their most electric writing (in eight minutes or less) before a lively audience and a panel of three all-star judges. After each pair of readings, the judges—focused on literary merit, performance and intangibles—take turns spouting hilarious, off-the-wall commentary about each story, then select their favorite to advance to the finals.

The two finalists then compete in the Literary Death Match finale, which trades in the show’s literary sensibility for an absurd and comical climax to determine who takes home the Literary Death Match crown.

It may sound like a circus—and that's half the point. Opium and the Literary Death Match have long been passionate about inspecting new and innovative ways to present text on the page and off of it, and the most fascinating part about the LDM is how seriously attentive the audience is during each reading. We've called this the great literary ruse: an audacious and inviting title, a harebrained finale, but in-between the judging creates a relationship with the viewer as a judge themselves.

The event takes place at the Windup Space on January 30th—full details here. Come on out and support literary lunacy in Charm City!