Literary Death Match

Posted on March 30, 2010 in Uncategorized

Opium Magazine’s Literary Death Match London, episode 4 took place at The Book Club and was hosted by Todd Zuniga of Opium Magazine and Anna Goodall of Pen Pusher. Each episode of the competition features four established or up-and-coming authors (who all represent a literary publication, press or concern) performing for seven minutes or less, to a panel of three judges and, in this case, a large and enthusiastic audience.

The first round of episode 4 saw Book Club Boutique’s Salena Godden face John Osbourne, represnting Nasty Little Press. Salena performed a piece about car sex with confidence and humour. John chose three short poems from his collection, What if men burst in wearing balaclavas, and impressed with a sharp twist on the comfort of everyday life that belied the sweet and cuddly first impression he gave both the audience.

The judges, poet and editor of Rising Magazine, Tim Wells, actress, writer and presenter Emma Kennedy, and singer, artist and writer Molly Carroll were responsible for judging literary merit, performance and intangibles, respectively. Both performers impressed the judges: Salena with her graphic and funny tale of public sex and John with his poetry and, largely, his boyish charm that had the female constituent of the panel all desperate to adopt him. After some heated debate, Salena was declared the winner of the first round.

Next up were Faber author Richard Milward and Sophie Lewis of Litro Magazine. Richard won over the audience immediately with his imaginative prop (a block of flats hat made from a box) and his tales of a Middlesbrough tower block and its inhabitants, while Sophie performed the difficult task of reading others’ work, from the latest Litro issue, with conviction.

Despite Emma Kennedy’s admonishment that Richard shouldn’t use his tower block hat to hide from the audience, he was unanimously declared the winner, and joined Salena in the final test (that fail-proof universal method used to distinguish literary talent) – rolling chocolate eggs through the mouths of literary celebrities such as Jane Austen, W.B. Yeats and… Alan Titchmarsh.  Richard emerged victorious, though it was a nailbiting finish!

The format of the evening meant it was a great way to hear new writing in a non-pretentious setting, with speakers being prepared to be made fun of by the judging panel.  Basically, a perfect mix of quality readings mixed with humorous banter from the judges.  The Book Club itself is worth paying a visit to if you have not been there before, although be prepared to sit on the floor for this event as Episode 4 was rammed full. The next death match will be in May, and it is definitely worth checking out for some light-hearted literary fun. 

Lucy Mitchell and Claire Robertson