When it comes to innovation and sheer volume, the Bay Area literary scene is unrivaled. What other city devotes an entire month to literature (Litquake) and a dedicated pub crawl for the written word (Lit Crawl) every year? We’ve been known to hold readings in abandoned apartments (Live at 851) and gay sex clubs (K’vetsh), and we curate haiku battles about public transit (Muni Diaries), so it’s no surprise that one lit event has, well, run away with the circus. Literary Clown Foolery is a 90-minute cabaret set in a bookstore that’s part circus performance, part happening, and part Daily Show, with live music and an open bar thrown in for good measure. This month’s installation of clownfoolery features skits around Cat Versus Human, by Oakland-based cartoonist Yasmine Surovec, as well as Outrageous Openness: Letting the Divine Take the Lead, by SF Examiner writer Tosha Silver. As the website proclaims, “We promise you’ve never been to a literary event like this before.” We are inclined to believe it.
