Tonight's the last night of structured, regularized events before the free-for-all that is the Lit Crawl. On tap: spoken-word poetry, an all-female panel, the history of zines, and a special event for teenagers.
Actress and poet Amber Tamblyn, who's all over the festival this year, is the star of the new documentary The Drums Inside Your Chest, which takes its name from a poetry group she co-founded. The spoken-word concert film features seven poets and a "vaudevillian magician host" (their words), and is being shown in conjunction with Docfest. (9:15 pm at Roxie Theatre, 3117 16th St. Tickets are $10 at the door.)
Litquake's night of female authors, titled Mouthy Dames!, has some big-shots participating this year, including renowned novelists Jane Smiley (Ten Days in the Hills, A Thousand Acres) and Terry McMillan (Waiting to Exhale, How Stella Got Her Groove Back), Litquake co-founder Jane Ganahl, and poet Kim Addonizio. They'll discuss their inability to "keep their feelings and opinions to themselves" (their words), and the challenges of being a lady writer. (6-8 pm at Hotel Monaco, Paris Ballroom, 501 Geary St. $5-10 suggested donation.)
SF has long been a thriving base of zine culture, and zine writers are getting their first Litquake event, Underground Exposed. Layla Gibbon, Erick Lyle, John Marr, Tena Scalph, and Eric Zassenhaus will discuss the world of alternative press and read from their publications. The setting is the appropriately hip Chrome messenger bag store, where drinks will be for sale and a bag will be given away. (8 pm at Chrome Bags, 580 4th St. Admission is free.)
And for those literary fans who aren't old enough to drink and engage in recreational messenger bag use, there's tonight's Teenquake event, featuring workshops, performances, a scavenger hunt, and general mayhem in the after-hours setting of the public library. This Breakfast Club re-creation is aided by the presence of Frank Portman, author of the hilarious King Dork, and no fewer than two of James Franco's family members (mom Betsy and brother Tom, who collaborated on the novel Metamorphosis). It's perfect for the teenager who knows there's more to life than the Jonas Brothers. (6:30-9 pm at San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin St. Admission is free.)
