Litseen presents the best SF reading of the week.

We’ve asked our friends at Litseen.com to present our readers with their pick for the best reading of the week. The writers at Litseen cover the majority of the reading scene in San Francisco and we want to give you guys the cream of the crop, so Evan Karp has selected one reading that happened last week and one reading happening this week.

His pick from last week was Nic Burrose at the American Street Showcase.

Here’s the video of the performance:

Here’s what Evan said about the reading:

This week’s pick goes to Nic Burrose for his spoken word chord changes, in part because it reminds me of one of my favorite Sonic Youth songs, but mostly because it fosters a space where “nuclear wizards,” “cutthroat sneaky ninja meter maids” and “helicopters chopping through the skies in silence” can all converge  with equal dispassion. This is important.

“Armageddon has always been there
Sleeping just beyond the horizon line of our periphery
But it woke fully clothed and ready
To go to work that day
…

And the usual gaggle and gibberish mumbling …
blah blah blah’ing to themselves
cell phones plugged into stones
…

That day, baristas were five minutes twenty three seconds late for work
On a citywide average
Bartenders were making the rent in tips as rabid soccer fans converged
On a local faux irish pub
To watch the latest big championship match between
Ireland and bri-italy and some other country …
I don’t really follow sports”

If I had to describe it?

The calm apocalyptic certainty of youth able to express itself and end with a genuine but slight smile.

Or

Engaged in the world and affected enough to sing but not yet so much to silence.

Evan’s picks this next week:

This coming week » Of course we’re all excited for Quiet Lightning 8 tomorrow, but there’s plenty going on all week: Tuesday, catch members of Featherproof Books and Hobart, in from the Chicago area, at the High Emissions Book Tour, and Wednesday Hobart teams up with Corium Magazine for some Random Hookups. Check out the (mostly) full calendar for more.

Evan Karp is the San Francisco Literary Culture Examiner and founder of Litseen.com. He is currently a contributing editor for Instant City and a writer at The San Francisco Chronicle. He also hosts Quiet Lightning, a reading series in San Francisco.

Stay tuned for more great readings every Sunday on WWAATD.