A smart ass, mathematical twists, and the headband girls

Creative Loafing (@cl_atlanta) fiction contest awards party filled the Highland Inn ballroom with the creative crowd and those who appreciate them.  Once sufficient quantities of food and wine had been consumed, CNN's Elizabeth Landau (@lizlandau) read from her Mathematics for Life (http://bit.ly/yvpfSb) starting at number five, curiously the fifth digit of Pi, which Liz considers her favorite number and uses to frame the story.  Starting off unevenly, the story finds its feet and flows on to become a poignant eulogy to a beautiful mind, intertwining the abstract and the vividly personal in a complex braid.

Benjamin Solomon's the Swallow (http://bit.ly/wcuHkP) throws the reader right into the aftermath of a gruesome crash and traces the ripples of causation through time.

Johnny Drago led his audience on a romp through a corner of the surreal landscape of his imagination in What have I done that you beat me these three times?  Witty, occasionally snarky, with a delightful talent for twist of phrase tending to understated hyperbole and leaving one with a subtle sense of shifted reality, he rightfully won the applause, admiration, and the first prize.  His ass truly was the star of the evening, and if you weren't there, you simply must read the story to understand.  http://bit.ly/xdmNiF

The official proceedings having been proceeded according to precedent, the rest of the evening was filled with delights such as Free Poems On Demand (@freetweetsatl, @monumentalfolly) composing poetry, sometimes even rhyme, on any topic requested, written out in meticulous longhand on custom stationery, no less.

Laura brightened her corner of the space with her enthusiasm for the thoughtfully curated collection of small-press books (@vouchedatl) on display and for sale.  Carapace (formerly MOTH) was rumored to be in attendance.

With an energy level bordering on the frenetic, Write Club (@writeclubatl) took (over) the stage.  With "literature as bloodsport" as the tagline, it was no surprise that there was no consensus as to just what the First Rule of Write Club was alleged to be.  Two no-devices-barred bouts on the themes of Addition vs. Subtraction and Divide vs. Multiply, with audience reaction precision-measured in real-time by the pseudorandomly appointed Blue Ribbon Panel of three not-so-innocent bystanders.  The tale of the girl divided wrenched many a heart.  A decidedly non-mathematical take on multiplication immensely amused all, with the slight exception of our fair Gallic visitors.

The Headband Girls made a valiant attempt to stay on the right side of the fine line between amplification and feedback unleashing an experimental-sounding panoply of notes, voices and echoes; reaffirmed their commitment to a Manifesto, and both committed as well as instigated more than a little bit of dancing.

"Party at Banana's house."