Housing Works, the used-books store in SoHo, was sweltering last night as a crowd gathered for Opium magazines Literary Death Match. Four writers paced the sidelines, readying their manuscripts and pens. Amid intermittent wafts of marijuana off Crosby Street, the restive audience downed Brooklyn lagers and jockeyed for seats. Panting latecomers explained that they had crossed state lines to get there. Sweat, if not blood, was impending. Dave Eggers said this is, like, the most important non-required reading of 2007, a girl in the back row muttered, flipping through her free copy of Opium 6.
Todd Zuniga, the magazines editor, dressed the part of host in a wide baby-blue tie, dark suit jacket, and jeans, and wielded an iPhone (which provided a laugh track). After introducing the judgesthe comedian Joel Dovev, on performance; our own Ben Greenman, on literary merit; and the street performers Gill and Jill Bumby (who remained mute and incognito, passing their comments on cards for Zuniga to read), on intangiblesthe bout began.