Rodes Fishburne, author of Going to See the Elephant, delivered the goods with respect to Joyce's smithy of the soul, home runs, and the faces at the bar. Holly Shumas enacted the dramatic moment in Love and Other Natural Disasters where the heroine makes her husband confess he has been emotionally unfaithful. Justin Chin, author of Gutted, advocated that one should choose dignity over sex, memorably described talking to his cat about the shows on the Food Network, and also said “I like fried chicken because it is chicken and it is fried.” Michael McAllister of the Dog Poet blog read a Valentine that included the line “everyone wants to get pushed against the wall by a shirtless pitbull daddy,” and some sadomasochistic analysis of Emma Bovary.) Fire-dancer Andrea Drugay read her story “The Stutterer, The Drunk, and The Guy in the Big Purple Sombrero."