Kevin Sampsell

This evening, beginning at 7, a mass of literary talent descends upon NE Alberta Street like a swam of fully mature locusts. Authors, poets, and spoken word artists will read their work simultaneously, creating a buzz at six different locations up and down the street. Portland’s second annual LitHop will see Hawthorne Books, the IPRC, alice blue, Eraserhead Press, Unchaste Readers, and Publication Studio each host a series in which readers will perform for 15 minutes, in quick succession. The idea is to create something of a literary pub crawl. During the event, listeners can pop up and down the street to hear several, very different performances. Three readers will perform for 15 minutes each at the top of the hour, leaving the remaining quarter-hour to talk, drink, or move on to the next place. “The 15-minute time slot gives readers more of a spotlight,” says Kevin Sampsell, who produces the event with Jeff Alessandrelli and Bryan Coffelt. “And they’re great writers so they deserve that time,” adds Sampsell. And he notes that the 15 minutes gives listeners “quality time to get into the voice and style of each writer.” One of those writers is Mykle Hansen. “Whenever we bring…