SA4QE 2009 - spreading the words of Russell Hoban - tomorrow!

Tomorrow (Wednesday 4th February - effective from the traditional hour of three o'clock in the morning), Russell Hoban fans around the world will celebrate the cult author's 84th birthday by dropping favourite quotes from his books in public places.

The Slickman A4 Quotation Event (SA4QE) has taken place every 4th February since 2002. To date, over 350 quotes from 31 books have been dropped in 46 locations across 14 countries. The recently-revamped SA4QE website records the quotes and the reasons why they and their locations were chosen, accompanied by photographs, videos and even some very nifty Flash animations.

Hoban has written scores of extraordinary novels but is probably most famous for his classic 1980 dystopia Riddley Walker (included in The Guardian's recent '1,000 novels everyone must read' feature).

The event's founder, Diana Slickman, wrote yesterday on The Kraken, the international Hoban online forum: "Just a quick note to encourage you all to participate in this year's SA4QE on Wednesday - even you snowbound Londoners! Thanks to Gombert for his continual work documenting the event, and so beautifully and thoroughly. Here's to all who 4quate in all manner of ways, in so many parts of the world. And, of course, here's to Russ - the founder of the feast!"

And here, as a taster, are just a few of the many quotes dropped in years past. Enjoy!

Her brown loaves were like bread from a fairy tale; her potato pancakes sizzled with lust and tasted of fidelity.

from Mr Rinyo-Clacton's Offer
chosen by Lindsay Edmunds

The world-child has been told that this is a world, ... and it believes it; it is the energy of this belief that binds the world together. The world-child holds in its mind the idea of every single thing: root and stone, tree and mountain, river and ocean and every living thing. The world-child holds in its mind the idea of woman and man, the idea of love.

from The Medusa Frequency
chosen by Yvonne Studer

More and more I find that life is a series of disappearances followed usually but not always by reappearances; you disappear from your morning self and reappear as your afternoon self; you disappear from feeling good and reappear feeling bad. And people, even face to face and clasped in each other's arms, disappear from each other.

from Fremder
chosen by Dave Awl

A frightening thought had been growing in me. I'd always assumed that I was the central character in my own story but now it occurred to me that I might in fact be only a minor character in someone else's. Miss Neap's perhaps. And I didn't even know the story.

from Turtle Diary
chosen by Linda Whitebread

He put his face in front of the bathroom mirror.
I exist, said the mirror.
What about me? said Kleinzeit.
Not my problem, said the mirror.

from Kleinzeit
chosen by Carolyn Mayne