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Hot and Bothered By Rob Pratt Locals know that summer means fog drifting in from the bay and tempering the heat of the season--maybe one reason that relatively fog-free May seems like one of the warmest months. So Saturday's return of Five or Six Hot Minutes, a show of poetry meant to tease and titillate, possibly portends a scorcher of a weekend. Featuring a lineup of area poets all reading short erotic works as a warmup for lesbian and gay pride celebrations the first weekend in June, "Hot Minutes" is a revival of an idea that aroused literary interest in the aftermath of the Loma Prieta Earthquake. "The first one was in 1990 when I was working as a member of the collective at the Bulkhead Gallery that was putting on weekly events. We realized that no money could be made with measly 2D art shows," explains Gabriel. "Because I'm a poet and I hang around with poets, we figured why not put on a poetry reading? And we decided to make it the best poetry reading of all kinds--no longer than six minutes each. But we didn't have a bell or a hook, and the vibrator we held up in the air when time was up just wasn't loud enough." The sold-out debut encouraged the collective to scale up the event in May of 1991, a show that packed the Louden Nelson Community Center's auditorium, but the idea hasn't been attempted since then. Five or Six Hot Minutes runs at 8 and 10pm Saturday (May 20) at the Four-Eighteen Project, 418 Front St, Santa Cruz. Tickets are $5 or $6 at the door. (466.9770) [ Santa Cruz Week | MetroActive Central | Archives ]