Literature became reality Wednesday as a giant German cockroach leapt out of the pages of a Franz Kafka story and onto the University’s campus.Brian Crabtree, owner of upstart T-shirt company Kafka Cotton, visited campus Wednesday as company mascot Gregor, a literacy-promoting cockroach.The mascot is a character from Kafka’s story “The Metamorphosis,” in which a man transforms overnight into a monstrous vermin. Wisconsin-based Kafka Cotton, which opened in November 2009, creates T-shirts inspired by classic novels like Catch-22 and Moby Dick and donates 5 percent of the profits to organizations promoting literacy.Crabtree said the company has raised about $100 for literacy during the last three months, but has not yet settled on a partner organization. Voting will take place soon on the company’s Web site, and the public will choose what organization the donations will go to, Crabtree said.Crabtree said the idea for a Kafka-themed company came first — the cockroach mascot followed.”Originally we were just looking for a logo that would really stand out, and a cockroach was the first idea,” Crabtree said. “Then we thought about bringing that not only online but into real life.”He found a cockroach costume and had the idea to become Gregor and visit college campuses. Crabtree said becoming a roach was hard at first, but has gotten easier.”At first it was a little difficult to get out there and do it, but you just get into character and pull it off,” he said. “People look at you out of their peripheral vision, and when you go up and say hi, they open up.”Crabtree scoured the Quad, chatting with students and taking photos with them. He took all the students’ names and will tag the photos on Facebook.Crabtree said he hopes meeting Gregor will encourage students to visit his Web site and order a shirt.”We’re a T-shirt company, so we need to sell some shirts to stay alive,” he said.Industrial engineering senior Alejandro Pinto met Gregor when the cockroach woke Pinto from a nap in the Quad.”A cockroach waking me up — that’s a first,” Pinto said.Al Grifa, creative writing graduate student, said she liked Gregor but thought other people may not know the character.”I liked the cockroach, but not everyone knows Kafka,” she said. “At first I thought he was promoting an exterminator.”Creative writing graduate student Brit Estep said a more recognizable character might be more effective.”I hate to say it, but maybe a character from Twilight [would be more recognizable],” she said.—-Contact Ryan Buxton at [email protected]