May debriefing

Robert McDonald reads an epic rhinoceros poem at Tuesday Funk - click to view - mousewheel to zoom
It was another packed room for this past Tuesday night's edition of Tuesday Funk at Hopleaf, and the standing-room crowd seemed to think it was a great show all around. If you couldn't be there, let's recap what you missed.

We kicked off the fun with Suzanne Clores, who brought us the true tale of a limo ride through lower Manhattan with a Brooklyn mobster. Our former co-host Sara Ross Witt followed that up with an excerpt from a story of a dysfunctional family of possible psychics. Co-host Andrew Huff continued his new monthly feature with a handful of Haiku by Andrew ripped from recent headlines. And Robert McDonald treated us to a selection of his poetry, including the greatest poem about the might rhinoceros that you'll ever hear.

After a break for beer, our Poem by Bill, "What Changed?," was entirely unlike his short story of the same name from last month. Next, returning reader Dion Walton told the heartfelt story of his battle with HIV and his attempts to escape the morgue door. And finally, Mary Beth Hoerner closed out our program with a delightful and powerful short story about pride and childhood secrets.

All in all, it was an amazing night, but if you couldn't be there, don't despair. We'll bring you plenty of video excerpts in the weeks to come, and then we'll try to top ourselves yet again on Tuesday, June 4, 2013, with a program featuring Darwyn Jones, Heather Corallo, Lawrence Santoro, Mare Swallow, and G.P.A. (Greatest Poet Alive). Don't miss it!

Now let's take a ten-minute break, people. Smoke 'em if you got 'em.