Spring was in the air and on cohost Andrew Huff's mind (among other things) at our May 1 show.

Seventy degrees
is most welcome in April
and late October.

Spring in Chicago,
and cats wait patiently for
windows to open.

Bill Cosby was brought
to justice after decades
for raping women.

Why is R. Kelly
still a working musician
despite all he did?

NRA bans guns
from its own pep rally, but
not from high school halls.

We had our own little spring festival at Tuesday Funk on May 1! Your favorite eclectic reading series started out with a short story by Rachel Z. Arndt, followed by witchy poems from B. Metzger Sampson. Felix Jung took us into the intermission with a short essay and a selection of poems.

After refilling our drinks, cohost Andrew Huff shared some of his topical haiku, then introduced Michi Trota, who shared an essay about racial representation in science fiction. Last but not least, James Finn Garner read an excerpt from one of his clown noir novels.

Did you miss it? We'll post video eventually, but in the meantime, plan on going to the Hideout on Tuesday, June 5, when we'll have readings by Mark Rader, Tracy Harford-Porter, Joshua Landsman and Elizabeth Gomez. See you there!

Once you've basked in the first warm day of the year, come to Tuesday Funk for some great live lit! Featuring Rachel Z. Arndt, James Finn Garner, Felix Jung, B. Metzger Sampson, and Michi Trota! As always, Andrew Huff and Eden Robins will be hosting.

Our readings take place at Hopleaf Bar, 5148 N. Clark St. in Chicago. We get started promptly at 7:30 pm in the upstairs lounge. Arrive early if you want a seat -- but no earlier than 7:00 pm. Our readings are free, but only those 21 and over will be admitted. No food can be brought up from the restaurant. See you there!

B. Metzger Sampson is a poet, essayist, and frequent collaborator with visual artists. She's the Executive Director of the Poetry Center of Chicago, which organizes roving readings across Chicago, with established and emerging writers, and hires poets as teaching artists for residencies in CPS. She was named one of Newcity's "Lit 50 2017." She previously founded and edited Dear Navigator, a literary magazine for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she also taught. She has also led creative workshops for artists and writers in Cairo, and Sinai, Egypt.

Please join Elizabeth and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, May 1, 2018 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7:30. It's free, and 21-and-over. RSVP on Facebook.

Felix Jung received his MFA in Creative Writing from The Ohio State University in 2000. His writing has appeared in Crab Orchard Review, Hayden's Ferry Review, and Cassette From My Ex - an anthology of personal essays on relationships in the era of the mix tape. His online projects have been featured on BoingBoing, MetaFilter, and Product Hunt. You can find him on Twitter @avoision, or at his website avoision.com - a personal blog he's updated every single day since July, 2002.

Please join Felix and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, May 1, 2018 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7:30. It's free, and 21-and-over. RSVP on Facebook.

Rachel Z. Arndt is the author of the essay collection Beyond Measure, which came out from Sarabande in April 2018. She received MFAs in nonfiction and poetry from the University of Iowa, where she was an Iowa Arts Fellow and nonfiction editor of the Iowa Review. Her writing has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Quartz, Pank, Fast Company, and elsewhere. She lives in Chicago.

Please join Rachel and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, May 1, 2018 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7:30. It's free, and 21-and-over. RSVP on Facebook.

James Finn Garner is the author of the Politically Correct Bedtime Stories trilogy, which will soon be published in the Czech Republic and Turkey. He recently launched the webcomic, Single White Vigilante, about a superhero hitting the lonely stretch of his mid-30s (it doesn't help that he drunk dials the villains he has put in jail). His latest project is the clown noir mystery series starring Rex Koko, Private Clown. These titles include Honk Honk, My Darling; Double Indignity; and The Wet Nose of Danger.

Please join James and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, May 1, 2018 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7:30. It's free, and 21-and-over. RSVP on Facebook.

Michi Trota is the two-time Hugo Award-winning Managing Editor of Uncanny: A Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy, and the first Filipina Hugo Award winner. She is an essayist, public speaker, fire performance artist, and serves as president on the board for Chicago Nerd Social Club.

Please join Michi and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, May 1, 2018 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7:30. It's free, and 21-and-over. RSVP on Facebook.

May the weather be milder by then, and may you join us on Tuesday, May 1 in the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf for Tuesday Funk, with readings by Rachel Arndt, James Finn Garner, Michi Trota, B. Metzger Sampson and Felix Jung.

As always, admission is free, but you must be 21 to attend. Doors open at 7pm sharp (don't dawdle if you want a seat!) and the show will start at 7:30pm. Please RSVP on Facebook -- and don't forget to like our page so you get our announcements right in your stream.

Sponsored by the Chicago Review of Books.

Cohost Andrew Huff gave us five topical haiku on April 3, 2018.

Spring in Chicago.
Don't like the weather? Just wait.
It will change again.

Loyola Ramblers
reminded Chicagoans
how school spirit looks.

When the internet
is vital to normal life,
who runs the country?

Easter, Passover
April Fool's, all on one day.
What is this, a joke?

We must persevere.
Hold the line until we can
vote the bastards out.