Tracy Harford-Porter was born in Brooklyn, NY and now resides in the Chicago suburbs. She has worked for Essence Communications as a photo editor, the Harlem Children's Zone as the managing editor of Harlem Overheard, StoryCorps as a facilitator coordinator, and Goldman Sachs as a long-term administrative temp/secret ethnographer. Tracy is a 2008 graduate of Clarion West and proud alum of Columbia University School of General Studies, majoring in anthropology. Tracy is thrilled to be sharing work with the Tuesday Funk crew, and would appreciate it if someone could direct her to a good Haitian restaurant.

Please join Tracy and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, April 4, 2017 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.

Hello my friend, Let me tell you the story of Tuesday Funk #104. You see, there once was an eclectic monthly reading series, known in these parts as Tuesday Funk. It happens on the first Tuesday of every month in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf in Andersonville. Now it just so happened that April 4 was the first Tuesday of the month in April, and since the last show had been the hunnert-and-third, they figured they might as well call the next one number one-oh-four.

Well, this here hunnert an' fourth Tuesday Funk is gonna feature some great readers. Sure, they got Felix Jung, Tracy Harford-Porter, Melissa Wiley, Kellye Howard and even Nestor Gomez. You'd be a fool to miss it.

Doors open at 7pm -- don't come tryna get in early, they won't letchou in. The show'll start at 7:30pm sharp. You don't have to pay nuthin', but ya do have to be 21. Come by early or stay afterward for dinner or more drinks downstairs.

RSVP on the Facebook, and if you want, become a fan of the Tuesday Funk page so's you can stay up to date on what's goin' on with the show. Sponsored by the Chicago Review of Books.

We had a blast at Tuesday Funk #103 on March 7! The show truly lived up to its tagline, with an eclectic lineup that covered the breadth of literary genres.

First, Edward McClelland gave us a lesson on the Chicago accent from his book How to Speak Midwestern,then Steve Bellinger read an excerpt from his science fiction novel, The Chronocar. Naomi Buck Palagi closed out the first half with a reading of poems, including one that involved two additional readers.

After the intermission, Lori Barrett read a funny short story about puppy love, and host Andrew Huff recited a couple topical haiku. Tori Szekeres closed the show with the story of an embarrassing typo made all too permanent.

We'll be back on Tuesday, April 4 for Episode #104, featuring readings by Felix Jung, Tracy Harford-Porter, Melissa Wiley, Kellye Howard and Nestor Gomez. Hope to see you there!

Come get your March on with fabulous readers Naomi Buck Palagi, Lori Barrett, Steve Bellinger, Tori Szekeres, and Edward McClelland! Naturally, the gruesome twosome Andrew Huff and Eden Robins will also be there.

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 in from the restaurant. See you there!

Edward McClelland is the author of How to Speak Midwestern. A past Tuesday Funk reader and Gapers Block contributor, he has also written for The New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Chicago Reader, where he was a staff writer. He has lived in Rogers Park since 1997, and can often be found at Sol Cafe or the Lighthouse Tavern.

Please join Edward and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, March 7, 2017 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.

Tori Szekeres is a writer living somewhere in Chicago's northwest suburbs. She previously read with storytelling shows such as Miss Spoken, Serving the Sentence, The Stoop and That's All She Wrote. You can see her writing on sites like Consequence of Sound, The Midwestival and Great Lakes Review. Follow her on Twitter @toriszekeres.

Please join Tori and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, March 7, 2017 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.

Lori Barrett moved to Chicago ten years ago, and found a friend in Andrew and Gapers Block. She has also freelanced for the Wall Street Journal on hard-hitting topics like custom-stuffed pillows, dog-food delivery services, and luxury horse ranches, and as a result, played against Andrew and Gapers Block in Chicago's media softball league. She has an MFA from the low-residency fiction program at Chatham University. Her creative writing has appeared in New Horizons, a journal from The British Fantasy Society, Entropy and BrooklynQuarterly.com. She is an assistant fiction editor for the journal Pithead Chapel.

Please join Lori and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, March 7, 2017 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.

Steve Bellinger was born and raised on the West Side of Chicago by a single mom who worked nights for a printing company. She would bring home books and magazines to encourage her kids to read. This is how Steve discovered Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, and the other masters of classic science fiction. It didn't take long for him to get the itch to write. Over the years he's written everything from newspaper articles, comic strips and radio drama to short stories and fan fiction. Two of the original Trekkies, Steve and his wife Donna plan to renew their wedding vows with a full Star Trek-themed ceremony; he'll wear an admiral's dress uniform, and she will be decked out in a custom-made leather-and-lace Klingon wedding dress. Steve and Donna live in Lincoln Park with a cat to be named later.

Please join Steve and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, March 7, 2017 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.

Naomi Buck Palagi was raised in the woods of central Kentucky, and lives in Northwest Indiana now after several years in Chicago. She's published a variety of experimental and more traditional poetry in journals such as Moria, Spoon River Review, Masque & Spectacle, Requited, and others. She has two chapbooks, silver roof tantrum from dancing girl press, and Darkness in the Tent from the Dusie Kollectiv. Her first book, Stone, is just out from BlazeVOX books.

Please join Naomi and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, March 7, 2017 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.

Cohost Andrew Huff read a handful of haiku at February's Episode #102 of Tuesday Funk.

Lakeview at midnight:
a vomiting young woman
begs her friends to wait.

A cat in a crouch,
motionless but for its tail,
watches a laser.

Check out my tattoo!
Oh wait, it's under my sleeve.
I'll show you in spring.
(written by Kyle Thiessen)

A house divided
cannot stand. Especially
if it is on fire.