Super Tuesday may be super, but it can't hold a candle to Tuesday Funk. Matt Fogarty put us in the right mood with his stories about space traveling dinosaurs and going to the moon in a barrel, and then Felix Jung mellowed us out with his wistful poems about love, death, and other juicy poetry stuff. Then Rosamund Lannin finished off the half with a meditation on the many meanings of fear and failure.

Bartender Alex filled our glasses expertly.

After the half, co-host Andrew Huff read his well-loved haiku, and then Kelly Swails entertained us with a chapter from her new book about a school for world domination, This May Go on your Permanent Record. Finally, Mark Borowsky had us roaring with his essay about his obsession with watching sports and how the many-worlds interpretation gives him comfort.

Here's a tip: Take a break from politics to make and support art. Your brain deserves better than Trump! So come see us next month, on Tuesday, April 5 with Joe Meno, Robert Loerzel, Jessi DiBartolomeo, James Finn Garner, and Lily Be!

It's Super Tuesday! Come ignore politics for a couple hours at Tuesday Funk tonight! We have a wonderful lineup for you, featuring Kelly Swails, Felix Jung, Mark Borowsky, Matt Fogarty and Rosamund Lannin.

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. RSVP on Facebook if you like. See you there!

Originally from the suburbs of Detroit, Matthew Fogarty currently lives and writes in Urbana, Illinois and is co-publisher at Jellyfish Highway Press. He has an MFA from the University of South Carolina, where he was editor of Yemassee. His fiction has appeared in such journals as Passages North, Fourteen Hills, PANK, Smokelong Quarterly, and Midwestern Gothic. His debut collection of 34 stories and a novella titled, Maybe Mermaids and Robots are Lonely, will be released this fall by George Mason University's Stillhouse Press. He can be found online at matthewfogarty.com and on Twitter at @thatmattfogarty.

Please join Matthew and all our amazing readers on Tuesday, March 1, 2016, upstairs at Hopleaf at 7:30 pm. This 21-and-older event is free.

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 all our amazing readers on Tuesday, March 1, 2016, upstairs at Hopleaf at 7:30 pm. This 21-and-older event is free.

Kelly Swails is a fantasy and science fiction author who has published over two dozen short stories and a novel. She's also an editor who has edited five anthologies of short fiction. Her latest book is called This May Go On Your Permanent Record and is available on Amazon. Her novel Prohibited will be kickstarted by Silence in the Library Publishing later this month. She and her husband live in Chicago with their three cats. Oh yeah, she's a crazy cat lady too.

Please join Kelly and all our amazing readers on Tuesday, March 1, 2016, upstairs at Hopleaf at 7:30 pm. This 21-and-older event is free.

Mark Borowsky writes essays and creative non-fiction for "fun," and is a content editor professionally, which has so far enabled him to stay out of debtor's prison. His work has appeared in The Cincinnati Review, Exquisite Corpse, and other publications that end with "dot com." Mark periodically tweets on nothing in particular (he promises to post his first new post in two years before a new Supreme Court Justice is confirmed), and he is currently working on a memoir chronicling his addiction to watching sports.

Please join Mark and all our amazing readers on Tuesday, March 1, 2016, upstairs at Hopleaf at 7:30 pm. This 21-and-older event is free.

The product of nine years in San Francisco and eight years in St. Paul, Rosamund Lannin is pleasantly surprised to have lived in Chicago for over a decade. During that time, she has been an editor of Gapers Block, performed stories around the city, and consumed many carne asada burritos. These days she co-hosts lady live lit show Miss Spoken, edits Story Club Magazine, and tries to write essays that make you feel things, or at the very least laugh.

Please join Rosamund and all our amazing readers on Tuesday, March 1, 2016, upstairs at Hopleaf at 7:30 pm. This 21-and-older event is free.

It's madness! Tuesday Funk is back in the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf, 5148 N. Clark St., on Tuesday, March 1 with more great writing that pairs well with great beer. Join us as we welcome guests Kelly Swails, Felix Jung, Mark Borowsky, Matt Fogarty and Rosamund Lannin. Eden Robins and Andrew Huff co-host.

Doors open at 7:00 pm -- no earlier, we mean it. No sneaking in and saving a table. But do get there as close to 7 as you can, because the room fills up quickly (which is why you can't come in before 7). The show starts at 7:30 pm. Admission is free, but you must be 21 or older.

Please RSVP on Facebook, and bring a friend. And don't forget to become a fan so you never miss an invitation to one of our readings.

Co-host Andrew Huff read both an essay and topical haiku at the Feb. 2nd edition of Tuesday Funk.

After Iowa,
Trump may blow quieter in
New Hampshire tonight.

'Twas five years ago
that Lake Shore Drive became a
frozen parking lot.

Life post-Gapers Block.
The anxiety has gone.
Now, what to do next?

David Bowie, you.
Generations of artists
owe you a great debt.

What a night! What a show! It was another standing room-only night at the ol' Hopleaf! Joshua Landsman set us in motion with his very first public reading - a fable of love and poor judgment from his book of fables, accompanied on the guitar by his son. Then Jasmine Davila talked to us about the pros of turning 40 and getting to do whatever you want. And Tom Underberg wrapped up the first half with a haunting and chilling story about a girl haunted by a murder in the dead of winter.

During intermission, Jason helped us quench our thirsts.

Co-host Eden Robins read a microessay about her various forays into therapy, and then co-host Andrew Huff read an essay about attention spans and haiku... followed by a few of his signature haiku! And finally, Alex Shakar finished us off strong with a funny and heartfelt story about the relationship between a woman and her dead lover.

We laughed, we learned, we cheered the fact that we did not have to endure a blizzard this year. And we'll be back next month on Tuesday, March 1 with Kelly Swails, Felix Jung, Mark Borowski, Matt Fogarty, and Rosamund Lannin!