Jenny Seay was in the third grade when she first decided to be a writer. Her pursuit of this dream has never been simple or straightforward, but she continues to follow it anyway, knowing that the journey has taken her to some pretty interesting and unexpected places.

Jenny recently completed her MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia College Chicago, and is the founder and Artistic Director of Tamale Hut Cafe Presents: a semi-monthly reading series. Her work has appeared in publications such as TimeOut Chicago, Venus Zine, Punk Planet, Swink, and Hair Trigger. Lately all she can think about outside of work is finishing her novel, a coming-of-age tale involving professional wrestling.

Maggie Kast grew up with egg nog on Christmas morning and clambakes on the beach in summer. She learned to cook from Fannie Farmer and Julia Child, while marriage broadened her horizons to inlcude Tafelspitz and Salburger Nockerln. Her M.F.A.—Writing from Vermont College was nourished by New England Culinary Institute's whimsical food service: funny eggs for breakfast and ice sculptures at night.

Food figures in her stories in The Sun, Nimrod, Rosebud, Paper Street and others and in her book, The Crack between the Worlds: a dancer's memoir of loss, faith and family, as well as in her blog, ritualandrhubarbpie.blogspot.com. No food in her essays in America, Writer's Chronicle, Image Journal and ACM/Another Chicago Magazine.

She is currently at work on a novel, tentatively titled Starting at the End. An excerpt from the novel, "Just Ducky" is forthcoming in spring 2011 in Crave It: Writers and Artists Do Food, an anthology of visual art and writing from Red Claw Press.

Tonight's edition of this long-running tradition features, among the other bouts, Essay Fiesta hosts Keith Ecker and Alyson Lyon squaring off on the subject of BOY vs. GIRL. Who's your money on?

Alyson read for us on January 4th, Keith will appear March 1st, and Ian will drop by our podium April 5th. But to see them all in one exciting evening, be sure to drop by The Hideout tonight at 7:00 pm, 1354 W. Wabansia in Chicago. Suggested donation $8.

When March rolls in, can spring be far behind? Well ... in Chicago? Yes, yes, it can. So what can you do but march on down to Hopleaf and join Tuesday Funk in our continuing resolution to defy winter with great readers and great beers?

The February blizzard did its best to shut us down but failed, and this time around in our proud, unbroken literary tradition we'll be bringing you rabble-rousing readings from Joe Weintraub, Keith Ecker, Maggie Kast, Steven H Silver and Jenny Seay, not to mention our patented Poem By Bill. Oh, and the beer, the beer—80 varieties of it.

Tuesday Funk convenes Tuesday, March 1, 2011, 7:30 pm, in the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf, 5148 N. Clark St., Chicago. Arrive early, stake out a table in the upper room, and grab a beer from John at the cash-only bar. We start seating at 7:00 pm and no earlier. Admission is always free, but you must be 21 or older. And come early or stay afterward for some great Belgian-style food downstairs.

Please bring plenty of friends, and become a fan of Tuesday Funk on Facebook so you never miss an invitation to our readings, which in future months will feature the likes of Ian Belknap, Scott Smith, J.H. Palmer, Paul McComas, Lisa Chalem, Bradley P. Beaulieu, William Shunn, and more. One of us, one of us...

I've posted elsewhere a more subjective account of last week's February episode of Tuesday Funk. It was an amazing evening, made all the more remarkable by the fact that it took place in the midst of the Great Chicago Blizzard of 2011. Our brave readers and bold audience alike—a perfect 10 in total—braved winds up to 50 mph and deepening snow to witness an event made all the more special by the roar of death outside the windows of the ghost town that was Hopleaf. Still, the evening was not what it could have been had just one more person showed up—you.

But, to recap, here's what you would have seen if you'd been crazy enough to brave the blizzard. Eden Robins distributed a script that invited audience participation in her hilariously nightmarish tale of fratboy antics. Last-minute fill-in Jackie Adamski favored us with a varied selection of poems, vignettes, and six-sentence stories. Rather than a Poem by Bill, our host presented a blizzard-special Poem by Bob from Brooklyn writer Robert J. Howe. Brooke Wonders delighted us with an excerpt from her novella about a very unusual book. And finally, host William Shunn read his short story "Care and Feeding of Your Piano," out now in the latest issue of Electric Velocipede.

And there was also beer. Thank God the blizzard didn't keep that away.

So that's what you missed at the last Tuesday Funk. The good news is twofold. First, the readers who were detained by the storm—in fact, all the readers, whether absent or present—will be back at a later date so more than just a select ten can hear their work. Second, we'll be back at Hopleaf on Tuesday, March 1 with an all-new evening of readings from Keith Ecker, Maggie Kast, Joe Weintraub, Jenny Seay and Steven H. Silver, and another patented Poem by Bill. Mark your calendars now, and let's hope Mother Nature doesn't put her foot down again next month.

Snowmageddon? Snowpocalypse? 'Snow problem! Even a blizzard orchestrated by our enemies can't keep Tuesday Funk down! Don't take any unnecessary chances with this weather, but if you want to be one of The Few, The Proud, The Frozen, then strap on your showshoes and come out to Hopleaf tonight (Tuesday, February 1st) to join your hosts Sara Ross and William Shunn for the 31st entry in our theoretically infinite Tuesday Funk reading series!

With a bit of reconfiguring of the program thanks to the storm, we'll be bringing you poetry, fiction, essays, and more from the likes of Eden Robins, Jerry Schwartz, Karen Skalitzky, Brooke Wonders, and our own William Shunn. That's five great readers for the mere price of a beer. Mush!

(And fear not, Julie Rosenthal fans! We'll have her and any other reader unavoidably detained by the blizzard back to read for you at the earliest possible date.)

Hopleaf is at 5148 N. Clark St. in Chicago. The reading begins at 7:30 pm in the upstairs lounge. The lounge opens at 7:00 pm. Arrive early for a seat!

As always, the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf is cash-only, so be prepared. Remember also that no food is allowed in the upstairs lounge, and only those 21 and over can be admitted.

Jerry Schwartz is the author of Pixels of Young Mueller, a coming-of-age tale published in 2010 by All Things That Matter Press. Visit his website at itsjerryschwartz.com.

Schwartz also writes, plays, sings, and produces the music of The Jerrys, a British-influenced guitar-pop band. The Jerrys appear in Pixels of Young Mueller, Schwartz's debut novel. Check out The Jerrys at itsthejerrys.com.

Join Tuesday Funk at Hopleaf's upstairs bar to hear Jerry and our talented clutch of readers on February 1 at 7:30 p.m.

In the grand tradition of underemployed artists, Eden Robins has been: a singing waitress, a dildo salesman, a dental assistant, an abortion clinic receptionist, a blowjob instructor, a travel writer, a pelvic model, and a Swahili teacher. She has published some things in some places, but not enough things or enough places for you to have noticed.

She is co-founder and co-editor of the semiprozine Brain Harvest, has a novel that's going to be done soon, goddammit, and is currently learning kung fu and the ukulele.

Join Tuesday Funk at Hopleaf's upstairs bar to hear Eden and our talented bunch of readers on February 1, 2011, at 7:30 pm.

Julie Rosenthal is a freelance writer in Chicago. She draws ideas for her stories from the encyclopedia articles she writes for Salem Press. Her fiction has been recognized by ChiZine and has appeared in Ensorcelled.

More stories are forthcoming in 2011 in Kaleidotrope and an anthology from India-based Zubaan Books.

Julie adds: Thanks very much to Bill and Sara--and to all of the loyal supporters of Tuesday Funk.

Join Tuesday Funk at Hopleaf's upstairs bar to hear Julie and our talented crew of readers on February 1, 2011, at 7:30 pm.

Brooke Wonders spent her formative years editing the voices in other peoples' heads, which perhaps explains more than you need to know. Her latest play, "Unbirthday," was recently staged in Flagstaff, Arizona, where it received rave reviews from some of her closest friends and relatives.

Brooke is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the Program for Writers. Her fiction has appeared in Thin Air Magazine, and she has a nonfiction piece forthcoming in Brevity.

Join Tuesday Funk at Hopleaf's upstairs bar to hear Brooke and our talented coterie of readers on February 1, 2011, at 7:30 pm!