March 4th? That's right, march forth and join us in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf for the latest edition of Chicago's favorite eclectic reading series! We'll feature readings by Keidra Chaney, Andrew Cothren, Mary Winn Heider, Kat Jercich and Lindsay Porter, plus haiku by Andrew and a toast by Erin, your cohosts!

Admission to Tuesday Funk is always free, but you must be 21 to attend. Doors open at 7pm sharp (tables tend to fill up fast, so don't be late!) and the show will start at 7:30pm. Please RSVP on Facebook, and while you're here, like and follow us so you get our announcements in your news stream.

It might be winter in Chicago, but Tuesday Funk's audience gave everyone a super warm welcome! Chicago's favorite eclectic reading series played to a packed house February 4. Mare Swallow started us off strong with a story about doing cosplay for the first time at C2E2. Next, Scott Whitehair shared a story about attending his first poetry reading in Pittsburgh and finding inspiration in a down-to-earth poet. Then Eric Shoemaker read several powerful poems.

We took a break to refresh our drinks, after which host Andrew Huff read a thematic set of haiku, and Amy Eaton reminisced about the legendary bar that became her second home. Last but not least, Bill Savage shared the history of several street Chicago names new and old, and how they tell a tale of discrimination.

Tuesday Funk will be back on March 4 with more great live lit in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. We hope to see you there! Watch for our Facebook event, and don't forget to sign up for our new newsletter so you don't miss news and announcements.

Robert Eric Shoemaker is a poet, translator, and interdisciplinary artist. Eric is the author of Magical Poetics (Bloomsbury Academic, forthcoming), Ca'Venezia (2021, Partial Press), We Knew No Mortality (2018, Acta Publications), and 30 Days Dry (2015, Thought Collection Publishing). Eric’s work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best New Translation. His work has been published in Rain Taxi, Zone 3, Spoon River Poetry Review, and other venues. He writes queer poems about magic spells and sometimes ghosts, and his cat is named after Federico García Lorca. Follow him at reshoemaker.com.

Please join Eric and our other incredible readers on Tuesday, February 4, 2025 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7:30. It's free, and 21-and-over. Please RSVP on Facebook.

Amy Eaton is a Ragdale alum, the second runner up of the Daisy Pettles Women’s Writing Contest and the second person to receive the Rod Serling Scholarship at her high school in Binghamton NY (because there aren’t a lot of bragging rights to Binghamton besides growing up in the Twilight Zone. And spiedies). She is old enough to discover you can do a lot of things in one life, including co-hosting the Lady Live Lit show MissSpoken with Jasmine Davila, founding a children’s theater company that is about to turn 20, making a couple of super handsome humans, and working, loving and even living with some of the best artists and humans you could ask for.

Please join Amy and our other fantastic readers on Tuesday, February 4, 2025 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7:30. It's free, and 21-and-over. Please RSVP on Facebook.

Scott Whitehair is a storyteller, producer, and teaching artist. He is the producer of This Much Is True, now in its 17th year, the creator of Story Lab Chicago, which has put 900+ new or first time tellers on stage since 2011, co-host of Story Vroom Vroom, Evanston's monthly storytelling party, and the director of Do Not Submit, a series of community open mics all over Chicagoland. He has taught a perpetually sold out monthly class for over 15 years, and spends his days helping companies, organizations, and individuals to develop their voices and stories. Scott loves to tell stories, but is even more excited to hear yours.

Please join Scott and our other incredible readers on Tuesday, February 4, 2025 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7:30. It's free, and 21-and-over. Please RSVP on Facebook.

Mare Swallow is an executive coach, storyteller, and occasional comedian. A lifelong performer, she’s a graduate of the Second City Conservatory. She holds a BA from Northern Illinois University, and an MFA from Goucher College.

Please join Mare and our other fantastic readers on Tuesday, February 4, 2025 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7:30. It's free, and 21-and-over. Please RSVP on Facebook.

Bill Savage teaches courses on Chicago history, literature and culture at Northwestern University and the Newberry Library of Chicago. At the Newberry, he co-curated their recent exhibit on Mike Royko, and he also works as an editor at the University of Chicago Press. He has published book reviews, op-eds, and essays in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal (neither of which paid him in a timely way [or at all], and both of which he is now deeply ashamed of), the Chicago Tribune, Crain’s Chicago Business, the Chicago Reader, Chicago Magazine, and other publications with Chicago on their mastheads. He has been working for a very long time on a book about Chicago’s street grid, delving into how its quirks tell the history of class warfare, racial and ethnic conflict, and the real “Chicago way”: Half-Assing It. Any brief bio he writes has “Chicago” as its most common word.

Please join Bill and our other awesome readers on Tuesday, February 4, 2025 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7:30. It's free, and 21-and-over. Please RSVP on Facebook.

Shake off February's chill with some hot live lit! Chicago's favorite eclectic monthly reading series returns to the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf with readings by Amy Eaton, Bill Savage, Eric Shoemaker, Mare Swallow, and Scott Whitehair.

Admission to Tuesday Funk is always free, but you must be 21 to attend. Doors open at 7pm sharp (tables tend to fill up fast, so don't be late!) and the show will start at 7:30pm. Please RSVP on Facebook, and while you're there, please like and follow us so you get our announcements in your news stream.

Oh hey, you should also follow us on Bluesky!

Tuesday Funk started the year off right, with a full house and five great readers! Michelle Young told a story about buying her home and the safety it made her feel. Next, Carole Hodorowicz shared a story of a young woman reflecting on the Midwest during a night in the Southern heat. Then Kathryn Kruse told a story about a gardener for a megarich man obsessed with his health.

We took a break, then cohost Andrew Huff read an essay about travel and the role of memory as seasoning in people's lives. Last but not least, James Gordon told a story about standing up to a high school bully and how memories can change over time.

Tuesday Funk will be back on February 4 with more great live lit in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. We hope to see you there! Don't forget to sign up for our new newsletter so you don't miss news and announcements.

Andrew Huff has been a PR professional, a journalist, the editor and publisher of Gapers Block, a professional blogger for a ghost hunter "reality" show, and host of 20x2 Chicago, a show in which 20 interesting people have two minutes each to answer one question. He's also cohost of the live lit show Tuesday Funk, where he's normally known for his topical haiku. He lives in Chicago's West Ridge neighborhood with his wife and three cats.

Please join Andrew and our other exciting readers on Tuesday, January 7, 2025 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7:30. It's free, and 21-and-over. Please RSVP on Facebook.