Lily Be is a Chicago West Side born-and-raised, award-winning storyteller. She is the first Latinx winner of a Moth GrandSLAM championship, and creator and producer of Stoop Style Stories, formerly The Stoop. She is a huge advocate for the marginalized and a lot of her storytelling work is centered around helping people discover their voices and be heard.

Lily has taught at Second City and colleges and universities worldwide. Her calling to connect and serve has been a longstanding motivation for the work that she does and continues to do. Storytelling has the power to shape, transform, and save lives and Lily Be is living proof.

Please join Lily and our other fantastic readers on Tuesday, April 1, 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.

Marc Fischer is the administrator of Public Collectors, an initiative he formed in 2007. Public Collectors’ work brings the periphery to the foreground. Its projects include the Library Excavations publication series and Hardcore Architecture—a blog and publication about the houses where people in punk bands lived (mostly while still living with their parents). Lately Public Collectors is obsessed with people that appear at protests dressed as the grim reaper. Fischer is also a member of the group Temporary Services and a partner in its publishing imprint Half Letter Press.

Please join Marc and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, April 1, 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.

Meredith Nnoka is a Chicago-based poet, educator, and prison abolitionist. They have a BA from Smith College and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, both in Africana studies. They teach poetry in carceral facilities and have received fellowships from Lambda Literary, Illinois Humanities, and the Prison + Neighborhood Arts/Education Project. Meredith’s writing explores the intersections of queer domestic violence and mass incarceration. Twice nominated for Best of the Net, their poems have appeared in Diode Poetry Journal, Four Way Review, and The Massachusetts Review. Their most recent chapbook, I Could Never Be Your Woman, won the 2022 Derricotte/Eady Prize from Cave Canem.

Please join Meredith and our other excellent readers on Tuesday, April 1, 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.

Rachel Mennies is the author of three poetry collections: The Wolf, forthcoming from BOA Editions in 2027; The Naomi Letters (also BOA Editions); and The Glad Hand of God Points Backwards (from Texas Tech University Press). Her poems have appeared recently in American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, Poetry, and elsewhere. She lives in Chicago, where she works as a writer, editor, and adjunct professor. Learn more at rachelmennies.com.

Please join Rachel and our other fantastic readers on Tuesday, April 1, 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.

Kim Moldofsky is the Bold Belief Builder at Scrappy Affirmations, where she helps people find meaning, reflect and make art, and navigate transitions right up until the end of life. Known for creative gatherings, she fosters welcoming spaces that invite openness, self-discovery, and the sharing of wisdom. Kim created and curates Hot Flashes & Fierce Tales, a show that centers stories of women in midlife and beyond, and recently expanded her discussion series Let’s Eat Cookies and Talk About Death into a story night as well. She is a former blogger and the author of a children’s book about Amelia Earhart. Kim imagines writing a memoir detailing her life from 2019-2024 based on a series of collages she created during that time.

Please join Kim and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, April 1, 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.

Chicago's favorite monthly reading series returns to the Hopleaf on April 1 — no foolin'! Join us for readings by Lily Be, Marc Fischer, Rachel Mennies, Kim Moldofsky, and Meredith Nnoka, as well as haiku by Andrew and a toast by Erin.

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, like and follow us so you get our announcements in your news stream. You can also follow us on Bluesky, YouTube and Instagram — and subscribe to our very low-volume (like, once a month) email newsletter, too!

March came in like a lion with some fantastic live lit at Tuesday Funk! First, Kat Jercich told a story about a determined search for a special duck. Next, Andrew Cothren read a collection of flash fiction pieces. Then Keidra Chaney read an essay about the challenges and misconceptions about Black rock fans.

We took a break, and cohost Andrew Huff recited a couple of topical haiku. Lindsay Porter shared a very personal essay. Cohost Erin Watson led a quick toast, and Mary Winn Heider read an excerpt from an upcoming murder mystery novel about a crossing guard.

Tuesday Funk will be back on April 1 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf with readings by Lily Be, Marc Fischer, Rachel Mennies, Kim Moldofsky and Meredith Nnoka. 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.

Lindsay Porter is a standup comedian, storyteller, and teaching artist in Chicago. She’s performed at Zanies and the Laugh Factory, and at bars, parks, cannabis lounges, nursing homes, and in line at Trader Joes. She tours nationally with the Bad Momz of Comedy and Moms Unhinged. She is the Program Director of True Tales, which provides storytelling and creative writing workshops for youth with chronic illnesses and disabilities.

Please join Lindsay and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, March 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.

Mary Winn Heider’s novels for children include The Losers at the Center of the Galaxy (Little, Brown, 2021), The Stupendous Switcheroo series (Knopf, 2023-24), and The Mortification of Fovea Munson (Disney-Hyperion, 2018). The latter was long-listed for the Edgar Award; Mary Winn also wrote the book of the Fovea musical for the Kennedy Center production in 2023. Her graphic novel Bugged will be published by Knopf later this year.

Please join Mary Winn and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, March 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.

Andrew Cothren grew up in New York's Hudson Valley, though he has spent the last three and a half years living in Chicago, where he works as an editorial assistant for the city government. He holds an MFA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and his work has been published in Redivider, Bright Wall/Dark Room, Yalobusha Review, fields, and The Atlas Review. He loves Chicago dearly, but is still deeply skeptical of the no-ketchup-on-hot-dogs thing.

Please join Andrew and our other fantastic readers on Tuesday, March 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.