After missing two months due to the pandemic, Tuesday Funk is back! Based on fan feedback, we're going to do a pre-recorded YouTube Live show at our usual time -- Tuesday, June 2 at 7:30pm -- on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/TuesdayFunk

Please join us to hear 7-10 minute readings by Elizabeth Gomez, James Gordon, Kenji Kuramitsu, Sahar Mustafah and Mare Swallow. You'll be able to chat with hosts Eden Robins and Andrew Huff, as well as the readers, during the show. Hope you can join in! RSVP on Facebook.

Kenji Kuramitsu is a writer, chaplain, and clinical social worker living in Chicago. Kenji holds graduate degrees from the University of Chicago and McCormick Theological Seminary. His writing has appeared in Sojourners, Slant'd and Inheritance magazines, and his creative nonfiction was nominated for a 2019 Pushcart Prize by the Asian American Writers' Workshop. He is on social media @afreshmind.

James Gordon is a Champion Storyteller, having won the Moth Grand Slam twice and the Story Slam 19 times, as well as a critically acclaimed actor who is reoccurring character on two series on Amazon (The G and New Ties), several commercials, and more films upcoming. Follow him on Twitter at gr8estpoetalive, James Gordon on Facebook, and Greatest Poet Alive on Instagram.

Mare Swallow is a full-time public speaking and communications coach, occasional writer, and sometimes ukulele player. She shares her stories at events like this one - Tuesday Funk! Find her at mariannaswallow.com.

Elizabeth Gomez is a Chicago based comedian, writer, and storyteller. She established the city's first all female roller derby league, The Windy City Rollers, in 2004. She is the founding writer of a writing collective called Drinkers with Writing Problems and editor at Heauxs Magazine (a magazine where smart people talk about dumb things), spends her days working for an Alderman on Chicago's city council, and spends her nights trying to learn all the dance moves from Magic Mike. You can learn more about her ridiculousness at thatelizabethgomez.com.

Sahar Mustafah is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, an inheritance she explores in her fiction. Her first novel The Beauty of Your Face is out now from W.W. Norton and was named a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice; her short story collection Code of the West was the winner of the 2016 Willow Books Fiction Award. Her stories have earned a Distinguished Story citation from Best American Short Stories 2016, First Place in Fiction from the Guild Literary Complex of Chicago, and three Pushcart Prize nominations, among other honors. Mustafah earned her MFA from Columbia College Chicago where she was the recipient of the David Friedman Award for Best Fiction. She writes and teaches outside of Chicago.

We're postponing our April 7 show in light of, you know, *gestures everywhere.*

We hope to be back in action very, very soon, but in the meanwhile, take care of yourselves, be kind to one another, and wash your hands! Oh, and keep an eye on this blog, Twitter, Instagram, and/or Facebook for updates.

With spring right around the corner, we're trying something different for the 138th edition of Tuesday Funk. We're featuring a special lineup curated by poet Hannah Gamble! Join us in the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf on Tuesday, April 7 when we'll feature readings by Dolly Lemke, Caroline M. Watson, Melissa Blount, Himabindu Poroori and Laura Goldstein.

As always, admission to Tuesday Funk is 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.

It was a small but attentive crowd in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf for the 137th edition of Tuesday Funk, but those who attended were rewarded with a fantastic show.

Devorah Heitner got everything started with a personal story, then Edward McClelland shared an excerpt from his upcoming book Midnight in Vehicle City, about the Flint sit-down strike against General Motors. Cohost Eden Robins filled in for a sick Stuti Sharma with an excerpt of one of her science fiction stories.

We took a break to refill our drinks, and then Tom Haley read a short story about a dystopian future, followed by a powerful poem and a story about standing up for himself and a bunch of fellow background actors from James Gordon.

I'm telling you, if you weren't there, you really missed out. But fear not, we'll be back on Tuesday, April 7 with a special lineup curated by poet Hannah Gamble! We'll be featuring readings by Dolly Lemke, Caroline M. Watson, Melissa Blount, Himabindu Poroori and Laura Goldstein. Hope to see you then!

Edward McClelland is the author most recently of Folktales and Legends of the Middle West. 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 Ted and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 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.

James Gordon is a Champion Storyteller, having won the Moth Grand Slam twice and the Story Slam 19 times, as well as a critically acclaimed actor who is a recurring character on two series on Amazon (The G and New Ties), several commercials, and more films upcoming. Follow him on Twitter at gr8estpoetalive, James Gordon on Facebook, and Greatest Poet Alive on Instagram.

Please join James and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 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.

Devorah Heitner writes memoir essays that you can find in places like Longreads and the Washington Post and books like Black Power TV.

Please join Devorah and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 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.

Stuti Sharma is an immigrant artist, stand up comic, clumsy poet, and educator based in Chicago. She's a poet in residence with the Chicago Poetry Center. She is a Leo sun, Virgo moon and only trust restaurants where the cooks are simultaneously facetiming family. You can catch her around the city doing shows and find her on Twitter at @cyborgstuti.

Please join Stuti and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 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.

Tom Haley is the recipient of 2019's Best American Writers Over 40 But Under 44 Living in North Central Albany Park, which is not a real award. He has worked as a writing teacher, copywriter, and book critic, and is currently employed as the head of the Creative Department at a Chicago software company called Jellyvision. He lives in Albany Park with his wife and three sons, and is working too slowly on a collection of short fiction.

Please join Tom and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 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.

March is just around the corner, which is just madness. The weeks are going by so fast, and before you know it, it'll be second winter here in Chicago! Well, anyway, join us in the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf on Tuesday, March 3 for the 137th edition of Tuesday Funk! We'll be featuring readings by Devorah Heitner, Tom Haley, James Gordon, Stuti Sharma and Ted McClelland. It's shaping up to be an excellent evening.

As always, admission to Tuesday Funk is 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.