Readings Reading #176

Tuesday Funk #176: Nov. 3, 2026

The period between the end of Spooky Season and the beginning of Turkey Time is ideal for attending Chicago's favorite eclectic reading series! Joins us in the upstairs lounge of Hopleaf Nov. 3 for the 176th edition of Tuesday Funk, when we'll feature readings by Michal

Participants Reading #176

Meet the Readers: Michal Eskayo

Michal Eskayo is on faculty in the World Languages and ELL Department at Harold Washington College. She has been teaching writing, speech and news literacy to English Language Learners and some native speakers of English for a freaking long time. Getting this job was like winning the lottery, but AI

Participants Reading #176

Meet the Readers: Bridget Gordon

Bridget Gordon (she/her, fae/faer) is a queer trans woman and poet living in Chicago. A former MFA student and current healthcare worker, her poetry, songwriting, and short-form prose is enraptured with queer longing, identity, liminality, and desire. Bridget has been published in Moist Poetry Journal, Milwaukee Avenue

Participants Reading #176

Meet the Readers: Weston Morrow

Weston Morrow is the author of Cloud Builder, winner of the 2025 National Poetry Series, published by University of Georgia Press this September. His recent poetry has appeared in Boulevard, The Adroit Journal, Poetry Northwest, and elsewhere. He holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Illinois Urbana-

Debriefings Reading #175

October 2026 Debrief

The 175th(ish*) episode of Tuesday Funk was a lot of fun! The upstairs lounge of Hopleaf was warm despite the growing fall chill in the air outside, and that warmth spread to the audience. Shivani Gupta got everything started with several food-related poems from her latest chapbook. Next,

Participants Reading #175

Meet the Readers: Srikanth Reddy

Srikanth Reddy teaches at the University of Chicago. His books of poetry are Underworld Lit, Voyager, and Facts for Visitors. He is the poetry editor at The Paris Review, and he co-edits the Phoenix Poets book series at the University of Chicago Press. Please join Srikanth and our other

Participants Reading #175

Meet the Readers: Darshita Jain

Darshita Jain is journalist, poet and arts administrator. An immigrant in Chicago, she now calls the city home and works to build equitable arts admin systems within the city. She has worked as programming director, public events manager, residency director and outreach director for art institutes and currently serves on

Participants Reading #175

Meet the Readers: Carly Travis

Carly Travis is a writer and the creator of Not Spam, a newsletter that consists of diaries, personal essays, and satire. It's definitely not spam. Her work is an expression of her internal monologue, as well as an exploration of relationships and the minutiae of being a complex

Participants Price C. Russell

Meet the Readers: C. Russell Price

C. Russell Price is the author of oh, you thought this was a date?!: Apocalypse Poems and Tonight, We Fuck the Trailer Park Out of Each Other. Their newest collection, Bisquick: An American Seance, was published just in August by Northwestern University Press. They are a poet in residence at

Participants Gupta Shivani

Meet the Readers: Shivani Gupta

Shivani Gupta is a Chicago-based writer, curator & researcher. Her debut chapbooks my mother is a mixed metaphor & Cumuluswere published by Rockwood Press in 2026 and her first full-length collection, Turmeric Dust Stains is forthcoming from dancing girl press. Her work has featured globally across the BBC,

Readings Reading #175

Tuesday Funk #175: October 6, 2026

Join us as Chicago's favorite eclectic monthly reading series marks one hundred and seventy-five shows! We'll feature readings by Shivani Gupta, Darshita Jain, C. Russell Price, Srikanth "Chicu" Reddy, and Carly Travis, as well as Erin's highly specific toast and a

Debriefings Reading #174

September 2026 Debrief

The first of September was hot and humid, but the air conditioning in the upstairs lounge of Hopleaf did its job, and the crowd at the 174th edition of Tuesday Funk were cool indeed. Erin J. Watson pulled double duty as cohost and lead-off reader, sharing her brand-new

Participants Reading #174

Meet the Readers: Teresa Dzieglewicz

Teresa Dzieglewicz is a Pushcart Prize-winning poet, educator, and lover of rivers and prairies. She is a fellow with Black Earth Institute, a Poet-in-Residence at the Chicago Poetry Center, and part of the founding team of Mni Wichoni Nakicizin Wounspe (Defenders of the Water School). With Natasha

Participants Reading #174

Meet the Readers: Kathleen Rooney

Kathleen Rooney is a founding editor of Rose Metal Press, a nonprofit publisher of literary work in hybrid genres, and a founding member of Poems While You Wait, a collective of typewriter poets who do commissioned poetry on demand. Her fifth novel Man Overboard! was published by Gallery Books / Simon

Participants Reading #174

Meet the Readers: Erin Watson

Erin J. Watson is a Southern queer person living in Chicago. She makes zines, rides bikes, and volunteers with Chicago Books to Women in Prison. Her poems have recently appeared in Milwaukee Avenue Messenger, and her zines include My Dog Only Listens to the Mountain Goats and Things We Bought

Reading #174 Participants

Meet the Readers: PJ Gray

PJ Gray proudly returns to Tuesday Funk and has been seen storytelling at 2nd Story Chicago, Sidetrack's Outspoken and You're Being Ridiculous to name a few. His varied writing career has included cookbook publishing, television writing and low comprehension fiction for struggling readers of all ages.

Readings Reading #174

Tuesday Funk #174: September 1, 2026

The shadows are getting longer, but the air is still warm and the leaves have yet to fall. Join us on Tuesday, Sept. 1 in the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf for Tuesday Funk! We'll be featuring readings by Teresa Dzieglewicz, PJ Gray, C. Russell Price, Kathleen Rooney and

Debriefings Reading #173

August 2026 Debrief

It was yet another hot summer night on August 4 when we gathered in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf for Tuesday Funk. That didn't stop the crowd from coming to see Chicago's favorite eclectic monthly reading series! Unfortunately Cynthia Palayo was unable to join us, but

Participants Pelayo Cynthia (cina)

Meet the Readers: Cynthia Pelayo

Cynthia Pelayo is a Bram Stoker Award winning and International Latino Book Award-winning author and poet. She is the author of Loteria, Children of Chicago, The Shoemaker’s Magician, Forgotten Sisters, It Came From Neverland, as well as dozens of standalone short stories and poems. She was named one

Heider Mary Winn Participants

Meet the Readers: Mary Winn Heider

Mary Winn Heider is half of the pen name Birdie Horne. Along with her former arch nemesis Eden Robins, she writes the Mo Ellery mysteries, the first of which comes out August 11th! Don't Cross Mo Ellery is "witty and wacky," says Publisher's Weekly;

Participants Davila Jasmine

Meet the Readers: Jasmine Davila

Jasmine Davila has appeared in venues both small and medium sized and, performing in live lit shows such as Tuesday Funk and Write Club. She is the co-host and producer of lady live lit show Miss Spoken, which happens the last Monday of every month at Cole’s Bar.

Participants Avery Fez

Meet the Readers: Fez Avery

Fez Avery is the author of CLAYBOY (Write Bloody Publishing, 2026). He holds an MFA in poetry from Virginia Tech, is pursuing a PhD in poetry at Western Michigan University, and is the 2026-2027 Visiting Instructor of Creative Writing at Interlochen Arts Academy. His work can be found in

Moses Edward Participants

Meet the Readers: Edward Moses

Edward Moses is far too shy most days to say anything about himself beyond, “Nah, nothing special; I’m just some dude.” Then, without warning, if he’s 2 to 2.5 whiskeys in and the conversation is excellent, he’ll throw something casual out that casts a few double-

Readings Reading #173

Tuesday Funk #173: Aug. 4, 2026

The dog days are upon us here in Chicago, but never fret, your favorite eclectic monthly reading series will return to the upstairs lounge of Hopleaf in spite of the heat. Join us on Tuesday, August 4 when we'll have readings by Fez Avery, Jasmine Davila, Mary Winn

Debriefings Reading #172

July 2026 Debrief

Summer is often a little quieter in the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf, but not this time! The house was packed for Chicago's favorite eclectic monthly reading series, and the crowd was rewarded with a fantastic show. Joanne Jacsobson got Tuesday Funk #172 started with some short fiction and