Lily Be is a poor brown Be from Humboldt Park Chicago. She has almost died six times in her life, and knows that she is still alive to serve people and communities that could benefit from hearing her stories and brain droppings. She hosts and produces a monthly storytelling show, The Stoop. Her only goal here tonight and any night is hopefully to get ONE of you to want to share your truest and most authentic self with everyone you meet one day. Check her out at Lilybe.com to learn more about all the things she does.

Please join Lily and our other fantastic readers on Tuesday, July 7 at 7:30pm on our YouTube channel, youtube.com/TuesdayFunk! Cohosts Andrew Huff and Eden Robins and at least some of the readers will be on live chat during the show. Please RSVP on Facebook.

Stuart M. Ross is the author of the novel Jenny in Corona, which came out last year from Tortoise Books. About the novel Rebecca Makkai said: "Jenny in Corona is by turns hilarious and devastating and profound. Stuart Ross has one of the strangest minds I've ever encountered; I say this not as a warning but as an enthusiastic endorsement." Stuart's work has appeared in Gapers Block, Vol 1. Brooklyn, Diagram, Pioneertown, and many other publications. He lives in Andersonville with his wife Betsy, their son Leonard, and Jacks the cat. Find him online at stuartmross.com.

Please join Stuart and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, July 7 at 7:30pm on our YouTube channel, youtube.com/TuesdayFunk! Cohosts Andrew Huff and Eden Robins and at least some of the readers will be on live chat during the show. Please RSVP on Facebook.

Mikki Kendall is a writer, diversity consultant, and occasional feminist who talks a lot about intersectionality, policing, gender, sexual assault, and other current events. Her nonfiction can be found at Time.com, the Guardian, Washington Post, Ebony, Essence, Salon, XoJane, Bustle, Islamic Monthly and a host of other sites. Her media appearances include BBC, NPR, the Daily Show, PBS, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, WVON, WBEZ, TWIB, and Showtime. She has discussed race, feminism, violence in Chicago, tech, pop culture, in various forms of media, as well as at universities across the country.

She is the author of Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists (illustrated by A. D'Amico), and of Hood Feminism, both from Penguin Random House.

Please join Mikki and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, July 7 at 7:30pm on our YouTube channel, youtube.com/TuesdayFunk! Cohosts Andrew Huff and Eden Robins and at least some of the readers will be on live chat during the show. Please RSVP on Facebook.

Still not able to get back into the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf (although they're now serving food and drink on their patio -- support them now!), Tuesday Funk will be doing another a pre-recorded YouTube Live show at our usual time -- Tuesday, July 7 at 7:30pm -- on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/TuesdayFunk!

So please join us for readings by Daniel Kraus, Rosamund Lannin, Lily Be, Stuart Ross and Mikki Kendall. Cohosts Andrew Huff and Eden Robins and at least some of the readers will be on live chat during the show. Hope to see you there, too! RSVP on Facebook.

With our beloved Hopleaf closed due to the coronavirus, Tuesday Funk missed shows in April and May. We finally decided to try bringing the show back in video form, with readers recording their pieces at home and cohosts Andrew and Eden introducing them on a YouTube Live stream at the time when we'd normally be in our usual spot.

Kenji Kiramitsu led us off with an essay about tattoos, taboo and cultural legacy. Next, Mare Swallow told a story about religion and family relationships through the lens of Veggie Tales. Then Elizabeth Gomez read her Chicago magazine essay about raising two daughters while launching the Windy City Rollers.

We took a brief break, then Sahar Mustafah shared an excerpt of her novel The Beauty of Your Face. Last but not least, James Gordon told a hilarious story about an unexpected soundtrack to buying some lottery tickets.

Thanks to everyone who joined us live! If you missed it, you can still watch the show below, or go to YouTube and click the "show chat replay" button at the upper right to get the full experience.

The episode was recorded prior to the protests against police violence in Chicago and around the country. Tuesday Funk believes Black Lives Matter and we encourage you to participate in this movement in whatever way you can, including supporting local Black-owned businesses and donating to organizations like Black Lives Matter Chicago, Chicago Community Bond Fund, Assata's Daughters and Campaign Zero.

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 an acclaimed actor, champion storyteller, and international award winning author and poet. He can be seen in several commercials, films, plays, and episodics. James is a member and leader of the Talent Conglomerate known as the Almighty Elite Act Pack. Follow him on Twitter at gr8estpoetalive, James Gordon on Facebook, and Greatest Poet Alive on Instagram.

Mare Swallow is a writer and storyteller whose work has appeared in The Chicago Neighborhood Guide, Hypertext Magazine, and Smith Magazine's "It All Changed in an Instant." She is a public speaking coach by day, and she teaches Business and Professional Speaking at Loyola University. And she misses seeing all of you live at the Hopleaf. 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.