Kyle Thiessen emerges from creative hibernation every seven to twelve years, but is endeavoring to increase that frequency. Previous efforts include 2011's hastily-produced YouTube parody "Fake Month at the Museum," as well as a short film in 1999 that granted an invitation to the Golden Globe awards, where he peed next to John Lithgow. In addition to YouTubing and peeing, Kyle has spent his adult life as a caricature artist, an IMAX projectionist, and a corporate Powerpoint designer for a multinational conglomerate of high tech weapons systems- and golf cart-manufacturers. Until he fills the hole in his resume where "zamboni driver" should be, he'll be hard at work on the perfect Die Hard screenplay and occasionally tweeting @lazycartoonist.

Please join Kyle and our other fantastic readers on Tuesday, Aug. 4 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.

Norman Doucet -- Black Lives Matter.

Please join Norm and our other fantastic readers on Tuesday, Aug. 4 at 7:30pm on our YouTube channel, youtube.com/TuesdayFunk! Cohosts Eden Robins and Andrew Huff and at least some of the readers will be on live chat during the show. Please RSVP on Facebook.

Erin Watson is a Southern person living in Chicago. Her poems have appeared in the chapbooks Breathtaken and No Experiences and in Entropy Magazine. When it's not a pandemic out, Erin cohosts Other People's Poems at Uncharted Books, as well as the Basement Life reading series in Avondale. When it is a pandemic out, she enjoys the company of her dog Basil, her day job with the food bank, and her record collection. Erin also makes zines that you can find at Quimby's, Uncharted, or online.

Please join Erin and our other fantastic readers on Tuesday, Aug. 4 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.

Tracy Harford-Porter was born in Brooklyn, NY and now resides in the Chicago suburbs. She has worked for Essence Communications as a photo editor, the Harlem Children's Zone as the managing editor of Harlem Overheard, StoryCorps as a facilitator coordinator, and Goldman Sachs as a long-term administrative temp/secret ethnographer. Tracy is a 2008 graduate of Clarion West and proud alum of Columbia University School of General Studies, majoring in anthropology. She has been home for 135 days and is FEELING IT. You can find her on social media @HarfordTracy if you want to find out where her slush submissions end up.

Please join Tracy and our other fantastic readers on Tuesday, Aug. 4 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.

It's nice and hot in Chicago, so we hope you have air conditioning -- or at least a nice cold drink -- for when Tuesday Funk does its next pre-recorded YouTube Live show on Tuesday, Aug. 4 at 7:30pm on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/TuesdayFunk!

Please join us for readings by Kyle Thiessen, Erin Watson, Jocelyn Geboy, Norman Doucet and Tracy Harford-Porter. 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.

The second-ever "Quarantuesday Funk" on YouTube Live went very well, and featured some fantastic stories and essays. Lily Be got us started with a story about bearded dragons and honesty. Next, Rosamund Lannin shared an essay about the myths and realities of being a city kid, then Stuart M. Ross recited a poem called "The Smile of the Good Jewish Man."

After a brief break, Mikki Kendall shared an essay from her new book, Hood Feminism, and Daniel Kraus read an excerpt from his new novel, The Living Dead, co-authored with George A. Romero.

If you missed it live on July 7, that's OK — you can still watch it below or on our channel. And please join us for our next show — also on YouTube Live — on Tuesday, Aug. 4, when we'll feature readings by Tracy Harford-Porter, Norman Doucet, Jocelyn Geboy, Kyle Thiessen, and Erin Watson. Hope to see you in the chat!

Daniel Kraus is a New York Times bestselling author. With Guillermo del Toro, he co-authored The Shape of Water, based on the same idea the two created for the Oscar-winning film. Also with del Toro, Kraus co-authored Trollhunters, which was adapted into the Emmy-winning Netflix series. Kraus's The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch was named one of Entertainment Weekly's Top 10 Books of the Year, and he has won two Odyssey Awards (for both Rotters and Scowler) and has been a Library Guild selection, YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults, Bram Stoker finalist, and more.

Coming soon is The Living Dead, a posthumous collaboration with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero, and his first middle-grade novel, They Threw Us Away. Kraus's work has been translated into over 25 languages. He lives with his wife in Chicago. Visit him at danielkraus.com.

Please join Daniel 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.

The product of nine years in San Francisco and eight years in St. Paul, Rosamund Lannin is pleasantly surprised to have lived in Chicago for over a decade. During that time, she has published essays and speculative fiction, performed stories around the city, and consumed many carne asada burritos. You can find her on the Internet @rosamund, and most recently on Tor.com with an essay about body positivity in fantasy literature.

Please join Rosamund 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.

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.