H. Melt is a poet, artist, and educator who lives in Chicago. They are the author of The Plural, The Blurring, and On My Way to Liberation. They edited the anthology Subject to Change: Trans Poetry & Conversation. Lambda Literary awarded them the Judith A. Markowitz Award for Emerging LGBTQ Writers. They've also been named to Newcity's Lit 50 list and Windy City Times' 30 Under 30. H. Melt helped organize Queeriosity at Young Chicago Authors and works at Women & Children First, Chicago's feminist bookstore.

Please join H. Melt and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, August 6, 2019 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.

Jill Howe is the producer of Story Sessions, a showcase featuring true stories and live music. Jill has facilitated her monthly storytelling group Friends with Words for the last six years, organizes and teaches Story Sessions writing retreats, and presented a Tedx Talk focusing on vulnerability through storytelling. She shares her stories at bars and theaters all around Chicagoland. Also, after recently becoming a resident storyteller at The Field Museum, she develops kid-friendly true stories about beloved animals who need to have their memories dusted off.

Please join Jill and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, August 6, 2019 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.

Sara Ross Witt was born in Ohio, where she was raised on storytelling, magic, and family myths. She is a writer, mother, and future business owner. A former co-host of Tuesday Funk and a graduate of The New School MFA in Creative Writing program, Sara's writing has appeared in Arch City Chronicle, Parent to Parent, Black Market Lit, and Best of Ohio Short Stories volumes 1 and 2.

Please join Sara and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, August 6, 2019 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.

A proud Chicago native, Sophie Amado holds a BA in English and Spanish from the University of Iowa and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago. Here, she taught undergraduate writing and rhetoric and started editing for both Arcturus Magazine and Hotel Amerika. She has interned with Folio Literary Management, the Iowa Youth Writing Project, and the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust and she spent a year teaching high school students English in Madrid, Spain on a Fulbright grant. Currently, Sophie writes content for Groupon and runs a recurring reading series called Read Some Shit at aliveOne in Lincoln Park. She's also working on publishing her first essay collection.

Please join Sophie and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, August 6, 2019 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.

Vojislav Pejović was born in Montenegro, former Yugoslavia, in 1972. He is a neurobiologist by training and a medical communications professional by occupation. His publications include two novels, The Life and Death of Milan Junak and American Sfumato. He lives in Evanston with his wife and their two sons. American Sfumato will be published in October 2019, by Chicago's Tortoise Books.

Please join Vojislav and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, August 6, 2019 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.

The dog days of summer are nearly here -- combat the heat with some adult beverages and live lit! Join us in the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf on Tuesday, Aug. 6 for Chicago's favorite eclectic reading series, where we'll feature Sara Ross Witt, Sophie Amado, H. Melt, Vojislav Pejovic and Jill Howe!

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 dawdle!) and the show will start at 7:30pm. Please RSVP on Facebook, and please like and follow us while you're there so you get our announcements right in your stream.

Current events couldn't help but make their way into cohost Andrew Huff's topical haiku at the July 2, 2019 show.

Once liberators,
now a nation that constructs
concentration camps.

Proud Americans
forget the reason we fought:
freedom from tyranny.

Independence Day
fails to live up to its name
while we still detain.

Meanwhile...

Patriotism is
rooting for women's soccer
to conquer England.

We had a great crowd for the 129th edition of Tuesday Funk on July 2, and those in attendance got a serious treat -- emphasis on serious.

Norman Doucet got everything started with a funny story that wove a legendary boxing match with glimpses into the personalities of the three parental figures in his life. Next, Cameron McGill read poems that painted desolate landscapes populated by lovers, family members and memories. Then Sahar Mustafah shared an excerpt from her forthcoming novel, The Beauty of Your Face, giving us a look at the movements and motivations of a school shooter.

Cohost Andrew read a couple of rather angry haiku, and we took a break to refill drinks and decompress.

Cohost Eden brought us back from intermission with part of an essay about her experiences living for two weeks on a scientific research boat in the Gulf of Mexico. Then Kalisha Buckhanon read an excerpt from her new book Speaking of Summer, and finally Kenji Kuramitsu delivered an essay reflecting on Japanese resettlement in Chicago after the World War II internment camps and their relevance today.

Keep an eye on our YouTube page for video of the show, and put Tuesday, August 6 on your calendar now. We'll be featuring readings by Sara Ross Witt, H. Melt, Sophie Amado, Vojislav Pejovic and Jill Howe. You won't want to miss it!

I'll just say this: You do NOT want to miss this show. With readings by Kalisha Buckhanon, Kenji Kuramitsu, Cameron McGill, Norman Doucet, and Sahar Mustafah, plus your perennial co-hosts Andrew Huff and Eden Robins.

Our readings take place at Hopleaf Bar, 5148 N. Clark St. in Chicago. We get started promptly at 7:30 pm in the upstairs lounge. Arrive early if you want a seat -- but no earlier than 7:00 pm. Our readings are free, but only those 21 and over will be admitted. And check it out -- You can now order food from our bartender! See you there!

Norman Doucet was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and spent his formative years there, which is reflected in many of the mistakes he has made in his life. For instance, he likes to point out that he was both a right-wing Republican and an evangelical Christian...at the same time. Seeking adventure, and a change of scenery, he joined the Marine Corps after college and got both of those things, but most importantly, he gained an appreciation for the heights and depths of the human experience, which has shaped some of his world view. Norm fell in love with storytelling at a young age, listening to his late grandmother's tales filled with superstitions wrapped around heady gossip. He fell in love with writing during his English Novel class in undergrad because he was impressed by how long the authors could keep "talking and making shit up" and keep his interest.

He's won some awards, has gone to grad school and spends his days "talking and making shit up" for work.

Please join Norman and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, July 2, 2019 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.