Alan DeNiro lives in Minnesota. He's the author of two short story collections--Skinny Dipping in the Lake of the Dead, and Tyrannia, both from Small Beer Press; and the novel Total Oblivion, More or Less, from Ballantine. He's recently completed a Young Adult novel.

Please join Alan and all our fantastic readers on Tuesday, February 3, 2015, upstairs at Hopleaf at 7:30 pm. This 21-and-older event is free.

H. Melt is a poet and artist who was born in Chicago. Their work proudly documents Chicago's queer and trans communities. Their writing has been published by Chicago Artist Writers, Lambda Literary, and THEM, the first trans literary journal in the United States. It is also forthcoming in the anthology Writing the Walls Down (Trans-Genre Press). They are the author of SIRvival in the Second City: Transqueer Chicago Poems and currently work at the Poetry Foundation.

Please join H. Melt and all our accomplished readers on Tuesday, February 3, 2015, upstairs at Hopleaf at 7:30 pm. This 21-and-older event is free.

At the 75th edition of Tuesday Funk back in November, blogger Keesha Beckford delivered a heartfelt and sobering plea for the safety of black boys, asking for compassion and action from white moms.

Tuesday Funk is back in February to stir your heart once more. Join us in the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf, 5148 N. Clark St. in Chicago, on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015, when our guests are Alan DeNiro, Cameron McGill, Patty Templeton, Christa Desir and H.Melt. This 21-and-older event is free.

Cameron McGill is a Chicago-based musician and writer. He recently released his sixth album, Gallows Etiquette. His work has appeared in Poetry East, Measure, and Split Lip Magazine.

Please join Cameron and all our amazing readers on Tuesday, February 3, 2015, upstairs at Hopleaf at 7:30 pm. This 21-and-older event is free.

Christa Desir writes contemporary fiction for young adults. Her novels include Fault Line and Bleed Like Me and the forthcoming Other Broken Things. She lives with her husband, three children, and overly-enthusiastic dog outside of Chicago. She has volunteered as a rape victim activist for more than ten years, including providing direct service as an advocate in hospital ERs. She also works as an editor at Samhain Publishing. Visit her at ChristaDesir.com.

Please join Christa and all our winter wonders on Tuesday, February 3, 2015, upstairs at Hopleaf at 7:30 pm. This 21-and-older event is free.

Patty Templeton is roughly 25 apples tall and 11,000 cups of coffee into her life. She wears red sequins and stomping boots while writing, then hits up back-alley dance bars and honky tonks. Her stories are full of ghosts, freaks, fools, underdogs, blue collar heroes, and never giving up, even when life is giving you shit. She won the first-ever Naked Girls Reading Literary Honors Award and has been a runner-up for the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award. Her first novel, There Is No Lovely End, debuted in 2014. Say hi to her over on Twitter.

Please join Patty and all our caffeinated readers on Tuesday, February 3, 2015, upstairs at Hopleaf at 7:30 pm. This 21-and-older event is free.

Tuesday Funk is back in February to warm your heart if not your feet. Join us in the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf, 5148 N. Clark St. in Chicago, on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015, when our guests are Alan DeNiro, Cameron McGill, Patty Templeton, Christa Desir and H.Melt.

As always, doors open at 7:00 pm sharp -- no earlier, unfortunately, but get there as close to 7 as possible to grab a table, as the room fills up quickly -- and the show begins at 7:30. Andrew Huff and Eden Robins co-host, our lovely bartender Mark will have adult beverages to put a fire back in your belly, and stop downstairs before or after the show for a nice, hot meal before heading back out into the cold. Admission is free, but you must be 21 or older.

RSVP right here and bring a friend. And why not become a fan of the Funk on Facebook so you never miss an invitation to one of our readings? See you Feb. 3!

The new year brought a new crop of haiku from co-host Andrew Huff! The set he read at the Jan. 6th edition of Tuesday Funk got away from topicality and went in a more conceptual direction.

It is a known fact:
Millions alive today will
never fall in love.

It's a true theory:
Millions alive today will
never want for food.

Millions now alive
will never know the pleasure
of a summer's day.

There may be millions
who never die at all.
Memory survives.

With only our collective body heat (and the Hopleaf HVAC system) to warm us, we embarked on a wintry evening of literary delights at Tuesday Funk #77!

Kelly Swails left us wanting more with a tense story about trying to undue the tragedies of the past with that mercurial tool - time travel. John Rich followed that up with a fascinating essay about the nature of happiness... and Lauren Bacall. Co-host Andrew Huff read a conceptual series of related haiku - about memory and the nature of existence. And James Kennedy finished up the half with an excerpt from his new novel about a boy who controls tornadoes.

Mark showed us his talents with bottle and glass at intermission, and we drank his masterpieces.

Co-host Eden Robins read a personal essay about the mystery of what happened to her childhood cat, and then Christopher Sweet kicked off the second half with an essay about the many flavors of anxiety, from childhood to adulthood. And Erin Shea ended the night with a bittersweet essay about shoplifting, lying, and motherhood.

Almost before it had begun, the evening was over. But don't worry! As ever, we will be back again next month with Tuesday Funk #78! Come see Alan DeNiro, Cameron McGill, Patty Templeton, Christa Desir, and H.Melt on Tuesday, February 3. Same time, same place!

You know what they say about Chicago: We've got two seasons... football and sausage. Wait. Is that right?

It's going to be cold tonight, but we'll warm you up right good at Tuesday Funk #77! Come see local hotshots James Kennedy, Kelly Swails, John Rich, Erin Shea, and Christopher Sweet. Your faithful hosts Andrew Huff and Eden Robins will be there, and they'll be counting on you.

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. No food can be brought in from the restaurant. See you there!