UPDATE: Hopleaf lost power due to today's freak rainstorm, and unfortunately that means we have to cancel tonight's show. We're rescheduling the readers for future episodes -- stay tuned! Won't you join us for tonight's awesome show? We've got Mare...  read

Mare Swallow is the former Executive Director of the Chicago Writers Conference. Her essays have appeared in Story Club and Hypertext magazines. She is a contributor to Pop Mythology, and she tells her stories live at events such as Tuesday...  read

Gina DeLuca is a comedic essayist and performer living in Chicago. Self-effacing and cynical, Gina's writing speaks to the American zeitgeist with relatability and ease. She has read her pieces at Steppenwolf Theater, iO Theater, Essay Fiesta, and other venues...  read

Kimberly Dixon-Mays is a poet, playwright and performer. A Cave Canem, Callaloo and Ragdale fellow, her poetry has been published in journals and anthologies including Reverie, Trigger Warning, Rhino and Consequence. She also released her first poetry collection, SenseMemory, with...  read

Dayna Bateman is an ecommerce strategist who sometimes writes for obscure trade publications like MultiChannel Merchant and Integrated Solutions for Retailers. Once in a while she tells true stories at live lit shows around Chicago, and once took home the...  read

Annabel Lang is a writer living in Chicago by way of the Carolinas. She is the co-producer of a variety show-slash-workshop called Junior Varsity where artists present works in progress and the hosts invite the audience to participate by providing...  read

What's better on a hot August evening than a cold beer and your favorite eclectic monthly reading series? Nothing! Join us on Tuesday, August 7 in the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf for readings by Mare Swallow, Dayna Bateman, Gina DeLuca,...  read

Let's be honest, when we scheduled a show for the night before the Fourth of July, we were a little worried nobody would show up. But wow, so many of you did! Thanks for packing the house, Tuesday Funk fans!...  read