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.

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.