It does not feel real putting that year up there. Here we are, talking about our first show in THE DISTANT FUTURE ...except it's next month. We are in fact living in a time beyond Blade Runner. Who would have guessed that live lit shows would be so popular in this dystopian age?

Join us as we host our 135th episode of Tuesday Funk on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020(!)in the upstairs bar at the Hopleaf in Andersonville. The show will feature readings by Dmitry Samarov, Darshita Jain, Michael Palmer, Maggie Queeney and Cameron McGill. Andrew Huff and Eden Robins cohost.

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 be late!) and the show will start at 7:30pm. Please RSVP on Facebook, and while you're there, go ahead like and follow us so you get our announcements in your news stream. Trust the algorithm. Obey the algorithm. See you in 2020!

With memories of Thanksgiving feasts still fresh in everyone's minds, Chicago's favorite eclectic monthly reading series assembled in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf on Dec. 3 for Tuesday Funk's last show of 2019.

We kicked the night off listening to Anne-Marie Ooman share a poem she wrote for Lake Michigan Mermaid: A Tale in Poems (which she cowrote with with Linda Nemec Foster) and a story about Catholic school sex-ed from her memoir Love, Sex and 4-H. Next, Rachel Cromidas read an essay about not getting the traditional post-breakup haircut, and what that's meant to her. Then Ruth Kaufman read the opening scene from her novel My Life as a Star.

After an intermission during which we refilled our drinks and talked about the first half, Katey Schultz shared several excerpts from her novels Flashes of War and the new Still Come Home. Next, cohost Eden Robins offered a quick bit of satirical fiction, and finally Norman Doucet read an essay about the differences between race and culture.

Everyone had a great time, and promised to be back in 2020 for more. Want to join us? Your next opportunity is Tuesday, Jan. 7, when we'll feature readings by Dmitry Samarov, Darshita Jain, Michael Palmer, Maggie Queeney and Cameron McGill. Hope to see you there!

What better way to shake off the Thanksgiving sleepies than with some vigorous live lit! Tonight we're serving Ruth Kaufman, Katey Schulz, Anne-Marie Oomen, Norman Doucet, and Rachel Cromidas! Plus bonus 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!

Rachel Cromidas is a writer and editor in Logan Square. She has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune and Buzzfeed Reader. She currently serves as an editor for Built In. She has performed in various live lit and comedy shows around Chicago, including 20x2, Ladylike and Bawdy Storytelling.

Please join Rachel and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, December 3, 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.

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 Norm and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, December 3, 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.

Katey Schultz is the author of Flashes of War, which the Daily Beast praised as an "ambitious and fearless" collection, and Still Come Home, the winner of the first ever Ciofalo Award. Honors for her work include the Linda Flowers Literary Award, IndieFab Book of the Year from Foreword Reviews, a Gold Medal from the Military Writers Society of America, four Pushcart nominations, and writing fellowships in eight states. Katey has taught all over the country--at Interlochen College of Creative Arts, Fishtrap, 49 Alaska Writing Center, among many others. She has also presented at over 70 readings and lectures, and started her own writing mentorship program, Maximum Impact, a transformative mentoring service for creative writers that has been recognized by both CNBC and the What Works Network. She lives in Celo, North Carolina with her husband and son. Find her at www.kateyschultz.com.

Please join Katey and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, December 3, 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.

Ruth Kaufman is the author of four medieval romances, two medieval novellas and two humorous contemporary novels. Her Wars of the Roses Brides trilogy (At His Command, Follow Your Heart, and The Bride Tournament) reached #1 historical romance on Amazon in the US, Canada and Australia. Other accolades include 2016 Booksellers' Best Award double winner (Best Historical and Best First Book). Ruth is also an on-camera and voiceover actor with a J.D. and a Master's in Radio/TV. Credits include independent features, short films, web series, national TV commercials and thousands of voiceovers. Ask what she did on America's Funniest People and the live judges round of America's Got Talent, S8. She presents workshops for authors and actors is a storyteller, and sings in a symphony chorus. Learn more at ruthkaufman.com and ruthtalks.com.

Please join Ruth and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, December 3, 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.

Anne-Marie Oomen is co-author of Lake Michigan Mermaid with Linda Nemec Foster (Michigan Notable Book for 2019), but she is not a mermaid--she wrote the troubled girl poems in the book--no type-casting there. She also wrote Love, Sex and 4-H (Next Generation Indie Award for Memoir), which has only about one inch of sex in the whole book--sorry to disappoint. Also, Uncoded Woman (poetry), in which she likes to pretend she's uncoded--though she's pretty sure an uncoded woman is really a fiction. She edited ELEMENTAL: A Collection of Michigan Nonfiction, also a Michigan Notable Book. It's not about the elements. She and her husband, David Early, built their home in the woods near Empire, Michigan, and emerge when their cider stores are low. Find her at www.anne-marieoomen.com.

Please join Anne-Marie and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, December 3, 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.

Tuesday Funk cohost Andrew Huff shared three haiku at the 133rd edition of Tuesday Funk on Nov. 5.

Snow on Halloween
hides pageantry and horror
under heavy coats.

Snow melts on pavement
leaving leaf-lined paths under
bowed tree branches.

Twitter just announced
it's banning -- no, not Nazis.
Political ads.

The holiday season is upon us, and what better way to celebrate than with the last Tuesday Funk of 2019! Join Chicago's favorite eclectic monthly reading series on Tuesday, Dec. 3, when we'll feature Ruth Kaufman, Katey Schulz, Anne-Marie Oomen, Norman Doucet and Rachel Cromidas!

We'll be in the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf in Andersonville. 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 while you're at it, please like and follow us so you get our announcements right in your stream.