Jerry Schwartz is the author of Pixels of Young Mueller, a coming-of-age tale published in 2010 by All Things That Matter Press. Visit his website at itsjerryschwartz.com.

Schwartz also writes, plays, sings, and produces the music of The Jerrys, a British-influenced guitar-pop band. The Jerrys appear in Pixels of Young Mueller, Schwartz's debut novel. Check out The Jerrys at itsthejerrys.com.

Join Tuesday Funk at Hopleaf's upstairs bar to hear Jerry and our talented clutch of readers on February 1 at 7:30 p.m.

In the grand tradition of underemployed artists, Eden Robins has been: a singing waitress, a dildo salesman, a dental assistant, an abortion clinic receptionist, a blowjob instructor, a travel writer, a pelvic model, and a Swahili teacher. She has published some things in some places, but not enough things or enough places for you to have noticed.

She is co-founder and co-editor of the semiprozine Brain Harvest, has a novel that's going to be done soon, goddammit, and is currently learning kung fu and the ukulele.

Join Tuesday Funk at Hopleaf's upstairs bar to hear Eden and our talented bunch of readers on February 1, 2011, at 7:30 pm.

Julie Rosenthal is a freelance writer in Chicago. She draws ideas for her stories from the encyclopedia articles she writes for Salem Press. Her fiction has been recognized by ChiZine and has appeared in Ensorcelled.

More stories are forthcoming in 2011 in Kaleidotrope and an anthology from India-based Zubaan Books.

Julie adds: Thanks very much to Bill and Sara--and to all of the loyal supporters of Tuesday Funk.

Join Tuesday Funk at Hopleaf's upstairs bar to hear Julie and our talented crew of readers on February 1, 2011, at 7:30 pm.

Brooke Wonders spent her formative years editing the voices in other peoples' heads, which perhaps explains more than you need to know. Her latest play, "Unbirthday," was recently staged in Flagstaff, Arizona, where it received rave reviews from some of her closest friends and relatives.

Brooke is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the Program for Writers. Her fiction has appeared in Thin Air Magazine, and she has a nonfiction piece forthcoming in Brevity.

Join Tuesday Funk at Hopleaf's upstairs bar to hear Brooke and our talented coterie of readers on February 1, 2011, at 7:30 pm!

Karen Skalitzky is the author of A Recipe for Hope: Stories of Transformation by People Struggling with Homelessness (ACTA Publications, 2006).

An educator by trade, she works as a Reading Specialist and coaches teachers and principals in both underserved and high achieving public schools.

Join Tuesday Funk at Hopleaf's upstairs bar to hear Karen and all of our amazingly talented readers on February 1, 2011!

The new year always takes a few weeks to get rolling right, right? So join Tuesday Funk in February as we celebrate 2011 with our "New Year, New Voices" edition, bringing you great debut readings from Eden Robins, Julie Rosenthal, Jerry Schwartz, Karen Skalitzky and Brooke Wonders, plus our patented Poem By Bill. Oh, and there is beer, too—80 different types of it. Resolve to be there!

Tuesday Funk convenes Tuesday, February 1, 2011, 7:30 pm, in the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf, 5148 N. Clark St., Chicago. Arrive early, stake out a table in the upper room, and grab a beer from John at the cash-only bar. We start seating at 7:00 pm and no earlier. Admission is always free, but you must be 21 or older. And come early or stay afterward for some great Belgian-style food downstairs!

Please bring plenty of friends, and become a fan of Tuesday Funk on Facebook so you never miss an invitation to our readings. And watch this space over the next couple of weeks for spotlight posts about our readers.

Our friend, Julia Borcherts, co-producer of Reading Under the Influence, will be a featured reader at 2nd Story + American Theater Company's night of storytelling on Monday, January 17th at Mrs. Murphy and Sons Irish Bistro (3905 N. Lincoln Ave.).

This will be 2nd Story's first foray into fictional storytelling! Based in the classic 2nd Story style of first-person stories told directly to the audience, five 2nd Story storytellers were asked to spin imaginative yarns based on the photograph above. Against the backdrop of the gorgeous upstairs of Mrs. Murphy and Sons Irish Bistro in Lincoln Square, accompanied by a pianist on their grand piano, join 2nd Story and ATC to see what the muse inspired!

Feature readers include: Julia Borcherts, Megan Stielstra, John Wilson, Sara Kerastas, and CP Chang. Curated by Bobby Biedrzycki. Directed by Katie Klemme. Sound by Mikhail Fiksel.

Doors @ 7pm. Stories start at 7:30pm. Tickets $15.

We're slobberingly grateful to everyone who helped make January's episode of Tuesday Funk such a rousing success—readers and audience alike. Another attentive, engaged, standing-room-only crowd turned out to be entertained and mesmerized by our savory six. If you were among the unfortunate few unable to make it out, here's a recap of the highlights you missed.

Mare Swallow kicked off the festivities in fine fashion with a funny and poignant account of her days as a party-circuit insult comic for hire. Valerie Jupe delighted us with a dozen poems, some of which you'll find in her collection Shattered Fragments of My Soul. Christopher Sweet made us gasp with his touching account of his father's adventures in World War II and the social mores of wartime Britain.

After a break to let everyone visit our talented bartender John, co-host William Shunn read his poem "Under Their Skirts." Suzanne Clores waxed both sacred and scatological, taking us along on a vision quest for her totem animal and extolling the virtues of the high-tech Japanese toilet. Return Funker Cesar Torres whisked us from a mouse's-eye view of a minaret to a near-future Chicago rife with state-sponsored cannibalism. And to cap things off in fine style, Essay Fiesta's Alyson Lyon demonstrated that fame and success aren't all they're cracked up to be with her laugh-till-you-cry account of a night on the town with Gallagher. (Yes, that Gallagher.)

So that's what you missed at the last Tuesday Funk. The good news is that we'll be back at Hopleaf on Tuesday, February 1 with an evening we're calling "New Year, New Voices," including debut readings from Eden Robins, Julie Rosenthal, Jerry Schwartz, Karen Skalitzky and Brooke Wonders, and another patented Poem By Bill. Mark your calendars now!

The holiday season may be dead and gone, no more than a rattling ghost, but Tuesday Funk is keeping the festive spirit alive with a sampler of a half-dozen sweet or savory readers for your listening pleasure. Come to Hopleaf tonight (Tuesday, January 4th), and join your hosts Sara Ross and William Shunn for the 30th entry in our theoretically infinite Tuesday Funk reading series.

We're bringing you poetry, fiction, essays, and more from the likes of Alyson Lyon, Suzanne Clores, Mare Swallow, Cesar Torres, Valerie Jupe, and Christopher Sweet. That's six great readers for the mere price of a beer. Or maybe two. Okay, forget that New Year's resolution. Make it three.

Hopleaf is at 5148 N. Clark St. in Chicago. The reading begins at 7:30 pm in the upstairs lounge. The lounge opens at 7:00 pm. Arrive early for a seat!

As always, the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf is cash-only, so be prepared. Remember also that no food is allowed in the upstairs lounge, and only those 21 and over can be admitted.

Suzanne Clores is a writer of fiction and memoir from the New York City diaspora known as New Jersey. Her book Memoirs of a Spiritual Outsider has just celebrated its ten-year anniversary with a Kindle edition re-release.

Her work has appeared in lots of places, including Chicago Public Radio, Shambhala Sun, and Fit Yoga. She teaches writing here and there, most recently at Northwestern University, and also teaches yoga which helps soothe her inner East Coaster. In 2011, she intends to take it up a notch and actually finish her novel. Visit her website at SuzanneClores.com.

Join Tuesday Funk tonight, January 4th, at Hopleaf's upstairs bar (7:30 p.m.) to hear Suzanne and all of our talented readers!