A Newsletter of Humorous Writing

For January 30 - February 5, 2020, a roundup of the week's finest prose humor and prose humor-related news.
Our next show is February 25, tickets here.

Hello and welcome to A Newsletter of Humorous Writing, the email propaganda arm of the acclaimed humorous readings show, An Evening of Humorous Readings. Constitutionally, we are required, once a year, to report on the state of the Humor Writing union. What follows is that report: The state of the Humor Writing union is mirthful. Chuckle-inducing. This year featured an unprecedented number of knowing nods and the most satisfied snorts we've ever heard. Friends and family members shared pieces far and wide. In fact, we met a humor fan from Kansas who even shared a piece with her best friend saying, "Oh my god, this is so true." And so, it is for fans like her--and for fans across the country--that we will continue to write, point out foibles, and over-emphasize tropes in order to make a comedic point. Thank you. God bless America. And God bless short-form humor prose.

What We Enjoyed This Week

Aesop's Fables Written After a Bad Breakup by Riane Konc (New Yorker) Pieces that combine "classic thing X" with "modern thing Y" often struggle with balance--getting just the right mix of both in order to create something that feels organic. Riane has no such problem. The X's are fleshed out and the Y's feel so natural that you almost forget they weren't supposed to be there in the first place.

16 Tricks to Stretch Out an Essay by Lucas Gardner (McSweeney's) We all had that friend who had tricks like this--and what always made that friend sound like such a doofus was the confidence with which they offered their recommendations. That's what makes this piece work so well. There's an inherent confidence in each idea, no matter how dumb it is. It never goes overboard (this isn't the "high-status idiot" run amok), it just feels like something someone would say...until you realize that none of it makes sense.

Observations I Think Strangers Have When They See Me in a Carhart Jacket by Spencer Ham (McSweeney's) Specifics are the secret sauce of humor writing. Of course, it's not that they are jokes in and of themselves, but it's that they lend shape to a character. Here, we know exactly how the character thinks and views himself in the world. And mainly, it's because of the phrase, "welds genitals onto robots.

An Old Favorite

How to Get Out of a Hammock by Jiji Lee (New York Times)

What a simple premise; what a funny piece. Jiji Lee proves that you don't need a crazy conceit ("It's The Old Man and the Sea but it's a Vine, and it's directed by the love child of Michael Bay and the orthodontist I had in middle school," you just need to have faith in your idea, keep heightening, and see where it goes. And oh, the pacing! The quick beats and sharp jokes make you feel like you're struggling in the hammock right alongside the narrator--it's a masterclass in using the structure of the piece to enhance the overall joke.
 

Updates From Your Hosts and Friends of the Show

Nothing from us this week! We were too busy playing Rock Paper Scissors to see who the designated survivor of our State of the Humor Writing Union address.
 

See you next week!

@brianagler, @lukevburns, & @jamesfolta

Did we miss a piece you loved? Did you love a piece we mentioned? Let us know! This is an experiment and we're hoping to continue to make it better and better. If you have any thoughts, notes, wishes, or dreams for this newsletter, please email us or respond to this email and tell us what the score is.