A Newsletter of Humorous Writing #13
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
For December 14-20, 2017, a roundup of the week's finest prose humor and prose humor-related news.
Happy Holidays, from all of us at Humorous Writing HQ! If you need a break from your family, give yourself a break with some short humor. Or perhaps you're looking for a way to impress your high school friends at the local bar? Read 'em some short humor, that'll get the night going! And what's this wrapped so elegantly for your friends and loved ones? Why, it's the gift of short humor! The Spirits have done it all in one night! It's a miracle!
What We Enjoyed This Week
2017 Wrapped For Other Apps by Ginny Hogan and Quiz: Is It Time for You to Have a Baby Or Take to Sea And Never Ever Look Back? by Mary Cella (Little Old Lady Comedy) Keep an eye on Little Old Lady Comedy. They're doing real good stuff over there.
Just What About the Phrase "Don't Leave Cameron Alone With The Goddamn Cured Meats" Do You Not Understand? by Lillian Stone (McSweeney's)
UNIV 123: Asking Questions At Public Events by Meriah Crawford (McSweeney's)
An Old Favorite
Everything these elves say seems to have an exclamation point on the end of it. It makes one's mouth hurt to speak with such forced merriment. It embarrasses me to hear people talk this way.
Updates From Your Hosts and Friends of the Show
James wrote about some new legislation for Cafe.com called North Carolina Is Punishing Nice Judges. It's a serious piece but there are a few jokes sprinkled in. And hey, would it kill you to read something serious once in a while?
Other Humorous Writing News
For The Paris Review, Dan Piepenbring wrote a fun review of a book called The Stampographer about a French artist who makes rubber-stamps:
Sardon says that his stamps were inspired by “the hatred I would sometimes see on people’s faces,” but he can be whimsical in his animosity. For every expression of pure malice—“STOP DREAMING,” “YOU’LL NEVER MAKE IT”—there’s a display of impudence or absurdity. One stamp reads “Stalinist cheese steak”; another, “petty bourgeois anarchist.” Others suggest that the reader is merely a “pumpkin on a riverbank” who should “die beating your head on tofu.” And a stamp in German says simply, “JEANSBÜGLER”: “you iron your jeans.”
News About The Next Show
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 respond to us or this email and tell us what the score is.
See you next week!
@brianagler, @lukevburns, & @jamesfolta
See you next week!
@lukevburns & @jamesfolta
We started this newsletter with our dear friend Brian Agler, and we want it to always honor his memory and his love of all things humorous. You can find our newsletter tribute to Brian here.
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