A Newsletter of Humorous Writing #147
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
For August 26-September 1, 2020, a roundup of the week's finest prose humor and prose humor-related news.
Hello and welcome to A Newsletter of Humorous Writing, the email propaganda arm of the acclaimed humorous readings show, An Evening of Humorous Readings. We just filled out the 2020 Census and wanted to let you know that we claimed all of you, our subscribers, as members of our family. That's how much you mean to us! We're also hoping to someday get enough subscribers to be apportioned our own congressional district so that the Short Humor Caucus can finally have some real teeth in DC.
What We Enjoyed This Week
Op-Ed: My Friends Are On Season 1 of Racism, Can't Wait For Them To Catch Up To Us On Season 446 by Nina Sharma (Flexx) This is a great example of a simple mapping premise executed with detail and emotion. Nina's juxtaposing of stakes here makes for a smart and snappy piece.
This Is a Message from “The Stinky Bandit” by Lucas Gardner (Points In Case) The tone here is perfect: Lucas moves between threatening, pleading, and politely suggesting and it makes this insecure bandit who just wants a good nickname feel very real.
How to Reduce Screen Time by Evan Waite (The New Yorker) Friend of the Show Evan Waite is a great writer. His humor is always expertly paced and full of simple, well-crafted jokes. This piece appears at first to be a parody of a life-hack guide, but becomes a surprisingly tender portrait of Rocco, the helpful muscleman.
An Old Favorite
This week's Old Favorite pick and writeup come from Mary Kay Fleming. Thanks for writing in, Mary Kay!
God Almighty, Deliver Us From This Man-Cold by Ann Cinzar (McSweeney's)
Mary Kay writes: "There are three things that rocket this piece to the top of my Favorites list: (1) the fidelity to the Our Father, (2) the authenticity of the "man-cold" experience, and (3) the contrast between the profane and the divine. Comic genius. Kudos to author, Ann Cinzar."
Do you have an Old Favorite of your own? Let us know by filling out this form and we may run your pick in a future edition of the newsletter.
Updates From Your Hosts and Friends of the Show
Luke is teaching another short humor workshop via zoom on Saturday 9/12/20 from 2-4PM! This workshop will help you figure out strategies for how to work over a idea when you're stuck and find a fresh angle to move forward with. Sign up right here!
Other Humorous Writing News
The historian Rick Perlstein tweeted about a satire piece from 1980 he uncovered in his research for his new book about Reagan (we recommend it, as well as his whole series on conservatism in America). The piece from The Washingtonian imagines a "public so dearly longing for "strong leadership" in 1980 that they elect "a mafia don."
And if you're looking for a new book, Oprah Magazine put together a great list of black-owned bookstores in the US that features this gorgeous map. Lots of great options for your next book!
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.
This newsletter is free, but if you enjoy it and want to support the work we do putting it together, you can send us a tip here. Any amount is greatly appreciated, and 1/3rd of each donation will go to Stand Up To Cancer.
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!
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.
This newsletter is free, but if you enjoy it and want to support the work we do putting it together, you can subscribe to our paid tier, or you can send us a tip here. Any amount is greatly appreciated, and 1/3rd of each donation will go to Stand Up To Cancer.
If you'd like to place an ad in the Newsletter, please fill out this form.
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!