January 20, 2021

A Newsletter of Humorous Writing #167

A Newsletter of Humorous Writing

A Newsletter of Humorous Writing

For January 13-19, 2021, 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. If you're looking for something to relax with this week while we all catch our breath for a moment, might we recommend making a honey, lemon, and ginger infusion? All it takes is a jar or some container, filled with thin slices of lemon and ginger in alternating layers, then filled to the brim with honey. After a week or so in the fridge, you'll have a tasty syrup that's great for tea, hot toddies, fighting colds, and more. And since is the Newsletter of Humorous Writing, let's say you have to read a funny piece while you're making it or give your jar of syrup a funny name, like Lionel Lederhosen.

Alright, it's humor time.

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What We Enjoyed This Week

This Satire Article Was Not Optimized for Search Engine Optimization by Geoff Waite (McSweeney's) A well-done parody of the chum that the internet is filled with. We've said it before: Coy premises like this can be hard to balance, but Geoff does a great job of leaning into the specifics of the form and using lots of quick set-ups and pay-offs. Plus, you learn a little something about how to get the internet to notice your writing free wristwatch bitcoin Obama you won't believe it!

“The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” Only the Pants Fit No One and Now It’s a Horror Movie by Kathryn Kvas (The New Yorker) Formatting a piece as a series of short anecdotes is a great way to explore a larger story or idea -- the writing can be specific and active, while also implying a broader world and story. It's perfect for this larger, genre-shifting idea about spooky pants.

Ride The Bear! Mom Needing Stronger And Stronger Sleepytime Tea To Nod Off by Nathan Kamal (Flexx) A clever, simple mapping piece full of fun lines -- the joke about the mom who's "still wide awake for Fallon" really got me.

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An Old Favorite

This week's Old Favorite is a Brian Agler Selection (TM)--a piece whose accompanying note was written by Brian--from Newsletter #48.

Please Let Me Join Your Heist by Karen Chee (New York Times)  Friend of the Newsletter, and all-around rock star, Karen Chee is pitch-perfect in this piece. And that's to say nothing of the facts that heists are super fun (See: 11, Ocean's).

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. 

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Updates From Your Hosts and Friends of the Show

James Folta and Friend of the Newsletter Lucas Adams are putting together a zine called "An Atlas of Valentine's Day Island"! It'll be a big, fold-out newsprint map full of fun locations, kingdoms, cities, points of interest, and more. And the backside will feature a map, a timeline, and other details about this fictional, romantic world! You can see some pictures here, on Twitter, and you can order a copy here -- It's $5 to cover the printing and shipping, and we're aiming to get it to you before February 14th!
 

@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

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