A Newsletter of Humorous Writing #202
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
For September 15-21, 2021, a roundup of the week's finest prose 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. Sorry if the place is a bit messy, we've been filming an exciting action-movie sequence that shows the rip-roaring thrill fest that is the process of putting together the newsletter! We have shots of us lowering ourselves delicately into the archives of our favorite short humor publications to pluck out the gems, us diving away from a Google doc that's loading too quickly, one of us sliding a laptop across the floor to the other so that he can hit "send," and more. We've still got some more work to do editing it down to a tight 60-90 minutes, but we can't wait to share!
What We Enjoyed This Week
My Husband, I Vow to Honor You Always—Unless We’re Playing Scrabble, in Which Case I’ll Destroy Your Ass by Maeve Dunigan (The New Yorker) The idea of a character who brags about their Scrabble prowess could fit in lots of different formats, and Friend of the Show Maeve Dunigan's choice to place it in wedding vows is super fun and smart. It gives the piece higher stakes and a solid, recognizable structure.
Introducing Manlight: The Nightlight for Men Who Aren’t Afraid of the Dark by Colin Wentworth (McSweeney's) This piece is full of all the sweaty, stupid, insecure specifics of an ad targeted to men. Colin does a nice job following tangents, capitalizing words, and breaking his paragraphs into a brisk staccato to heighten and highlight the voice of the piece.
Fourteen Short Obituaries for the Modern Woman by Auguste White (McSweeney's) A clever and simple premise that is cleverly and simply executed. Reminds us of another of our favorite pieces, also in the "list of short obituaries" genre, Karen Chee's "Obituaries for Teenage Girls If They Actually Died When They Say They’re Dying."
A Middle of the Date Questionnaire by Alyssa Moore (McSweeney's) Short runners and callbacks can really take a list piece from a compilation of jokes to something more rounded and full. And great use of the "wrap-up" bit at the end of the form to get in one last joke -- no wasted space!
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 #78.
The Hunter-Gatherers of 2017 by Riane Konc (New York Times) If the news is the biggest source of inspiration for humor writers, then the second has to be Millenials. And while we love a good Millenial joke as much as the next humor newsletter, we find that the tropes start to wear thin after a while. The same premises lead to the same buzzwords, and it all feels played out. That's not to say that the generation isn't ripe for satire--far from it. The key, however, is to find a different point of view; a new way of thinking about something that a lot of people have already thought about. In this piece, Riane does this exceptionally well. The voice is so unique and clear, it unlocks a completely new space for jokes, and elevates the final product to such a better, funnier, and more creative place.
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's got spots left in his two October workshops! In the first, you'll write a short humor piece over the course of four weeks, going from brainstorm to draft and getting feedback in a supportive environment every step of the way. In the second, you'll write three short humor pieces over the course of four weeks, ALSO getting feedback in a supportive environment every step of the way. Click through the links for the full schedule and to sign up! And check out this (continually-updated) thread to see some of the writing that's come out of past workshops!
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!