A Newsletter of Humorous Writing #247
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
For July 27 - August 2, 2022, 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. Space Council, our choose-your-own-adventure-style sci-fi comedy show, is happening live on Zoom in two weeks! There are more details about the show later in the Newsletter, but you can reserve a ticket right here! Why not take care of that now, before you forget? The Newsletter will still be here when you come back.
What We Enjoyed This Week
If Starbucks Had Been Named After Other Characters from Moby-Dick by Amanda Lehr (McSweeney's) A bit of a niche topic, but the precise and succinct descriptions keep the piece moving along, and Amanda introduces plenty of fun specifics so that even if you haven't read "the big whaling book," as we call it, there's still plenty to enjoy.
What I Thought My First Year of Teaching High School Would Be Like vs. What It Was Actually Like by Matt Stofsky (Points In Case) "Reality vs. expectations" pieces sink or thrive based on the disparities between the two, and Matt does a great job of setting the expectations of cinematic, after-school-special heights, so that the inevitable disappointment of reality stings all the more.
Come On to My House by Jenny Allen (The New Yorker) Heightening doesn't always have to end up in a completely absurd place, sometimes exploring and building in more subtle ways can be just as satisfying to read. Jenny's slow reveal of the narrator and cat's relationship brings this piece to a sweet conclusion.
An Old Favorite
Whistler’s Mother Has Just About Had It by Isabella Giovannini (McSweeney's) Giving voice to something or someone that has thus far been silent is something that short humor is really great for. Isabella nails the form here with a fun take on the character and her voice, and by situating the piece in a specific time and place ("I can HEAR IT. I hear you mixing that black and white..."). And the piece does more than just comment on the painting and the painter--rather it uses that as a jumping-off point to fill in blanks about Whistler and his mother's biographies and relationship. By the end of the piece, Isabella has fit in much, much more than we might have expected when we started reading.
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
Space Council is just TWO WEEKS AWAY, on August 18th at 8pm EST! The show is streaming on Zoom, and it stars Nicole Adsit, who will be playing every character Space Council might meet on their journey, from the King of Mars to a humble mud farmer. Nicole is one of our favorite performers, who you've likely seen around the New York comedy scene at UCB, or the PIT, or on multiple Boogiemanja teams. Currently, she's working on the second season of a sketch series called UNHINGED. And you can see Nicole on Zoom in just a few weeks in SPACE COUNCIL! Have you gotten your ticket yet? You can reserve one right here!
Luke also has a new piece for The New Yorker this week, "Frustrating Things That Happen After You Moisturize Your Hands". Give it a read and then share it with all your friends whose hands have a tendency to get dry and chapped.
See you next week!
@lukevburns & @jamesfolta
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'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!
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!