A Newsletter of Humorous Writing #254
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
For September 14-20, 2022.
Hello and welcome to A Newsletter of Humorous Writing, a roundup of the week's finest short humor pieces and funny articles, and a celebration of the fantastic writers who wrote them. Happy first day of autumn! If this edition of the Newsletter feels a little cozier than others, that's because we've wrapped this one in a fetching, hand-knit scarf. Enjoy!
What We Enjoyed This Week
Are You Seeing Another Farmers’ Market Vendor? by Juliana Gray (McSweeney's) This is a very cleanly executed mapping game, where the dynamic of a relationship going south is mapped onto an interaction at a farmer's market. The details about the farmer's market are particularly well drawn too, and we're treated to a fun portrait of the farmer and their many children.
Our Bar’s Nonalcoholic Drink Options by Devin Wallace (McSweeney's) This premise is simple and specific, but what really makes this one soar is the heightening and exploring that takes the piece to surprising places in a short time. And Devin's packed this one full of great lines too -- "Virgin Shirley Temple. No matter which part of that you loudly emphasize, you’ll be embarrassed" is a stand out -- which makes for a crisp and refreshing read.
We’re Postponing This Event Because, Honestly, We Just Don’t Feel Like It by Nicole Beckley (Slackjaw) We've all had the urge to cancel something just because, and Nicole walks us through the very reasonable explanations and very relatable exhaustions associated with hosting a social event. The chatty, grounded tone lets the piece move quickly, and sets up lots of nice asides and observations.
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 #63.
Corn Maze F.A.Q. by Colin Nissan (The New Yorker) The Mt. Rushmore of humor writing would be a very boring tourist attraction, very boring indeed. But, were it to exist, there is a good argument to be made that Colin Nissan would be on it. This piece is one of the many reasons why. The jokes are funny. The F.A.Q. format is used to great effect. The "character" of the maze gets weirder and weirder, but you never lose the thread. This piece checks all the boxes, and the result couldn't be better
Updates From Your Hosts and Friends of the Show
Luke's got a new type of workshop debuting at the end of October! It's called "Where to Start With Short Humor" and it's aimed to give beginners and newcomers the tools they need to get started writing short humor. Over four weeks you'll learn the essentials of short humor writing and write a draft of your very own piece!
YOUR AD HERE!
Do you have an ad you'd like to place in the Newsletter? Fill out this form!
And please email us if you have questions.
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!