A Newsletter of Humorous Writing #271
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
For January 11-17, 2023
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. Our new year's resolution was to get into shape, so we joined a gym! But wouldn't you know, we accidentally joined the Action Movie Tropes Gym. All the other members smoke inside the weight room and flick their butts at each other, and there's glass everywhere because no one uses the door -- they all enter by smashing through the windows. The one plus is that the ellipticals are always empty, but it might be time to find a new place to work out.
What We Enjoyed This Week
I Live in the City from the Car Commercials by River Clegg (The New Yorker) and I’m Here to Buy a Car that Will Compensate for My Enormous Vagina by Kathryn Baecht (McSweeney's) Originality is something we all think about with humor premises. Has a topic been played out? Has a version of this idea already been published? Is this format feeling stale? Finding something new takes a little more sweat, but there are always new ways to explore even the most well-trod territory. For example, cars. We've been joking about cars for as long as they started replacing horses (check out these 1909 cartoons in Punch featuring different, highly specialized vehicles), but in these two pieces, River and Kathryn each found specific voices that are new and fresh.
Nine Alternatives to Ethical Non-Monogamy by Kathleen Radigan (McSweeney's) Kathleen's very funny parentheticals really make this piece. The short, specific descriptions are funny, but also work as punchlines that satisfy our expectations.
“I Know Exactly What’s Going On,” Claims Giant Fucking Liar Playing Pinball by Walker MacDonald (Hard Drive) Finally, someone's calling out the pinballers. The main character talking authoritatively about the games nails the patronizing tone, with lines like, "See this little silver ball? Think of it as the titular Robotic Cop."
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An Old Favorite
Mom Getting Ready: The Minutes by Sam Corbin (The New Yorker) What a great title. It has a gravitas and seriousness that feels like the title of a 60 Minutes segment rather than a humor piece. Very funny. Sam is a great writer who excels at a sharp turn of phrase, and the timeline format lets her move deftly from beat to beat.
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 Newsletter
Luke's advanced short humor writing workshop on Saturdays at noon in February is halfway to sold out, so snag a spot now, before it's too late! Writing from previous classes has gone on to be published by The New Yorker, McSweeney's, and more.
If you didn't see it last week, we want your feedback: if you have a second, fill out our short feedback survey here, and let us know what you think of the Newsletter. And to those of you who've already filled it out, thanks! So far, just under 30% of you think that we would be best at "Super-Checkers."
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!