A Newsletter of Humorous Writing #275
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
For February 8-14, 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. Brian, our cohost, co-newsletter-er, writing partner, and friend, would have been 34 this week. Every year around his birthday, Brian's wife Claire raises money for an organization Brian would have supported, as a birthday gift. This year she's chosen Run For Something, a fund that "recruits and supports gen z and millennials getting involved in local government through outreach, education, and research." It would mean a lot to us if you'd donate to Brian's Birthday Gift -- the link to donate is here and Claire's thread about it is here, on Twitter.
What We Enjoyed This Week
Who Is the GOAT: Jordan, Lebron, or Pythagoras? by Tyler Gooch (McSweeney's) Tyler leans hard into the silliness of this idea, and the piece swerves to unexpected conclusions and justifications. As always with silly stuff, the justifications keep this piece chugging along and set up fun jokes and payoffs down the line.
How to Say ‘The Weather Is So Warm and Nice Today’ With an Appropriate Level of Concern by Freddie Shanel (Reductress) Lots of great lines here, but this one in particular jumped out: “This is the kind of weather that makes me want to frolic, to skip – nay – to keep living :///” It's a great joke -- Freddie subtly juxtaposes tones, and it really brings the premise to life.
Rejected Brand Mascots by Laura K. Duncan (251) Broad, joke-bucket premises rely exclusively on the strength of the joke writing, and thankfully Laura's writing here is great. Not only are the mascots funny, but the syntax of the descriptions make for a fun, quick read.
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An Old Favorite
Did Emily Dickinson Have A Boston Accent? An Investigation by Kelsey McKinney (Defector) James here: my family is from Western Massachusetts, and I grew up running around the Amherst Commons. If you're ever in the area, I really recommend visiting the Emily Dickinson House -- as a subscriber to this niche writing newsletter, it's a safe bet you'll enjoy the museum. But before you go, I have to insist that you read this very funny and impressively thorough piece, because it is much more enjoyable to imagine the pretty yellow museum ringing with Dickinsons shouting at each other like they're in a Damon/Affleck collaboration.
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 got two workshops coming up in March: "Where to Start With Short Humor", an intro class where you'll learn the essentials of short humor and write a draft of your very own piece, and "Let's Write MORE Short Humor Pieces" an advanced workshop where you'll write three drafts in four weeks and get feedback in a supportive environment. Check out this thread to see the great writing that's come out of previous 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!