A Newsletter of Humorous Writing

For May 10-16, 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. We all know that if you play Pink Floyd's album "Dark Side of the Moon" while watching The Wizard of Oz, they synch up perfectly. But did you know that if you play Bob Dylan's "Murder Most Foul" on repeat 12.29 times, it perfectly synchs up with The Irishman? Give it a shot!

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What We Enjoyed This Week

Signs from the AMPTP Side of the WGA Strike Picket Line by Katie Barsotti (McSweeney's) A really clever premise, expertly executed. And a great excuse to remind our readers to keep an eye on the WGA Strike Hub for ways to show support for, and solidarity with, writers out on the picket lines!

This Counterfeiting Ring Needs to Make Some Changes by Evan Waite and River Clegg (McSweeney's) This piece is jam-packed with great details ("Another thing—why is George Washington wearing a jean jacket?") but what takes it to the next level is the decision to let the narrator's tone be upbeat and positive. ("Don’t get discouraged, people. You’re doing great! Counterfeiting is a learning process.") Very often if a narrator is annoyed by, or angry about, the premise of a piece, it can feel like they are fighting that premise, slowing down the pace of jokes, and keeping the reader from getting what they want (more jokes and details relating to the premise). Having the narrator be encouraging and not upset about all the setbacks they've encountered is also a more unexpected choice that is very funny in and of itself.

Dive Bar Clearly Displays “Cash Only” Sign on Tiny Handwritten Piece of Scrap Paper Taped to Darkest Corner of Bar by Russ Bizaro (The Hard Times) A very fun exploration of an all-too-familiar, all-too-relatable situation. Here at Humorous Readings Headquarters (HRHQ) we've got nothing against bars being cash-only--au contraire, the HRHQ bar, open to the public once a year on Boxing Day, accepts only gold--but make those signs a little bigger, please!
 

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If you're interested in the waxing and waning of creative cycles, then subscribe to author and teacher Caitlin Kunkel's newsletter, Input/Output. Weekly missives focus on techniques for building a sustainable creative practice, writing prompts, interesting links for inspiration, and interviews with writers, artists, and other professionals on how they balance their own input and output.

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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 #94.

Real Estate Ads in Suburbia for the Priced-Out City-Dweller by Shoshanna Silberman (The Belladonna) What makes this piece funny isn't just the sharp writing and jokes, but also the concept of home ownership! Is that really a thing you can do? Is one just allowed to buy a home? Pfft, not in this economy, that's for sure.

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.

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Updates From Your Hosts and Friends of the Newsletter

Luke's got another edition of his intro to short humor writing workshop starting on July 8th! Spots are already getting snapped up, so grab one now, and learn the essentials of short humor writing in four weeks. (And if you're already familiar with the process of writing short humor and are looking to get some feedback and deadlines, Luke's got an advanced class for you that also starts on July 8th!)

And in more writers' strike-related news: a legendary alliance between jocks and nerds, some interesting/infuriating numbers in The Wrap on just how reasonable the Guild's ask is in the face of dizzying corporate profits, Jeanie Bergen's great essay for The Cut on the challenges she's faced in her writing career and why she's striking, and Boots Riley in Deadline on solidarity, and the stakes of this fight.

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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.

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