A Newsletter of Humorous Writing #317
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
For November 29-December 5, 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're hosting a Hangout of Humorous Writing next week, and you're invited! If you're in NYC, come by Peculier Pub (145 Bleeker St.) on Tuesday, December 12th at 6 PM! Can't wait to see you there!
What We Enjoyed This Week
My Life Before and After Turning Twenty-Six and Losing My Parents’ Health Insurance by Alex O'Connor (McSweeney's) A fun take on a relatable insurance situation, but filled with really evocative details and fun juxtapositions ("the Dalai Lama" vs. "my buddy Scooter" and "his party jug"). We particularly enjoyed Alex's choice to narrow the comparison to the ages of 25 and 26. A lot can change in one day!
Your Menstrual Cycle, Explained by Grace Henes (The New Yorker) Such fun and quick heightening: you can tell you're headed somewhere good when the second beat is "scheming." The structure leaves lots of space for many different types of jokes, too: the little list element at the end of each beat is a great runner.
I’m a Holiday Gift Guide Writer, and I Really Need You Pricks to Start Playing Backgammon by Mary Gulino (McSweeney's) A great character game that starts with a really specific ax to grind. A limited, narrow POV, if mishandled, can read as someone saying one thing over and over, but because the character is also a gift guide writer, there are lots of other directions for Mary to explore.
Oh! I Saw Geraint's Grave Goods. They Were Fine...? by Daniel Lavery (The Stopgap) If you've been reading our newsletter for a while, or reading funny stuff online basically ever, you know Daniel's writing. Chatty colloquialism married to a very deep cut of history: the best!
-- AD --
The Seventh Annual Chanukahstravaganza: Still Spinning After All These Years is at Brooklyn Comedy Collective on Saturday, December 9 at 8:30 p.m.!
Lana Schwartz and Ilana Michelle Rubin are two Jewish native New Yorkers who always get pretty lonely around the holiday season. For the seventh year, they've invited some of the funniest Jewish comedians in New York City to help them celebrate the Miracle of Lights: Chanukah. Hannukah. Hanukah. However you choose to spell it.
Featuring Brandon Follick, Anna Roisman, Anna Suzuki, Josh Gondelman, Jared Goldstein, and more! All proceeds go towards the Center on Holocaust Survivor Care and tickets are available here.
(Do you have an ad you'd like to place in the Newsletter? Fill out this form!)
Writers Write About Their Own Writing
Dan Caprera Writes About "Best Man’s Speech For Brett’s Second Wedding" (McSweeney's)
"I came up with this article at the wedding of one of my parents's friends. And, at the wedding, I had to write a congratulations card for the married couple, even though I didn't really know either the bride or the groom. And I just felt that the kind of vague, happy platitudes they use in wedding speeches are so silly and overdone, that I had to write this article. (The couple later got divorced, which really brings this piece full circle!)"
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
To reiterate for you end-of-the-Newsletter-heads: We're hosting a little end-of-the-year hang, and you're invited! If you're in NYC, come by Peculier Pub (145 Bleeker St.) next Tuesday, December 12th at 6 PM! Join us for a drink and Peculier's good curly fries to toast another great year of humor writing!
Luke's got just TWO spots left in his advanced short humor workshop starting on January 9th! Get a jump on your New Year's writing resolutions by drafting three pieces in four weeks, getting feedback and notes, and meeting other funny folks. (He's also got an intro workshop and another advanced workshop both starting on January 6th!)
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!