A Newsletter of Humorous Writing #341
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
For May 15-21, 2024
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. It’s getting to be picnic season in the nation’s parks. If you’re looking for the perfect park snack for almost any occasion, we’d recommend the tomato tart. Steer clear of any recipe that is just a tomato-heavy quiche, which will be too heavy and soggy. Something on the simpler end that highlights the tomatoes, like this tomato-lemon one or this pizza-y one, are the way to go. Cut ‘em up bite-sized and they’re good for any time or situation!
What We Enjoyed This Week
So Sorry! Just Seeing Your Ransom Note Now by Mike Langley (McSweeney’s) A fun marriage of a high-stakes situation with low-stakes language. The character voice is the perfect level of dumb to keep the piece moving, and the little moments of empathy with the kidnapper are great: “Wait, that wasn’t the night with all the crazy rain, was it? Man, you must’ve gotten soaked.”
And on the Seventh Day, They Planned Their Meals for the Week by Gwynna Forgham-Thrift (McSweeney’s) Another classic short humor juxtaposition: the hallowed tones of The Bible meet a humdrum Sunday chore. The conceit for this one is so strong, that Gwynna can really roam and follow things that might otherwise feel too plotty.
When “Your Password Is Insecure” vs. When “Your Password Is Confident” by Emily Bressler (Points in Case) Such a fun observation about password terminology that Emily explores in impressive depth — lots of fun variations on the idea without overstaying it’s welcome.
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An Old Favorite
She Rode a Horse by Bilge Ebiri (They Live By Night) This is one we featured in a very early edition of the Newsletter, and it remains a piece I think about often, especially after I sat behind a couple at Ferrari who Wikipediaed every character, with their phone’s brightness set to stun. Bilge does a great job making a “you had to be there story“ feel present, and documenting the electricity that unites an audience when a strange person is doing their thing at a screening.
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
James has a piece in McSweeney’s this week about one of his online obsessions: deranged social media ads for mobile games. The piece is called “Upsetting Social Media Ads for Mobile Games” — check it out if you like kings in danger and dragons with blurred-out asses.
Luke’s got a four-week advanced humor writing workshop starting on Saturday, June 8th! He’s also doing a special SUMMER FRIDAYS edition of his workshop for folks who wind up with a little extra time in their schedule at this time of year. Write three pieces in four weeks, get deadlines and feedback, and meet other funny folks!
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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