A Newsletter of Humorous Writing #350
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
For July 17-23, 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. The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics is tomorrow, and we’ve got some predictions about what’s in store: A six-hour synchronized swimming adaptation of In Search of Lost Time, parade floats shaped like the heads of French New Wave directors, and a musical medley that serves as a simultaneous tribute to France’s pastry chefs and its existentialist philosophers. Don’t let us down, Paris!
What We Enjoyed This Week
Here at VeriMark, Our Home Page Tells You Nothing About Who We Are by Caleb Coy (McSweeney’s) One of the main ways you heighten a piece is by getting increasingly specific, which means that a piece can sometimes get stuck if its premise revolves around how something is vague or unclear. It’s hard to heighten vagueness! Caleb manages to sidestep that potential pitfall by adding delightful details that get more and more specific but also paint a more and more confusing picture of VeriMark. (And if you enjoyed this piece, you’ll also want to check out the classic This Is a Generic Brand Video.)
Panopticon by Frances Klein (HAD) Frances nicely captures a very specific modern experience: Accidentally learning too much about someone you are about to go on a date with. This short-but-sweet piece is packed with delightful lines, such as, “I know most of the men in your family die in their early 70’s, so I’m already planning my late in life third act, sensual widowhood.”
Dating Profiles Of Coffee by Angus Duffin (Slackjaw) Angus came up with a really fun variety of different coffee personalities, and they’ve got incredibly charming character designs to match. We would absolutely buy a plush toy version of French Press (which is also merch they should be selling for Paris 2024).
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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 #136.
What to Do if you See a Bear by Emma Rathbone (The New Yorker) First off, this piece is full of good advice. A lot of humor pieces don't include actionable tips for how to keep yourself safe, but Emma's does. And for that, we salute her. But beyond that, the piece is hilarious. The details and specifics are what make it sing. But it's not just one funny word or phrase; she creates personalities and character traits for each bear. By going the extra mile, she takes the piece from a joke machine to something much for fulfilling.
Updates From Your Hosts and Friends of the Show
We’re planning another Hangout of Humorous Writing next month, and we’d love to see you there! If you're in NYC, come by Peculier Pub (145 Bleeker St.) on Wednesday, August 28th at 6PM! Can’t wait to catch up and talk shop!
Luke just announced his first two September short humor workshops! One starts September 3rd and the other starts September 7th. Click through to see the full schedules!
Other Humorous Writing News
Little Old Lady has a brand new website and three new editors! The redesign looks great and we’re excited to see what else the new crew has in store.
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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