A Newsletter of Humorous Writing #55
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
For October 4-10, 2018, a roundup of the week's finest prose humor and prose humor-related news.
Hello and welcome to A Newsletter of Humorous Writing, the email propaganda arm of the acclaimed humorous readings show, An Evening of Humorous Readings. Boo! Wow, look at how you jumped there. We were just trying to have some spooky fun, but you really responded. Perhaps it's a...guilty conscience? Boiling over when your guard is down?
What We Enjoyed This Week
New Social-Media User Guidelines by River Clegg (The New Yorker) Friend of the Show, and guest at our next show, River Clegg, dons his top hat and monocle for a new piece featured in the print edition of The New Yorker. And even though the piece appears in a dying form of media, it's about a thriving (in a way that, say, a parasite thrives) form of media. How's that for a head-scratcher!
Halloween Playlist Essentials: ‘Dream Warriors’ by Dokken by Steve DiMatteo (Robot Butt) Have you ever seen a music video that expands the canon of a cinematic universe? Friends, strap in.
Dangerous Ideas by Chris Jetko (McSweeney's) This hits a little too close to home in places. Much like our questions about where you were on the night of August 17th seem to send your mind scuttling into uncomfortable places. Guilty places.
An Old Favorite
Movies I Have Not Seen And What I Assume Happens In Them by Ariel Dumas (The New Yorker)
This is a great week to remind everyone how all-around great Ariel Dumas is. Ariel is talented. She's kind, generous, and one of the out-and-out funniest people we know. Take a look at this piece. It's built around a deceptively simple premise, one that a less-talented writer would bobble and drop. But Ariel effortlessly and hilariously presents not only great jokes, but also interesting observations about movies she's never seen. It's fantastic. Ariel's fantastic. And anyone who says otherwise--especially internet trolls and right-wing media--can go to hell.
Updates From Your Hosts and Friends of the Show
Brian debuted a new piece in The New Yorker this week called, "There Are No More Good Things." You'll notice that Brian didn't include his own piece is his list of bad things. That's intentional. Because Brian's piece is very good. Unlike you, who assuredly did commit a crime most foul in mid-August. We'll catch you yet!
News About The Next Show
Our next show is coming up on November 1st! We're back at (le) Poisson Rouge at 8:00 pm, doors at 7! So far we've got two wonderful guests booked already!
- River Clegg (The Opposition with Jordan Klepper, The Onion, The New Yorker, Clickhole, McSweeney’s, @riverclegg)
- Milly Tamarez (Creator of Flexx Mag, Co-creator and producer of the Diverse as Fuck Festival, @MillyTamarez)
As always, keep an eye on this space for updates!
See you next week!
@brianagler, @lukevburns, & @jamesfolta
Did we miss a piece you loved? Did you love a piece we mentioned? Let us know! This is an experiment and we're hoping to continue to make it better and better. 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.
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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!