A Newsletter of Humorous Writing #73
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
A Newsletter of Humorous Writing
For February 7-13, 2019, 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. It's Valentine's Day again, but don't worry, we're not those bah-humbug-love-is-a-con types that prattle on about Valentine's Day being invented by greeting card companies. We know this holiday can be stressful and can get some people down. So a little friendly advice from us to take today as what it is: a chance to be kind to those who you love and who show you love, and a chance to be kind to yourself. You don't have to do anything flashy or expensive, just do something nice for someone. That's the best way to honor what's really at the heart of Valentine's Day: Vuluntinux, the ancient Hell-lord who feasts on the full hearts of the contented, the Heart-Render and Love-Devouring Beast of 10,000 Lusts.
What We Enjoyed This Week
I’m the Guy Your Mom Warned You About… If Your Mom Warned You About Guys Who LOVE Solving Riddles! by Dan Caprera (Robot Butt) Finally, the answer to the crossword clue, "a 96-letter title for a piece about our ideal partner."
I'm A Woman In A Nonfat Yogurt Commercial by Charulata Sinha (McSweeney's) We're suckers for pieces that examine otherwise anonymous characters.
The Nine Circles Of Social Awkwardness Hell by Diana Vilibert (McSweeney's) Thankfully the Humorous Reading Headquarters has enough space that we almost never have to deal with any of the nightmarish situations described here.
David Brooks’ Rejected Satire Pitches by Jennifer Boudinot (The Belladonna) This has a lot going for it for a topical piece: it's about a news story that got some attention, but isn't such a big story that you've already seen a million takes about it on Twitter. It has a fun and unique format that sets it apart from the usual monologue approach. And it avoids a lot of obvious tropes, which helps keep it fresh. And while we're here: Happy two year anniversary to The Belladonna! Here's to many more years!
An Old Favorite
The Do's And Don'ts Of Falling In Love by Dustin Mark (McSweeney's)
I love simple pieces like this that immediately let you know, within a few sentences, what the deal is. Giving the reader a really solid grasp of what you think is funny lets you get weird and have fun within the bounds of the world you've set up. Here, we know the set up is "love thing, then battery hoarding thing." It's a simple pattern and once we're on board, Dustin can heighten battery stuff all day.
Updates From Your Hosts and Friends of the Show
James and his real-life valentine, comedian Kasey Borger, wrote a holiday-appropriate piece on "New Love Languages" for McSweeney's.
Have you listened to Luke's episode of The Truth podcast, The Cavern, yet? It gave one listener "the uber creeps," and inspired another to create a Facebook group just to discuss it. If you haven't listened yet, might we suggest putting it on while you cook a romantic dinner for your loved one tonight? Or if you're going out on the town, demand it be played in whatever establishment you're in. Help Luke out here!
Other Humorous Writing News
David Wong, editor at Cracked, put out a call on Twitter for pitches. They pay $250 for pieces in the 2,500 word range and $100 for pieces in the 1,000 word range. Pretty good! More info here on their submissions page.
News About The Next Show
The next Evening of Humorous Readings is coming up! Join us at (le) Poisson Rouge on 2/26! The show starts at 8 pm, but the doors open at 7 pm if you wanna have a drink with us beforehand!
And wow, look at this lineup:
- Chandler Dean (McSweeney’s, West Wing Writers, @chandlerjdean)
- JiJi Lee (The New York Times, The New Yorker, Reductress, McSweeney’s, @thejinius)
- Lizzie Logan (McSweeney’s, The Belladonna, Reductress, @lizzzzzielogan)
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!