A Newsletter of Humorous Writing

For July 11-17, 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. Usually this is the part of the newsletter where we make dumb throwaway jokes, but this time we'd like to use this space to make a sincere appeal. Our debut show at our new location, Caveat, is coming up this Tuesday and we want make sure turnout is as good as it can possibly be. So we would love to have your help spreading the word! If you've enjoyed the show in the past, bring a friend! Tell your writers group or improv class! Mention us to your uncle who also happens to be in charge of culture listings for the Times. Throw us a tweet! It's all hugely appreciated.

Here's the link to the tickets: www.caveat.nyc/event/an-evening-of-humorous-readings-7-23-2019

Thanks so much for the support! Now back to the usual nonsense.
 

What We Enjoyed This Week

A Nervous Breakdown as Captured In a Series of Author Biographies by Harmony Cox (McSweeney's) The author bio form provides a delightful framework for exploring some all-too-relatable feelings.

Today We’ll Be Working Outside!!! by Nick Greenberg (McSweeney's) There are two types of people: People who loved having class outside, and people who HATED having class outside. (Which one were you? Let us know!) But this piece isn't just about the idea of working outside--it's a broader critique of the hypocrisies of managers in the modern "I like to think of this as more of a hangout than a job" workplace. And the narrator has a wonderfully specific voice that generates a lot of laughs as well.

The Women Targeted Ads Mistake Me For by Olivia Olson (The Belladonna) This piece has a nice specific premise--Who do these ads think I am?--presented through a point of view that is complex but not complicated. It's all crystal clear with lots of good jokes.

This Password is Invalid by Claire Friedman (The New Yorker) "It's tough to meet all of a website's requirements for a password" is a well-worn comedic observation, but this piece pushes beyond that, using the password creation process as a format that allows it to make a bunch of really fun character jokes.
 

An Old Favorite

Food and Drink Combinations That Would Make a Horrible Afterschool Snack but a Great Buddy Cop Team by Lisa Seger (McSweeney's)

The strength of the list is that it allows you to present your premise in the most stripped-down, bare-bones, getting-straight-to-the-point-as-quickly-as-possible . This right here is a great list. One could imagine a non-list version of this piece where the author went into further detail describing the different buddy cop teams, but it doesn't need it. Making the connection between buddy cop teams and afterschool snacks is more than enough. (Also, as you may know, here at the newsletter we're big fans of Buddy Cop jokes.)
 

Updates From Your Hosts and Friends of the Show

Nada this week! Just hoping you'll come to the show :)
 

See you at the show!

@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.