Humorinamerica
MY BLOGS
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Humor in America
http://humorinamerica.wordpress.com/
“Humor in America” (HA!) is a blog dedicated to the discussion of humor and humor studies in America. Authors retain copyright to their work as posted. *********************************************************** "The great virtue of humor is that it is philosophizing in action, a bright silver thread in the great duvet of existence. And one can easily engage in it for an hour or two every day." --Simon Critchley, On Humour
LATEST ARTICLES ( 325 )
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Send in the Clowns: A Note on Fear, Humor, and Painted Faces
::It’s that time of year again when we all get busy in academia. Jeff Melton wrote me with some nonsense about having a “job” and “kids” and such and asking me... Read more
Posted on 09 April 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
National Grammar Day Generates a Conversation on Insider Jokes
In case you missed it—and you probably did unless you are an English nerd like me—National Grammar Day was March 4th. It came to my attention a few years ago,... Read more
Posted on 07 April 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
The Phenomenon of Fictional Place Names
Lower Slobbovia is a fictional manifestation of Al Capp in his” Li’l Abner” cartoon strip. According to a description in one of his strips, it is in the... Read more
Posted on 31 March 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
50 Nifty Ways to Play!: The Beginning of a Bawdy Bouquet of Sex Positive,...
Part 1:Flirting with Music: A Happy Hornbook of Humpy Harmonies!Somewhere amidst all of the Superbowl spectacle, Valentine’s coitus, St Patrick’s Day... Read more
Posted on 29 March 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Christopher Guest…and Guests
In 1984, a young filmmaker and a group of musically gifted comedians set out to make a low budget comedy and ended up inventing a genre. Read more
Posted on 26 March 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Cross-Cultural Humor in Central America
I recently escaped the bitter chill of Philadelphia in early March and traveled to Zamorano University (affectionately referred to here as ‘Zamo’), an oasis of... Read more
Posted on 20 March 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Poetry Corner: James Tate
Tracy Wuster As a poor-quality young poet, my verses were overwrought, melodramatic, and a bit odd. Then I discovered James Tate, and I decided that if I was... Read more
Posted on 12 March 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Lovers and Fools in the Modern Romantic Comedy
Can lovers ever really be fools? Can fools really lose themselves in romantic love? The lover and the fool are comic literary archetypes, but they are funny in... Read more
Posted on 11 March 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Thanks to Obama You’re Paying for It: The Politics of Sitcoms
The scene is a hospital room where Luke Dunphy, at age 14 the youngest of the Dunphy children, is being treated for an allergic reaction. His young cousin... Read more
Posted on 06 March 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Humor, Irony and Modern Native American Poetry
::Some poetry for your Saturday evening. Originally posted on Humor in America: By: Caroline Zarlengo Sposto Author, editor, lecturer, poet and scholar, Geary... Read more
Posted on 01 March 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Editor’s Chair: Looking for New Contributing Editor and a Short-Term Poetry...
Tracy Wuster We here at Humor in America are looking to fill two posts: a Contributing Editor to write for us on a regular basis and a short-term Poetry Editor... Read more
Posted on 24 February 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
The King of Cool and the King of the Road
Dean Martin and Roger Miller may seem an unlikely pair at first, but the two entertainers were quite similar in many ways. They both possessed an inviting,... Read more
Posted on 19 February 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Happy 90th Birthday Hal Holbrook!
Tracy WusterToday marks the 90th birthday of Hal Holbrook–the man who has been Mark Twain longer than Samuel Clemens was Mark Twain. In his honor, I am... Read more
Posted on 17 February 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Fake News Fallout: Brian Williams and American Humor
This just in: Brian Williams created the Internet. No, wait. That was Al Gore. It is all so confusing. One thing I am sure of, however, is that Brian... Read more
Posted on 12 February 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Risk Vs. Reward: When Are Jokes Too Risky?
The “reward” for humor is obvious—the payback for the humorist is when the audience laughs. The payback for the audience is also the laugh—it brightens an... Read more
Posted on 10 February 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Charlie and Louie: An Affair of Two Magazines, Two Cities, and Too Many Questions
Je suis Charlie Hebdo, et aussi Michel Brown, et aussi Darren Wilson et aussi… As Teresa Prados-Torreira recently observed in this space, the last month has see... Read more
Posted on 31 January 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
The 1884 Cartoon Campaign of Walt McDougall
The cartoon campaign that made Thomas Nast the most recognizable cartoonist in the nation during the late nineteenth century was his campaign in Harper’s... Read more
Posted on 29 January 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Happy Birthday, Robert E. Howard!
Robert E. Howard 1906 – 1936Dungeons and Dragons fans can thank Robert E. Howard for originating the Sword and Sorcery Genre. This Texas pulp writer was also th... Read more
Posted on 22 January 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
To Be Or Not to Be Charlie
Teresa Prados-Torreira To be or not to be Charlie, that has been the question many academics and commentators have pondered for the last two weeks. Read more
Posted on 20 January 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
The Unbearable Lightness of Don Rickles
His humor is so rude, in such bad taste, that it offends no one — it is too offensive to be offensive. – Gay TaleseDon Rickles is bigger than stand-up comedy.... Read more
Posted on 15 January 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY