Humorinamerica

LATEST ARTICLES ( 325 )

• A Salute to Lois Beebe Hayna

  

  This summer I’m in a writers residency at The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico in Taos. When I arrived, my childhood friend, Amy Beebe, contacted me... Read more

  Posted on 10 July 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• Who Inherited the Mantle of the Humor of the Old Southwest?

  The humor of the Old Southwest was regional in nature, although which parts of the country were considered the Southwest has changed radically in contemporary... Read more

  Posted on 08 July 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• The Funny Ritual of the American Family Vacation

  

  ::Hope you are all having good summer vacations (and not moving, like me). Enjoy. Originally posted on Humor in America: A Celebration of thirty years of... Read more

  Posted on 03 July 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• Humorous Poetry

  ::Tomorrow is the birthday of Paul Laurence Dunbar. Take a minute to read his fine poem below and then click over to Sharon McCoy’s excellent discussion of his... Read more

  Posted on 26 June 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• Marc Maron Mania

  

  It is time to jump on the Marc Maron bandwagon. Really. Do it right away because, well, things could go bad at any moment. I know this because I have been... Read more

  Posted on 23 June 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• Van Heffer: Elvis, Ozzy and the Brazilian Bus Plunge

  

  Why aren’t there more films about effeminate Elvis impersonators doing Ozzy Osbourne songs with a crack bluegrass band? Co-writer/director/producer (and... Read more

  Posted on 19 June 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• Joker Poe, Part 3: Horrific Humor

  

  In my previous entries in this series, I have discussed the ways in which Edgar Allan Poe might best be thought of as a literary prankster, a “diddler” or a... Read more

  Posted on 16 June 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• Speaking of Maleficent

  

  Disney‘s new take on a favorite fairy tale is doing scary good at the box office. It pleases me to see this classic retold because it has always been one of my... Read more

  Posted on 12 June 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• Shrewd and Knavish Sprite: Will the Real Andy Kaufman Please Stand Up?

  

  ::Did Andy influence comedy? No. Because nobody’s doing what he did…Follow your own drumbeat. You didn’t have to go up there and say ‘take my wife, please.’... Read more

  Posted on 09 June 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• Top 4 Reasons to Teach Sherman Alexie

  “Humor was an antiseptic that cleaned the deepest of personal wounds.” – Sherman Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in HeavenWhen I was a college... Read more

  Posted on 05 June 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• Andy Griffith: The Music of Mayberry and Beyond

  

  ::Happy Birthday, Andy Griffith! Originally posted on Humor in America: Had Andy Griffith lived one day longer, he would have died on the 4th of July. Read more

  Posted on 01 June 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• Maya Angelou: “If You Don’t Laugh, You’ll Die…”

  Tracy WusterAll Americans are–or should be–aware of the cultural importance of Maya Angelou in documenting our nation’s history and her own experience through... Read more

  Posted on 28 May 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• In the Archives: William Hazlitt, “On Wit and Humour” (1818)

  

  Originally posted on Humor in America: Tracy Wuster For this month’s installment of “In the Archives,” we are featuring “On Wit and Humour,” the printed... Read more

  Posted on 27 May 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• Hagiography

  

  They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Most great musicians develop their style by first imitating their musical heroes. This is especially true... Read more

  Posted on 22 May 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• The Morphology of a Humorous Phrase

  

  I was reminded of a chain of events in the development of a humorous phrase when I saw a rather poignant cartoon by Jim Morin last month. Read more

  Posted on 20 May 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• McDonalds Is Impossible

  

  On May 15th, 1940, 1940 – McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in San Bernardino, California.This ubiquitous fast food chain has since had a marked global... Read more

  Posted on 15 May 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• Humor Can Do That! – The Serious Side of Laughter

  In my introduction to literary genre course this semester, we had a running joke that all started with my introductory letter to students in January asking... Read more

  Posted on 06 May 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• In the Archives: Artemus Ward’s Panorama (1869)

  

  Originally posted on Humor in America: I hate word games. I suffer Scrabble, abhor Boggle, and you’ll never catch me cross words. Read more

  Posted on 01 May 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• Ooo-xiety: Top Ten Mel Brooks Musical Moments

  

  I love writing songs. I’m a songwriter – Mel BrooksMel Brooks was writing songs long before he reinvented himself as a Broadway producer in one of show business... Read more

  Posted on 24 April 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY

• Joker Poe, Part 2: The Poet as Prankster

  

  In my last post, I suggested that Edgar Allan Poe was essentially a practical joker. That is, although he remains best known today for tales of terror and... Read more

  Posted on 21 April 2014 HUMOR, SOCIETY