I once dated a lady who was a good person and had a charming sense of humor,but when it came to the physical act of love,her intensity bordered on the pathological. I don’t remember laughing once before,during,or after sex,and perhaps I should find this humorless approach to lovemaking a good thing,lest I were to mistake her laughter for contempt.
In matters less personal and less embarrassing,I find that as I get older,I cannot bear humorless people,listen to humorless music,and,most importantly,read literature that lacks a hint of laughter,irony,or any other scintilla of wit.
Upon closer inspection,this preference has is apparent in my tastes. Elvis Costello over Bruce Springsteen. Salman Rushdie over Nadine Gordimer. “Seinfeld”over “24.”It’s not that Springsteen,Gordimer,or “24″lacks humor (though they pretty much do),but they favor raw emotion over wit,power over subtlety.
Why,you ask? Humor is less threatening than intense,and I usually find cerebral more appealing than soulful;and while to thine own self be true,I am sure that these prejudices have been debilitating when it comes to my choices in literature,and probably my writing.
That’s what they told me in grad school,at least. For instance,take the case of a robot/writing teacher who conducted a class on style and form would gush at length if she happened to agree with one’s comments,and averted her eyes when she didn’t like it.
“OK,what else?”she would say after a particularly egregious comment. Or “Thank you for your comment,anybody else?”while looking at someone she knew would support her point of view.
This year’s model,and next’s
We were talking about favorite authors and books,and when a fellow student mentioned that Grace Paley was one of her favorite writers,the teacher went on at length about Paley’s stories,and her point of view,and all the challenges she faced,and blah blah blah,thanks for stroking me…
So when I admitted that “A Confederacy of Dunces”was one of my favorite books —one of the funniest books ever written,I might add —she looked at me perhaps a milisecond as the punch cards filed in her brain to spit out the conclusion,“Alert! Alert! System shutdown possible!”before turning away and saying,“Alright,what else?”
A friend —also a lover of the humorous and profane —also suffered a throwdown after a comment did not agree with the teacher’s inner robot. “Am I stupid?”asked my friend,an extremely funny but insecure woman.
“We’re the villiage idiots,”I said.
And so it went in writing workshop,where to have a sense of humor was to be avoided like Herpes Simplex II. If you’re stories were not DEAD SERIOUS and HEAVY WITH EMOTION,you were DISHONEST and LACKED DEPTH.
But,as I was sad to discover,there is a little problem with putting such a heavy burden on laughter.
Although one may not glean it from a certain short story of mine,when I am writing and am stuck,I’ll try to get out of the jam by writing something humorous. If I want to avoid an emotional confrontation between characters,I’ll write something funny. And,above all,if I write a sex scene,it’s going to be a laugh riot,though the one sex scene I’ve written came out like a mix of Jim Carey,Jenna Jameson,and one of those romance novels with Fabio on the cover. Which probably ends up looking like Tom Cruise having sex with a farm utensil.
Wouldn’t want to wake up next to this
My personal defense mechanism is humor —I use it to deflect emotional confrontation in my own life. Being serious often makes me unconfortable,and it was more than one ex-girlfriend who asked,“Bookfraud,are you ever serious?”
After a couple of decades of this immaturity masking as wit,I finally figured out that it was simpler to answer a delicate question rather than make a joke out of it;in my fiction,it dawned on me that emotional depth of character is mandatory,and it’s hard to do that when everything is a one-liner (“Did you hear the one about the narcoleptic comedian doing standup in airplane cabins?”).
I am probably addicted to wackiness more than anything,and it can be a hard thing to break. My novel is chock full of wackiness.
Like I said above,“A Confederacy of Dunces”is one of my favorite novels,but if you know anything about the book,and you have a sad sense of irony like I do,you probably know where I’m going with this. In a famous story about the book’s genesis,the mother of the author badgered the great Walker Percy until he agreed to read it,and immediately recognizing the man’s genius,Percy had “A Confederacy of Dunces”published to great acclaim.
Its author,John Kennedy Toole,didn’t see his work published,much less win the Pulitzer Prize,because he’d killed himself. Nothing funny about that.
I can’t live without humor,and seeing the humor in EVERYTHING. Because my real life is pretty damn sucktastic,I need the release of humor so as not to head up to the local clocktower with a big gun.
Though,I’m sure I could find a way to make that funny,too.
The only thing I hate,though,is my horrid habit of nervous laughter. It’s not that I really think something is funny,but I have nothing else to do,so I laugh. Stupid defense mechanism!
i do the nervous laughter,too. always at the most inappropriate time.
imo,written humor seems hard to pull off. when it’s done well,no problem. when it falls short,it’s just corny.
I can’t live without humor,and seeing the humor in EVERYTHING. Because my real life is pretty damn sucktastic,I need the release of humor so as not to head up to the local clocktower with a big gun.
Though,I’m sure I could find a way to make that funny,too.
The only thing I hate,though,is my horrid habit of nervous laughter. It’s not that I really think something is funny,but I have nothing else to do,so I laugh. Stupid defense mechanism!
I can’t live without humor,and seeing the humor in EVERYTHING. Because my real life is pretty damn sucktastic,I need the release of humor so as not to head up to the local clocktower with a big gun.
Though,I’m sure I could find a way to make that funny,too.
The only thing I hate,though,is my horrid habit of nervous laughter. It’s not that I really think something is funny,but I have nothing else to do,so I laugh. Stupid defense mechanism!
i do the nervous laughter,too. always at the most inappropriate time.
imo,written humor seems hard to pull off. when it’s done well,no problem. when it falls short,it’s just corny.
i do the nervous laughter,too. always at the most inappropriate time.
imo,written humor seems hard to pull off. when it’s done well,no problem. when it falls short,it’s just corny.
There are funny sides even to many serious things,but constant clowning?
It’s defensive,distrustful and sometimes a plain cheat.
madame d.:it may be a stupid defense mechanism,but it is a defense mechanism nonetheless. and better than heading to the clocktower with a high-powered rifle.
le:interesting. it’s always easier for me to insert humor than seriousness,laughter instead of pathos,and it always reads better.
bernita:i don’t know how to respond. i can’t even joke about it.
Great post,Bookfraud.
There are funny sides even to many serious things,but constant clowning?
It’s defensive,distrustful and sometimes a plain cheat.
There are funny sides even to many serious things,but constant clowning?
It’s defensive,distrustful and sometimes a plain cheat.
I’m in total agreement. I think that everything I encounter nowadays is overly serious to the point of hilarity. I find one’s ability to laugh at himself completely irresistible.
Last Friday I found myself on the subway when halfway through my trip I looked down and noticed that my shirt?s button had undone itself and my breasts were completely on display. I corrected the error and carried on with my trip and it wasn’t until I arrived at work and had a moment to reflect that I realized it had probably been undone the entire time I walked to the subway. Many would cower in embarrassment,whereas,I found myself in sporadic fits of laughter all day long.
madame d.:it may be a stupid defense mechanism,but it is a defense mechanism nonetheless. and better than heading to the clocktower with a high-powered rifle.
le:interesting. it’s always easier for me to insert humor than seriousness,laughter instead of pathos,and it always reads better.
bernita:i don’t know how to respond. i can’t even joke about it.
madame d.:it may be a stupid defense mechanism,but it is a defense mechanism nonetheless. and better than heading to the clocktower with a high-powered rifle.
le:interesting. it’s always easier for me to insert humor than seriousness,laughter instead of pathos,and it always reads better.
bernita:i don’t know how to respond. i can’t even joke about it.
It takes me twenty tries to kiss someone for the first time because I always break out in nervous laughter before it happens,and that makes my male companion more than a little uncomfortable.
fringes:thank you. you are obviously a literate and discerning consumer of the written word.
jessica:thank you as well. agreed that fiction can be too serious,to the point of being risible…
speaking of which,i really don’t know what to say about traveling in public with one’s shirt open,since i do it all the time. props for the attitude.
jordan:now *that* is something that should be put in a story…
“Confederacy”is one of my all time favorite books…so much so that I finally tracked down a first edition,which I proudly display on my bookshelf. I’m never embarassed to say what my favorite books are. There are ass-sucking academic types everywhere who think only what they read is worthy. These are the same people who watch “Project Runway.”I would have told that bitch to shove it up her ass. Wait…I just did it for you.
Maybe she’s reading. Or dead.
In a way his book and his death was the ultimate example of the funny man crying on the inside.
I agree with your points,but for me my passions go both ways,wit,humor and intelligence as well as raw,emotional and spiritual.
I think my taste for arts from both sides of the aisle represents the balance of the two in my soul.
Was that too humorless an reply?
Great post,Bookfraud.
Great post,Bookfraud.
I’m in total agreement. I think that everything I encounter nowadays is overly serious to the point of hilarity. I find one’s ability to laugh at himself completely irresistible.
Last Friday I found myself on the subway when halfway through my trip I looked down and noticed that my shirt?s button had undone itself and my breasts were completely on display. I corrected the error and carried on with my trip and it wasn’t until I arrived at work and had a moment to reflect that I realized it had probably been undone the entire time I walked to the subway. Many would cower in embarrassment,whereas,I found myself in sporadic fits of laughter all day long.
I’m in total agreement. I think that everything I encounter nowadays is overly serious to the point of hilarity. I find one’s ability to laugh at himself completely irresistible.
Last Friday I found myself on the subway when halfway through my trip I looked down and noticed that my shirt?s button had undone itself and my breasts were completely on display. I corrected the error and carried on with my trip and it wasn’t until I arrived at work and had a moment to reflect that I realized it had probably been undone the entire time I walked to the subway. Many would cower in embarrassment,whereas,I found myself in sporadic fits of laughter all day long.
It takes me twenty tries to kiss someone for the first time because I always break out in nervous laughter before it happens,and that makes my male companion more than a little uncomfortable.
It takes me twenty tries to kiss someone for the first time because I always break out in nervous laughter before it happens,and that makes my male companion more than a little uncomfortable.
fringes:thank you. you are obviously a literate and discerning consumer of the written word.
jessica:thank you as well. agreed that fiction can be too serious,to the point of being risible…
speaking of which,i really don’t know what to say about traveling in public with one’s shirt open,since i do it all the time. props for the attitude.
jordan:now *that* is something that should be put in a story…
fringes:thank you. you are obviously a literate and discerning consumer of the written word.
jessica:thank you as well. agreed that fiction can be too serious,to the point of being risible…
speaking of which,i really don’t know what to say about traveling in public with one’s shirt open,since i do it all the time. props for the attitude.
jordan:now *that* is something that should be put in a story…
“Confederacy”is one of my all time favorite books…so much so that I finally tracked down a first edition,which I proudly display on my bookshelf. I’m never embarassed to say what my favorite books are. There are ass-sucking academic types everywhere who think only what they read is worthy. These are the same people who watch “Project Runway.”I would have told that bitch to shove it up her ass. Wait…I just did it for you.
Maybe she’s reading. Or dead.
“Confederacy”is one of my all time favorite books…so much so that I finally tracked down a first edition,which I proudly display on my bookshelf. I’m never embarassed to say what my favorite books are. There are ass-sucking academic types everywhere who think only what they read is worthy. These are the same people who watch “Project Runway.”I would have told that bitch to shove it up her ass. Wait…I just did it for you.
Maybe she’s reading. Or dead.
In a way his book and his death was the ultimate example of the funny man crying on the inside.
I agree with your points,but for me my passions go both ways,wit,humor and intelligence as well as raw,emotional and spiritual.
I think my taste for arts from both sides of the aisle represents the balance of the two in my soul.
Was that too humorless an reply?
In a way his book and his death was the ultimate example of the funny man crying on the inside.
I agree with your points,but for me my passions go both ways,wit,humor and intelligence as well as raw,emotional and spiritual.
I think my taste for arts from both sides of the aisle represents the balance of the two in my soul.
Was that too humorless an reply?
collin:i am heartened to hear that “confederacy”is also one of your favorites —and that you tracked down a first edition. impressive.
i don’t think the teacher is dead,but i wish you had been there to tell her to shove it up her rectum. i didn’t have the cajones for that.
phoneix:glad to see you’re back…i am certainly not saying that art must lean towards wit over the soul,so to speak,just that the former often gets short shrift for the latter;earnestness can be mistaken for depth.
yeah,it was pretty humorless of a reply.
lol
To quote one of my favorite movies,“it’s a fine line between clever and stupid”. I am at the point in life where I do very little that is about being highbrow. Been there,done that,now bring on the poop jokes. Honestly,the world that we are living in can be so crapulent (to quote Bart Simpson),I’d rather spend my tiny bits of free time laughing.
collin:i am heartened to hear that “confederacy”is also one of your favorites —and that you tracked down a first edition. impressive.
i don’t think the teacher is dead,but i wish you had been there to tell her to shove it up her rectum. i didn’t have the cajones for that.
phoneix:glad to see you’re back…i am certainly not saying that art must lean towards wit over the soul,so to speak,just that the former often gets short shrift for the latter;earnestness can be mistaken for depth.
yeah,it was pretty humorless of a reply.
collin:i am heartened to hear that “confederacy”is also one of your favorites —and that you tracked down a first edition. impressive.
i don’t think the teacher is dead,but i wish you had been there to tell her to shove it up her rectum. i didn’t have the cajones for that.
phoneix:glad to see you’re back…i am certainly not saying that art must lean towards wit over the soul,so to speak,just that the former often gets short shrift for the latter;earnestness can be mistaken for depth.
yeah,it was pretty humorless of a reply.
Aaah,bookfraud,you have pushed a Language Lover button! It’s COJONES,not cajones. A “cajón”is a drawer,and I’m not talking about the underwear kind. Though I’m sure you have plenty of both.
phoenix:we’re just sharing the laughter. sharing the love. that’s what bookfraud is all about.
cheraldo:well put. i didn’t know “crapulent”was a word,but i like it,thank bart. poop jokes for all!
language lover:thank you for the correction —i’m just glad somebody was reading closely enough to notice mistakes.
is “crapulent”a word?
lol
lol
Crapulent is one of those family lexicon words. It is made up from 2 Simpson words “craptacular”and “cromulent”. Ahh,sometimes the English language just is not sufficient.
To quote one of my favorite movies,“it’s a fine line between clever and stupid”. I am at the point in life where I do very little that is about being highbrow. Been there,done that,now bring on the poop jokes. Honestly,the world that we are living in can be so crapulent (to quote Bart Simpson),I’d rather spend my tiny bits of free time laughing.
To quote one of my favorite movies,“it’s a fine line between clever and stupid”. I am at the point in life where I do very little that is about being highbrow. Been there,done that,now bring on the poop jokes. Honestly,the world that we are living in can be so crapulent (to quote Bart Simpson),I’d rather spend my tiny bits of free time laughing.
Aaah,bookfraud,you have pushed a Language Lover button! It’s COJONES,not cajones. A “cajón”is a drawer,and I’m not talking about the underwear kind. Though I’m sure you have plenty of both.
Aaah,bookfraud,you have pushed a Language Lover button! It’s COJONES,not cajones. A “cajón”is a drawer,and I’m not talking about the underwear kind. Though I’m sure you have plenty of both.
phoenix:we’re just sharing the laughter. sharing the love. that’s what bookfraud is all about.
cheraldo:well put. i didn’t know “crapulent”was a word,but i like it,thank bart. poop jokes for all!
language lover:thank you for the correction —i’m just glad somebody was reading closely enough to notice mistakes.
is “crapulent”a word?
phoenix:we’re just sharing the laughter. sharing the love. that’s what bookfraud is all about.
cheraldo:well put. i didn’t know “crapulent”was a word,but i like it,thank bart. poop jokes for all!
language lover:thank you for the correction —i’m just glad somebody was reading closely enough to notice mistakes.
is “crapulent”a word?
Crapulent is one of those family lexicon words. It is made up from 2 Simpson words “craptacular”and “cromulent”. Ahh,sometimes the English language just is not sufficient.
Crapulent is one of those family lexicon words. It is made up from 2 Simpson words “craptacular”and “cromulent”. Ahh,sometimes the English language just is not sufficient.
Crapulent…I think that’s going to go near dicktastic in my dictionary.
Damn,I need to get around to writing that one of these days.
Crapulent…I think that’s going to go near dicktastic in my dictionary.
Damn,I need to get around to writing that one of these days.