I hihgly reccomend Twain's "Innocents Abroad." It was his best selling book in his lifetime. So funny, he satirizes American tourists and of course himself. I'm jealous that you have a first time read ahead of you!
I'm chiming in to say don't forget to study the songwriters who excelled at this art. Alice's Restaurant, of course. And a lot else from the folk revivial of the 60s. Country music is also a fab source of satire -- songs like Okee from Muskogee, which was written as satire, though it wasn't taken as such by many. (There's a fantastic episode of Cocaine & Rhinestones that deconstructs the satire in the song here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6q1b891GiuyqWINQqMiKvA?si=76251c9777364a3c)
Good choices, all; Lucky Jim in particular. How funny is it? So funny that several friends consider it too mean. It is mean, but the characters in the novel hit Jim Dixon first. When my wit needs sharpening. S J Perelman is my whetstone. I’d also recommend a favorite of SJP’s, an Irish writer known as Flan O’Brien. He was a civil servant (like me!) so he couldn’t legally publish under his own name. One of his aliases was Myles Na Gopaleen, facetia columnist for the Irish times; the work was collected by the Dalkey Archive press from Indiana; sometimes cryptic with Latin and Gaelic jokes, but mostly surefire.
I know the revise of the Bystander has been sucking up all your time and efforts, but I think I can safely speak for others when I say we've missed your wisdom laden posts here, so thanks for this bit of advice from the sage of satire.
I met Joseph Heller back in ‘68. I expected him to act the Colossus he was in my mind. Nah, bro. He was… a writer.
I’m a big fan of SJ Perelman, who set the bar on not giving a fuck as to whether the reader “got” what he was putting down. Minds like his are rare as hen’s teeth.
I was also thinking of Kinky Friedman, and maybe Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Robbins, but it's been too long since I've read any of them, so although there are definitely satiric elements in all three, I'm not sure if they're in quite the right category overall. (Oh, and the playwrights... Ionesco, Wilde, Moliere...)
Michael, I would like to read your thoughts on those who go by three names. You mentioned one in your recommended reading list.
I have always found the practice pretentious and ripe for the sharpest of satire. I have always thought that such sentiment was behind the line in The Holy Grail of "They call me Tim."
At the very least one would have thought this affectation would have died out around 1915 or so but alas it is still with us.
Well, this is all well and good (and very well and good in fact), but a rather jarring and, err, seemingly impassable issue I've run across is that if one writes shorter-length satire in the grand tradition you outline -- shorter length, meaning at least the typical 2-3 page Woody Allen and 1990s-2000s New Yorker length, or the 'A Modest Proposal' length historically common hitherto-- and frankly, any kind of somewhat multi-layered and clever satire of even shorter length, there scarcely seems anywhere--or daresay nowhere--to publish it nowadays
Writing humor in particular can become unrewarding and depressing if one writes it mainly for one's own amusement
Suppose one can try to publish a collection of such shorter works -- but will anyone publish it nowadays?
The satirical novel seems the best way to go. But few have the idiosyncratic and prodigious talent to carry off a full-length work. And of course one must train for some time by writing shorter works
Maybe I'm being too partial and pessimistic, but this generally has been my observation the past few years as I delved more into writing such works
There are also some hidden structural problems in the writing of a comic novel -- the form pulls against the jokes, which is why the great comic novels are really great comic CHARACTERS (like Yossarian, or Ignatius J. Reilly). That's where I'd recommend you start Jason -- create a character that strikes sparks, and around whom sparks can fly.
Right, I'd agree with this: it's pretty difficult to write a satirical novel unless centered around a somehow endearing comic character. Though not impossible. There've been limited successes... As for myself, I've no aspirations to write a directly satirical novel -- was speaking more to shorter works -- but Never Say Never Again. One ought to follow the winds of inspiration or risk inanition
No disagreement about the landscape. Unless you've got a fun idea for a piece called "I Am a Stone and I Just Fucking NAILED Those Two Birds," publication opportunities are slim.
But I think the good news is that fiction -- and especially flash fiction -- gives everybody a broader canvas to paint humorously on. There isn't a perfect match between Fierce Pajamas and, like, what gets published on X-RAY or HAD or REJECTION LETTERS or FLASH FROG or HEX, but there's a decent overlap.
I think it's the stuff that's more narrowly parodic has the toughest time finding a home right now. But short fiction since at least Barthelme has totally been a home for strongly satirical perspectives. Definitely fiction can be a home for any formal playfulness (e.g. fake emails, memos, stories that take the voice of a QB in a huddle, multiple choice tests, etc.).
With all due respect (and you get more than due respect; you get ALL the respect), in my limited experience, some of these publications, given their timbre, seem very unlikely to publish the kind of short satire works in question.
HAD tends to publish 'what in the fuck is this?' kind of hybrid post-post-modern pieces, usually of 1/2-1 page length -- in which there's room for satire, surely, but not satire based. And they also have that insane 'we announce submissions windows randomly once every month or so and cap at a small number, making it harder to get through than TicketMaster for Taylor Swift tickets,' which ingeniously works well in our social media addled 'Attention Economy.'
Haven't heard of a few, tho; will check them out... And the work you shared!
I've been taking a hiatus from humor writing for several months (tho the book-in-progress does have some humorous elements) -- in part but not entirely due to the aforementioned issues -- but inevitably the itch may return
As always, look forward to reading any new works by you, humor or otherwise
As a part-time satirist myself, I appreciate this post and applaud your choices. I would add James Thurber to your list; though not technically a satirist, he's satirist adjacent.
At some point, it would be great if you could talk about places to publish satire that aren't McSweeney's, The Onion, or The New Yorker. In other words, places where it's actually possible to get published.
Can't believe you mentioned Good Soldier Schweik. Thought that was something so obscure only my father would know it. (He had the book, not sure if he ever saw the movie.)
Remember that McSweeneys began as a way for Dave Eggers and Zev Borow to run their humor pieces that were being rejected by Susan Morrison at The New Yorker; IOW, a quote specific tone. Which attracted a lot of imitators, because it was really the only alternative venue (albeit unpaid); and this hardened into a style.
IOW, a calcification of the art. Today there is definitely some “Tiny Mummies” shit going on. (Said with respect.)
You see this throughout literary culture—the financial difficulty means few outlets, less diversity, and over time a distinct narrowing of what the form CAN be, in the mind of potential practitioners. Which then leads to fewer people doing it.
Bystander has been an attempt to offer a really wide palette of styles, because I think that’s best for the art, and because I seem to be the only humor editor alive who doesn’t want a house style—ie “it must sound like ME.”
Anyway, lesson here is: if you’re getting rejected, start your own thing!
“High concept” short form emerged as a way for straight cis white guys to be funny in college while sidestepping issues of privilege or seeming to be judgy. It’s humor located outside of the author…which makes it primarily an intellectual exercise, rather than anything durable. I hope writers who do this now continue to develop so that they begin to CONNECT with readers; but there are things pulling against that.
I'm not familiar with Points in Case, but High Concept certainly fits McSweeneys. They are the epitome of what Michael was talking about re: the 'Shoehorn the Gag into a Long Unwieldly Title" School of Humor. Yet they have published some brilliant stuff, by John Moe and some early Neal Pollack.
I just read his insane story about that Jewish planet thing and the rock aliens and Meir Kahane...no idea what it amounts to but it's bananas, I loved it.
I hihgly reccomend Twain's "Innocents Abroad." It was his best selling book in his lifetime. So funny, he satirizes American tourists and of course himself. I'm jealous that you have a first time read ahead of you!
I'm chiming in to say don't forget to study the songwriters who excelled at this art. Alice's Restaurant, of course. And a lot else from the folk revivial of the 60s. Country music is also a fab source of satire -- songs like Okee from Muskogee, which was written as satire, though it wasn't taken as such by many. (There's a fantastic episode of Cocaine & Rhinestones that deconstructs the satire in the song here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6q1b891GiuyqWINQqMiKvA?si=76251c9777364a3c)
The Kinks we're good at satire too. Or maybe just irony. The two bleed together too much to be able to sort them out.
Good choices, all; Lucky Jim in particular. How funny is it? So funny that several friends consider it too mean. It is mean, but the characters in the novel hit Jim Dixon first. When my wit needs sharpening. S J Perelman is my whetstone. I’d also recommend a favorite of SJP’s, an Irish writer known as Flan O’Brien. He was a civil servant (like me!) so he couldn’t legally publish under his own name. One of his aliases was Myles Na Gopaleen, facetia columnist for the Irish times; the work was collected by the Dalkey Archive press from Indiana; sometimes cryptic with Latin and Gaelic jokes, but mostly surefire.
Sean always recommended The Third Policeman.
An amazing book, quite supernatural
The thing about "The Long Title Which Encapsulates The Premise So That Readers Will Click On It", is it's usually the best part. No need to read on.
Right. Actually sometimes the case! Or, at least: there will be no surprises here; just hashing out the fairly literal premise.
I know the revise of the Bystander has been sucking up all your time and efforts, but I think I can safely speak for others when I say we've missed your wisdom laden posts here, so thanks for this bit of advice from the sage of satire.
Ditto ;)
Thanks, fellas! I'm going to try to do more.
You know, a question always helps. I swim in this stuff, and have no idea what people want to know about.
Well done. You hit it.
I met Joseph Heller back in ‘68. I expected him to act the Colossus he was in my mind. Nah, bro. He was… a writer.
I’m a big fan of SJ Perelman, who set the bar on not giving a fuck as to whether the reader “got” what he was putting down. Minds like his are rare as hen’s teeth.
We love what we love.
I was also thinking of Kinky Friedman, and maybe Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Robbins, but it's been too long since I've read any of them, so although there are definitely satiric elements in all three, I'm not sure if they're in quite the right category overall. (Oh, and the playwrights... Ionesco, Wilde, Moliere...)
Kinky. I've read all his detective stories. Wotta brain.
Michael, I would like to read your thoughts on those who go by three names. You mentioned one in your recommended reading list.
I have always found the practice pretentious and ripe for the sharpest of satire. I have always thought that such sentiment was behind the line in The Holy Grail of "They call me Tim."
At the very least one would have thought this affectation would have died out around 1915 or so but alas it is still with us.
John Wilkes Booth.
Lee Harvey Oswald.
Mark David Chapman.
Need I say more? :-)
I mean -- sometimes it's okay. Sci-Fi writing sort of lends itself to it. It's per case, I think
Well, this is all well and good (and very well and good in fact), but a rather jarring and, err, seemingly impassable issue I've run across is that if one writes shorter-length satire in the grand tradition you outline -- shorter length, meaning at least the typical 2-3 page Woody Allen and 1990s-2000s New Yorker length, or the 'A Modest Proposal' length historically common hitherto-- and frankly, any kind of somewhat multi-layered and clever satire of even shorter length, there scarcely seems anywhere--or daresay nowhere--to publish it nowadays
Writing humor in particular can become unrewarding and depressing if one writes it mainly for one's own amusement
Suppose one can try to publish a collection of such shorter works -- but will anyone publish it nowadays?
The satirical novel seems the best way to go. But few have the idiosyncratic and prodigious talent to carry off a full-length work. And of course one must train for some time by writing shorter works
Maybe I'm being too partial and pessimistic, but this generally has been my observation the past few years as I delved more into writing such works
There are also some hidden structural problems in the writing of a comic novel -- the form pulls against the jokes, which is why the great comic novels are really great comic CHARACTERS (like Yossarian, or Ignatius J. Reilly). That's where I'd recommend you start Jason -- create a character that strikes sparks, and around whom sparks can fly.
Right, I'd agree with this: it's pretty difficult to write a satirical novel unless centered around a somehow endearing comic character. Though not impossible. There've been limited successes... As for myself, I've no aspirations to write a directly satirical novel -- was speaking more to shorter works -- but Never Say Never Again. One ought to follow the winds of inspiration or risk inanition
No disagreement about the landscape. Unless you've got a fun idea for a piece called "I Am a Stone and I Just Fucking NAILED Those Two Birds," publication opportunities are slim.
But I think the good news is that fiction -- and especially flash fiction -- gives everybody a broader canvas to paint humorously on. There isn't a perfect match between Fierce Pajamas and, like, what gets published on X-RAY or HAD or REJECTION LETTERS or FLASH FROG or HEX, but there's a decent overlap.
I think it's the stuff that's more narrowly parodic has the toughest time finding a home right now. But short fiction since at least Barthelme has totally been a home for strongly satirical perspectives. Definitely fiction can be a home for any formal playfulness (e.g. fake emails, memos, stories that take the voice of a QB in a huddle, multiple choice tests, etc.).
Here for example is a relatively recent story that I've absolutely loved, from short fiction hero Ben Loory: https://www.relegationbooks.com/article/the-true-story-of-george-washington-and-the-cherry-tree/
"I Am a Stone and I Just Fucking NAILED Those Two Birds" -- 😅
Michael, how did you know the title of my latest piece! Dammit. Well, great minds think alike
For more, err, great short humor titles, one might refer to this piece by Jeff Kulik:
https://forwhatitsworth.be/#kulik_1
With all due respect (and you get more than due respect; you get ALL the respect), in my limited experience, some of these publications, given their timbre, seem very unlikely to publish the kind of short satire works in question.
HAD tends to publish 'what in the fuck is this?' kind of hybrid post-post-modern pieces, usually of 1/2-1 page length -- in which there's room for satire, surely, but not satire based. And they also have that insane 'we announce submissions windows randomly once every month or so and cap at a small number, making it harder to get through than TicketMaster for Taylor Swift tickets,' which ingeniously works well in our social media addled 'Attention Economy.'
Haven't heard of a few, tho; will check them out... And the work you shared!
I've been taking a hiatus from humor writing for several months (tho the book-in-progress does have some humorous elements) -- in part but not entirely due to the aforementioned issues -- but inevitably the itch may return
As always, look forward to reading any new works by you, humor or otherwise
As a part-time satirist myself, I appreciate this post and applaud your choices. I would add James Thurber to your list; though not technically a satirist, he's satirist adjacent.
At some point, it would be great if you could talk about places to publish satire that aren't McSweeney's, The Onion, or The New Yorker. In other words, places where it's actually possible to get published.
Sorry “quite” specific tone
Can't believe you mentioned Good Soldier Schweik. Thought that was something so obscure only my father would know it. (He had the book, not sure if he ever saw the movie.)
So many rejections from McSweeneys
Remember that McSweeneys began as a way for Dave Eggers and Zev Borow to run their humor pieces that were being rejected by Susan Morrison at The New Yorker; IOW, a quote specific tone. Which attracted a lot of imitators, because it was really the only alternative venue (albeit unpaid); and this hardened into a style.
IOW, a calcification of the art. Today there is definitely some “Tiny Mummies” shit going on. (Said with respect.)
You see this throughout literary culture—the financial difficulty means few outlets, less diversity, and over time a distinct narrowing of what the form CAN be, in the mind of potential practitioners. Which then leads to fewer people doing it.
Bystander has been an attempt to offer a really wide palette of styles, because I think that’s best for the art, and because I seem to be the only humor editor alive who doesn’t want a house style—ie “it must sound like ME.”
Anyway, lesson here is: if you’re getting rejected, start your own thing!
“High concept” short form emerged as a way for straight cis white guys to be funny in college while sidestepping issues of privilege or seeming to be judgy. It’s humor located outside of the author…which makes it primarily an intellectual exercise, rather than anything durable. I hope writers who do this now continue to develop so that they begin to CONNECT with readers; but there are things pulling against that.
I'm not familiar with Points in Case, but High Concept certainly fits McSweeneys. They are the epitome of what Michael was talking about re: the 'Shoehorn the Gag into a Long Unwieldly Title" School of Humor. Yet they have published some brilliant stuff, by John Moe and some early Neal Pollack.
Plus he was the guy whose boots pissed off Frank Sinatra. :-)
I listened to Harlan Ellison speak at the Aero several times and it was ALWAYS worth the ticket. A true Short King, such as myself.
For those who haven't:
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a638/frank-sinatra-has-a-cold-gay-talese/
I just read his insane story about that Jewish planet thing and the rock aliens and Meir Kahane...no idea what it amounts to but it's bananas, I loved it.
OOOH which one should I start with? I know my smart funny friend Ed Park loves him, so I'm predisposed.
Real heads like "Dog of the South" but I'm basic so I favor "True Grit."