satire
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A Book Blurb for Every Occasion
The book blurb is an essential aspect of a book’s marketing, one that many authors have extreme disdain for. RealPants offers a satirical solution: fill-in-the blank book blurbs for any book.
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A Comic History of Rome
The Public Domain Review takes a look at The Comic History of Rome, a book that satirized Roman history as well as Victorian society.
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The Importance of Being Satire
There is, in fact, a widespread view that humor abandons its true purpose when it ceases to punch upward from below, when it ceases to play David to the great Goliath of state or society, and instead punches down, targeting…
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Fun with Jane
Awe-inspiring literary legacy aside, one thing is for certain: Jane Austen could definitely hang. A new collection of some of her shorter works shows the writer in peak form, sharply mocking her social milieu with expert comedic timing: The young Austen…
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Satirical America
Has the US turned into a satire of itself? Consider how quickly Congress has gone from championing Freedom Fries to chastising President Obama’s absence from the Paris peace march. Over at the LA Times, David L. Ulin looks at why…
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Resurrecting a Soviet Satire
The New York Times takes a look at Dying For It, a new adaption of The Suicide, a 1928 satirical play written (but never performed) under Stalinism.
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Books Inspire Better Listicles
Millennials may love their listicles, memes, and Internet kitsch, but they also love books. A new Pew study has shown the Millennials are more likely to read than older generations. And all those books are fodder for less serious content,…
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The Funny Side of Writing
Over at the New Yorker, read an excerpt from Mike Sacks’s upcoming Poking a Dead Frog: Conversations with Today’s Top Comedy Writers. The selection features an interview with George Saunders, in which the writer talks about his upbringing, getting inspiration for…
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The New York Comics Symposium: Prof. William H. Foster III on “The Forgotten Black Kings of Underground Comix”
The New York Comics & Picture-Story Symposium is a weekly forum for discussing the tradition and future of text/image work. Open to the public, it meets Monday nights at 7-9pm EST in New York City. Presentations vary weekly and include…
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“Male Rapper” List Spoofs Industry Sexism
From his boy-next-door looks, you sure wouldn’t peg Eminem as superstar material. But put a beat behind him, and he turns from a feisty-cute Detroit blonde into a raging microphone demon. His autobiographical film 8 Mile is a riveting account…
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Fail Better
“Then again, you might not be the funny type. How about making the rejection letter poignant, depressing, or even hurtful? Push the envelope. Your audience is a bunch of bored writers begging for a little drama in their pathetic lives.…