[stylist] Writing exercise: satire and humor

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Bernadetta,

First, congrats on your new little one. My husband and I are expecting a
bundle of joy in early September, so in a few months I will totally
understand the situation you are in, smile.

I'm glad you appreciate this piece. I don't think it's the best attempt
at satire ever written, and I also get that not everyone will understand
and/or appreciate it just because of reasons due to preference, but when
I workshopped  it in a class a few years ago, the humor was completely
lost on most my classmates. It's not intended to be a deep piece, but an
attempt to not only tell, what I think is, a funny story, but give more
insight into me as a person. The attempt failed though, but I still like
it nonetheless.

I'm glad you caught The Nanny reference. When I wrote it for my class,
most the students would have been babies or young kids when the show was
on, so I wasn't sure if they would get it, but a few did. Like you, I
like to pull in pop-culture references when fitting with a narrative,
and this is usually encouraged in most writing as a way to give context
to time and era without actually stating it. Plus, it's fun, and I
actually speak this way.

I also reference George of the Jungle, which is a throw back even for
me, being only 30, but is a pretty recognizable pop-culture saying. When
I talk about people shouting at me when walking around, I use the
phrase, "Watch out for that tree!"

One thing I always chuckle about is the line, "I will declare war so
fast with my written words of terrorism (this is what me hubby calls it)
you won't know what to do with my passive-aggressive attack," because
one comment made when workshopping  this was that I used "Me hubby,"
when it should be "My hubby." I intentionally meant "me" because I do
say things like this, but usually people understand, especially in light
of what this essay is about, such a term since it's still used in the
UK, and is how the English language originally spoke the word "my." No
one else thought this was a typo, so I get a little chuckle every time I
think about it.

Ultimately, I think a part of the problem is that I workshopped  this in
a class full of my sighted peers, most feeling perhaps guilty because I
was addressing the very thoughts and questions they thought themselves,
and most were not able to understand the "satire" of the essay. Those
who knew me did find it funny and entertaining, but I understand why a
topic like this addressed in such a tone could be confusing for some.
Those who are blind, or who know me, can appreciate not only my humor,
but what I attempted in this essay. I don't find it surprising that it
finds a better reception here than it did with a group of sighted folks.

And finally, though I'm a lot like this in personal convos, I find it
extremely difficult to express humor on paper especially in a way that's
relatable. I can wax dramatic on any subject, but ask me to approach it
with humor, in writing, I find it hard to do and usually unsatisfying by
the end. Definitely something I need to work on. So much for emulating
David Sedaris, grin!

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
 
"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan


Message: 20
Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:29:04 -0400
From: Bernadetta Pracon <bernadetta_pracon at samobile.net>
To: stylist at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [stylist] Writing exercise: satire and humor
Message-ID: 80022ef5-d8c1-4c4e-94d1-1ad3e05a4426 at samobile.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format="flowed"

Hi all,
I don't usually contribute much to this list--Although I'd like to. 
However, having a brand new baby has a peculiar way of stealing the 
spotlight, so to speak.
This writing excersise caught my attention though, because I also tend 
to approach my life with a sense of humor, and I love satire. I'm 
definitely going to try my hand at this one, although, like Bridget, I 
find it to be a bit of a challenge to cater to people's sense of humor 
through my writing sometimes.
Before I do that, I'd like to comment on your piece, Bridget.
First of all, I found the essay very entertaining. It was paced well 
and I love the imagery. I could totally invision the scenario where you 
as a child bit your mother's calves. Your description of it was, in 
fact, very funny. "I looked at the back of her slender calves and 
licked my lips." That line made me imagine  a small child with an 
animalistic urge to bite, in the way that a puppy would--That's what 
made it funny for me. The showdown between the two sisters also held my 
attention because again, the sceen came alive in my mind.You built the 
tension perfectly by describing how you and your sister glared at each 
other from across the bedroom.
 Finally, here are a few things that I personally understood and 
apreciated as humourous, but perhaps other readers might not be able to 
catch in general.
The reference to the theme song from "The Nanny" wasn't lost on me--I 
chuckled at that one. I'm not sure how many people would make the 
connection if they aren't familiar with the show. However, I tend to do 
the same thing--I make references to movies and/or shows in my writing 
wherever I think they might fit. I'm always being told that my readers 
might not be able to connect with my work because of that, but I think 
that if at least one person besides myself can identify with that, it's 
worth doing. In general, like I said, I really enjoyed the piece, 
especially because of the cynical sense of humor. Perhaps that's 
because I share the same sort of sense of humor.
As I mentioned previously, I'm caring for my brand new little one these 
days, so I'm running on roughly a couple hours of sleep--So I'm sorry 
if this message is one scattered ramble. I wanted to contribute though, 
just as well. Hope it's useful to some degree.

Sincerely,

Bernadetta Pracon