Who are your favorite humorists--living and dead

Haggis · May 3, 2009

So...I need you to pick two. A dead one and a breathing one. And I'm talking about writers here--not stand-up comedians, not politicians, not AW Moderators.

Why? Just because. Humor me and let me know who you like(d) and why.

For my dead guy pick I've gotta go with Mark Twain. For multiple reasons. His stuff was always sharp, biting and satirical. But it was always, always funny. During his time he had his share of fame, but some people also denigrated his writing because he, after all, was only a "humorist." I don't know about you, but I'd consider that term a compliment.

For my living guy, I'm going with Garrison Keillor. No, not for his radio show (that would be outside the guidelines of my rules), but for his writing. He's written scads of novels, some dealing with Lake Woebegon, some not, but they all have the same, innocent, gentle, yet sometimes biting humor that's reminiscent of Twain in a way, but not quite as harsh. Want a fun read? Buy a copy of Book of Guys. You'll enjoy it.

Now, who are your favorites?

cray · May 3, 2009

well, since you stole twain from me i'm going with vonnegut as my dead guy.
if you need a sideways view on life vonnegut will give it to you.

living,....hmmm, i'll need a bit to think on this one,...

Haggis · May 3, 2009

cray said:
well, since you stole twain from me i'm going with vonnegut as my dead guy.
if you need a sideways view on life vonnegut will give it to you.

living,....hmmm, i'll need a bit to think on this one,...

Vonnegut/Twain. Six of one....

I think the only difference is that Twain's tales could be read at different levels. For example, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are great kid adventure stories. It's only when you're older you are able to pick up the social satire laced throughout the pieces. But, Vonnegut? Yeah. Loved the guy.

cray · May 4, 2009

i can't think of a living humorist that i'd list as a fav...
the only guy i can think is woody allen. i have a love / hate relationship with the guy and i'm sure there are people that might argue the title of 'humorist' for him.

there. i guess i can't think of a living humorist that stands out as a favorite for me.

why not?

hmm.

mscelina · May 4, 2009

Will Rogers--only because my other option was Mark Twain and I like to be different. I think Rogers had a remarkably clear point of view for the times and an extremely pointed but good-natured wit.

As for living...um, I'm going to go out on a limb here and give Piers Anthony a thumbs-up. Not only has he been a consistently humorous writer in the SFF genre, but a lot of his work has cultural and social parallels that reflect the times in which he wrote each story. Any time you read one of Anthony's afterwords, you get a good idea of what inspired him to write the story and what it relates to--and there's a lot of common sense hidden there.

Little Earthquake · May 4, 2009

Living - Jen Lancaster
Not - Erma Bombeck

The reason I like them can be summed up in one of Bombeck's quotes:

"There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt."

Both authors find the ludicrous and laughable in mundane or downright painful situations. Some things are only funny because you're tired of crying about them!

Haggis · May 4, 2009

cray said:
i can't think of a living humorist that i'd list as a fav...
the only guy i can think is woody allen. i have a love / hate relationship with the guy and i'm sure there are people that might argue the title of 'humorist' for him.

there. i guess i can't think of a living humorist that stands out as a favorite for me.

why not?

hmm.

Maybe nothing's funny any more? :Shrug:

But, yeah, you hit on a concern of mine. I really don't know very many current writers who could be called humorists. Dave Barry, would be one, and maybe Bill Cosby (for his books, not his comedy), but there must be others.

Team 2012 · May 4, 2009

Christopher Moore

Donald Westlake

JimmyB27 · May 4, 2009

I'm going to go for Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett.
I think their works have a lot in common, and not just the geeky nature of their chosen genres. Both show a great understanding of the way the human mind works, and use it incredibly well in their writing. Douglas with his Paranoid Android, for example, Terry with his headology.

dolores haze · May 4, 2009

Dead: Oscar Wilde. Just so damn witty.

Living: PJ O'Rourke. Never came across anyone else who could piss me off so bad, while still making me laugh so hard (well, except maybe my husband.)

cray · May 4, 2009

oh, oscar wilde....
that's an excellent choice!

AmyDoodle · May 9, 2009

Nonliving - Jean Kerr (Please Don't Eat the Daisies, Penny Candy, The Snake Has All the Lines). Because it's hard to be funny when you're no longer breathing, but she carries it off so well.

Living - P.S. Wall, although she ceased her humor column to take up novel writing. Sigh.

Ken · May 10, 2009

Deceased: Peter Benchley. Actually the only humorous author I've ever read. I don't really like reading humor. It fills me with feelings of inadequacy, since I write humor myself and can't help making comparisons between their works and my own, and concluding that I am not the least bit funny :-(

edt: Opps, meant Robert Benchley, not Peter.

David Conner · May 16, 2009

Deceased: Karl Marx. His brilliance was in how he was able to make us laugh at a disaster.

Living: Barack Obama, although his book is still being written. I suspect that he has been stealing some ideas from Marx.

BWT79 · May 30, 2009

Living: Terry Pratchett once again

Dead: Lewis Grizzard, he was sidesplittingly funny.

Kayley · May 30, 2009

I don't read many humorous, but I did like Voltaire's Candide.

For humorous songwriting, however, I can say that I love The Lonely Island.

That's all I can think of for now. Maybe I should check out the humor section of the store sometime. :tongue

EDIT: I didn't notice that we needed both a living and dead one, but somehow I ended up with both. XD So it's all good.

Mudcat · Jun 13, 2009

For dead I'll say Richard Brautigan. I could have said Vonnegut but I figured I'd bring a new name into the discussion.

Living? It depends on the looseness of the definition of humorist. I find Irvine Welsh and Martin Amis very funny. Are they classified as humorists? Not sure. So I'll make a call.

Living - Irvine Welsh
Dead - Richard Brautigan

Haggis · Jun 13, 2009

And another funny dead guy--O. Henry. Not all his stories, of course, but a whole bunch of them.

Matt Willard · Jun 14, 2009

Admittedly, I've been reading the work of comedians more than the work of humorists. I like to laugh out loud, and few humorists have ever made me done that. Of course, they're based more on wit than outright comedy, so that's fine with me. Still, I mostly prefer good ol' Dave Barry and Robert Benchley. (If only my library had more Benchley-I'd really love to read more!)

Ol' Fashioned Girl · Jun 14, 2009

I can't - and won't - argue with your choice of Mark Twain, Haggis. And for a little-known and mixed bag filled with hillarious passages and heart-achingly sweet sentiment, have you read his Diaries of Adam and Eve? I highly recommend them.

Living... Gah. Can't think of a soul I'd put in the same category with Twain.

Haggis · Jun 14, 2009

Ol' Fashioned Girl said:
I can't - and won't - argue with your choice of Mark Twain, Haggis. And for a little-known and mixed bag filled with hillarious passages and heart-achingly sweet sentiment, have you read his Diaries of Adam and Eve? I highly recommend them.

Living... Gah. Can't think of a soul I'd put in the same category with Twain.

I have read them, OFG and they're wonderful. But I think my favorite is A Dog's Tale. It's bitter-sweet, but then again, so was Twain.

KTC · Jun 18, 2009

Mine are David Sedaris and Mark Twain. Some say Sedaris isn't a humourist, per se...but I cry real tears every time I read him. And Twain is a comic genius. His timing was always impeccable.

cethklein · Jun 19, 2009

Lewis Grizzard - I think while his humor was definitely hokey, it was also raw and easy to relate to for anyone, even if you didn't come from the south. I think those who have come since haven't really succeeded in capturing his brand of humor like he did. (Bill Engval comes close, those other blue collar guys, not so much).

Gallagher - He really got pigeonholed (ok so he did it to himself) because of the smashing fruit gimmick. But I never thought he got the credit he deserved for his spoken humor. Even most of his live performance videos really don't capture him at his best, you have to see him live when cameras aren't rolling. He's just.different. I saw him in Vegas about 12 years ago and he was great.

Richard Pryor - I think Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock have both tried to emulate him but never really could. They're both funny in their own right but just not the same. Pryor never minced words.

Redd Foxx - Probably my all time favorite comedian. The man was a genius who never got the credit he deserved.

Ok so a bunch of those were known more for their stand-up, so I'll also mention the obvious literary humorists like Wilde and O'Rourke.

And, since I've already violated every other rule of this thread, I'd may as well go ahead and nominate Haggis as well.

Haggis · Jun 19, 2009

cethklein said:
Lewis Grizzard - I think while his humor was definitely hokey, it was also raw and easy to relate to for anyone, even if you didn't come from the south. I think those who have come since haven't really succeeded in capturing his brand of humor like he did. (Bill Engval comes close, those other blue collar guys, not so much).

Gallagher - He really got pigeonholed (ok so he did it to himself) because of the smashing fruit gimmick. But I never thought he got the credit he deserved for his spoken humor. Even most of his live performance videos really don't capture him at his best, you have to see him live when cameras aren't rolling. He's just.different. I saw him in Vegas about 12 years ago and he was great.

Richard Pryor - I think Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock have both tried to emulate him but never really could. They're both funny in their own right but just not the same. Pryor never minced words.

Redd Foxx - Probably my all time favorite comedian. The man was a genius who never got the credit he deserved.

Ok so a bunch of those were known more for their stand-up, so I'll also mention the obvious literary humorists like Wilde and O'Rourke.

And, since I've already violated every other rule of this thread, I'd may as well go ahead and nominate Haggis as well.

But Ceth, those posts of mine in P&CE weren't intended to be funny.

Matt Willard · Jun 19, 2009

I tried Grizzard. I checked out one of his books from the library across the street, and it's on my desk right now. But he doesn't really work for me. Then again, a lot of humorists don't make me laugh.

Who are your favorite humorists--living and dead

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