Humor is instantaneous! Yet, why is it easy to crack someone up in person, but harder to translate humor on the page? In this two-part Writing Workshop we’ll consider the nature of what makes something funny, review strategies for shaping hilarious writing via close reading pieces that tickle our funny bones, and engage with a series of generative writing prompts. Some authors we'll study include Samantha Irby, Binyavanga Wainaina, Danez Smith, Morgan Parker, and more! Finally, we’ll ponder our human relationship to laughter. The best humor punches up, not down, and brings us together.

Sarah M. Sala is a queer poet of Polish-Lebanese descent. She is the author of  Devil’s Lake (Tolsun Books 2020), which was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in Lesbian Poetry, and The Ghost Assembly Line (Finishing Line Press 2016). Her poem “Hydrogen” was featured in the “Elements” episode of NPR's hit show Radiolab in collaboration with Emotive Fruition. She is the founding director of  Office Hours Poetry Workshop, and Poetry Editor  at The Bellevue Literary Review. 

Sarah teaches expository writing at New York University, and is currently at work on Migrainer: a book-length experimental poem that examines the interstices of migraine and creativity. Her work appears in BOMB, The Southampton Review, and The Brooklyn Rail. Visit her at sarahsala.com 

* When you join Paragraph ($20/mo), you’ll be automatically registered for this event.