MFA Greensboro Alum Steve Almond Interviewed by Kugelmass about Humor in Writing

Kugelmass talks with Steve Almond
In this space, Kugelmass asks funny writers about writing funny. As you will see, there is nothing remotely funny about this process. If you want a pleasant chuckle, purchase an issue. If you want to learn something, well read on.

To call Steve Almond a humor writer would be to call Tito Puente a drummer or Rollie Fingers a mustache-grower. He is the author of ten books of fiction and non-fiction. His latest, God Bless America: Stories is due out in October. Touch his words on this page and you will become more talented.

Almond on writing and when it happens to be funny

My general goal is to aim for a painful truth and use the mighty shield of humor to avoid getting too seriously hurt. But I try not to consciously adopt a style or tone (i.e. “I will now try to be funny”) because that never works. It’s more a matter of pursuing the material.

Almond on who and what is funny

For me, most humor comes from tragedy -- the simultaneous confession and forgiveness of unbearable truths. In other words: the forgiveness is the joke. So basically, any time we’re dealing with transgressive feelings. Shame. Rage. Lust. The inherent moral absurdity of our current political climate is a great example. The insatiable greed and hypocrisy, the mind-bending rationalizations -- it’s all so incredibly sad. But Stewart and Colbert make their nut by converting that stuff into laughs. I also laugh (most people do, I think) when the velocity of truth exceeds normal standards.
 
Read the full interview here: http://firewheel-editions.org/kugelmass/interviews/issue2/almond.shtml

Find out more about the MFA Writing Program here:http://mfagreensboro.org