Here’s what’s been making us happy this week.
Another Friday, another opportunity for gratitude. We at Lit Hub have been living to laugh and laughing to live.
Two weeks ago, Drew Broussard went to see an author friend (Sam Rebelein) read a chunk of his new novel aloud alongside a cast of three actors. Our podcasts editor is glad to report this experience “was a total delight.”
Rebelein, the horror-minded author of Edenville, has made a recent habit of reading aloud during the editorial process, off the hunch that external voices can help one tighten a draft. Drew called this first public presentation “a joyful, weird, fun way to bring people into the creative process.”
He is also very pleased this week that Taskmaster, the hilarious British gameshow, is back.
James Folta is also havin-a-laugh, thanks to a new album from the professional pranksters at Longmont Potion Castle.
“Prank calls are for the most part stupid, but pseudonymous LPC uses a bunch of weird effects and modulators to take the teen pastime into surreal directions,” says James. “It’s a sign of how fun his stuff is that his calls are often met with delighted laughter, in addition to the usual confusion and anger.”
Molly Odintz and partner hosted a Seder last Friday, where the vibes were excellent and the brisket divine. “Also we used a great anti-zionist Haggadah,” Molly adds. “Olives go on the Seder plate in solidarity with Palestine.”
And speaking of solidarity: I, Brittany Allen, have been enjoying interviews with Molly Crabapple, whose book Here Where We Live is Our Country: The Story of the Jewish Bund came out this week to much acclaim.
Crabapple is an artist and author known for lucid leftie takes, and her book takes on the thorny history of a vibrant intellectual tradition.
And speaking of those: a friend gave me a ticket to see Wallace Shawn’s The Fever last week. And I’m still reeling from that canny, cutting monologue that reads middle class bobos for the filth we sometimes are.
I disagree with Joyce Carol Oates. The ultimate hand-wringer’s lament feels as germane today as it must have during its first production in 1990. And Shawn is the kind of performer who I’d watch read a phonebook, anyway.
Wishing you all a week of giggles, group projects, and—yes—solidarity.
Brittany Allen
Brittany K. Allen is a writer and actor living in Brooklyn.
