How to Write Funny with Patty Marx (via Zoom)

“Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility.”—James Thurber

“Comedy has to be based on truth. You take the truth and you put a little curlicue at the end.” —Sid Caesar

“Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.” —Mel Brooks

“. . .An amateur thinks it’s really funny if you dress a man up as an old lady, put him in a wheelchair, and give the wheelchair a push that sends it spinning down a slope towards a stone wall. For a pro, it’s got to be a real old lady.”—Groucho Marx

“What is comedy? Comedy is the art of making people laugh without making them puke.” —Steve Martin “You know, crankiness is the essence of all comedy.”—Jerry Seinfeld

“Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it.” –E.B. White

“Patty Marx is the best teacher in the Creative Writing Program.”—Patricia Marx

One of the above quotations is false. Find out which one in this humor-writing workshop, where you will read, listen to, and watch comedic samples from well-known and lesser-known humorists, and work with writing prompts. Students already working on projects are welcome to develop them.

NB: This class will be taught on Zoom (Saturday, September 28, 12:30-2:30 PM ET) and will be capped at 15 students. Registrants will receive the Zoom link to the email address they use to register. It will arrive immediately after registration so please check your spam folder if you do not receive it. It will also be sent the day before class as a reminder. Please review the course policies page before registering for any classes. Please email misty@writerscenter.org with any questions.

All HVWC scholarship applications will be available on May 1 and will be due on May 15 for all summer/fall 2024 classes. 

Patty Marx is a writer for the New Yorker magazine and has written for SNL and Rugrats. She also writes books and does errands. She divides her time between the bedroom and kitchen. She can take a baked potato out of the oven with her bare hand.