New Yorker Festival 2008

Sheryl and I had the following text message conversation today:

K: I def just brushed up against Salman Rushdie.
S: Whoa. Where?
K: New Yorker Festival HQ.
S: It's like our version of a strip club.

And she's right. I'd pick a pretentious book event over Chippendales any night of the week. Maybe next year I'll stock up on $1 bills, in case there are really cute hipster writers around.

Anyway, that's why the annual New Yorker Festival is one of my favorite NYC events. You can be any schmuck getting your complimentary cappuccino in the advertisers' lounge, turn to your left, and see the world's most endangered author at your elbow.

And it feels like kind of an anniversary, as well. I didn't make it to last year's events, but two years ago, my visit that weekend was when I decided to go through with my move to New York. So I've got a soft spot for the festivities.

"The past eight years with this president have basically been one big YouTube clip."

Yesterday, I attended a panel on Political Humor. It featured a pretty great group of writer-comedians: Samantha Bee (Daily Show); Allison Silverman (Colbert Report); Jim Downey (SNL); Andy Borowitz (The Borowitz Report); and Todd Hanson (The Onion). (Hanson was replacing The Daily Show's John Oliver, whose wacky British antics were missed.) It was like the heads of the Five Families coming together--but as far as I know, no firearms had to be confiscated.

Of course, most of the discussion was about this election--Sarah Palin in particular. The moderator asked the panel if it would be better for comedy if McCain and Palin won, since Obama is difficult to mock. Nobody really committed to the idea, and Andy Borowitz piped up. "...I'd rather have a country that's run well," he said. See? The "satiro-industrial complex" does have a conscience. It may be a smug one, but it's a conscience!


"To edit humor, you have to be funny. And if you're funny, why are you editing?"

Today's Humor Writing "master class" wasn't actually a class (which means no homework, so yay!). It was more of a mini-panel with longtime New Yorker writers Mark Singer and Ian Frazier. They didn't delve too much into the hows or whys of writing funny stuff, but they did talk a lot about the role that the "casuals," or humor pieces, play in the magazine. They both read entertaining pieces of their own, and shared anecdotes about writing for the New Yorker. (FYI: I don't know what Tina Brown is doing these days, but she doesn't appear to be missed much by her former staffers.) Singer also went into a lengthy discussion of his feud with Donald Trump. I'm not even sure how a feud like that works--isn't it kind of like fighting with a wall (a 100-story, gold-painted one, no less)?

One interesting element that came out of both sessions was that there aren't enough women writing comedy. Everyone was quick to point out that this doesn't mean women are any less funny (ah, liberal elite PC-ness), but either the humor sensibility is different, or they're scared off by the perceived sausage fest. Frazier had an interesting point: that teenage girls don't spend their time sitting around trying to outdo one another with one-liners and jokes like teenage boys do, so maybe the socialization is to blame.

The epigraph above, about editing vs. writing, comes from Frazier. It's probably true. But still...ouch.

I'm sorry I wasn't able to attend more of the events, but the terrible ticket availability (I'm pretty sure U2 tickets are easier to get) and the high prices ($25-$35 per event) just make me thankful I was able to do two of them this year. I still didn't make it to the New Yorker dance party, though. Next year! (Maybe.)