Hey kids--do you like the parodies?

[John B.]

I really like good literary parodies, whether the targeted writer is a favorite (as below) or someone I'm not especially fond of (any good Hemingway parody will make me smile for the better part of a day . . . I'm pretty easy to please that way). As we all know, the best parodies actually pay a backhanded homage to not just the writer parodied but also his/her audience. I found this at the delightful intersection of three favorites of mine: parodies, David Foster Wallace, and The Onion. Someone has read--and likes--DFW quite a lot to have him down this cold.
Enjoy.

[The Disgruntled Frenchman]

That's classic. Makes me want to read more Wallace. [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[DaethisJain]

Me too. Thanks for sharing, Mr. B.

[DaethisJain]

By the way, Mr. B., I didn't mean to leave you out of my "Would this upset you?" thread. I'd love to get your opinion on my writing if you're willing to offer it.

Thanks,
Mark

ps. Is House of Leaves part of your curriculum?
pps. Would you consider the Weekly World News satire?

[Reader]

"Hey kids--do you like the parodies?" reminds me of something Eminem would say in a rap song.

[DanSRose]

It's not technically a parody, but my favorite is by an author named Christopher Moore called "Lamb: The Gospel, According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal". He wrote it as a different, funny telling of Jesus' life, mainly to answer the age-old question: What if Jesus knew kung-fu? and How could you teach an elephant yoga?
It's different and it's funny.

[DanSRose]

"Lamb" is not so much theological humor than humor-humor. The Bible just has so much material, and Moore just used good modern humor to make it work. He usually works with mythology and science (natural and social)makes it funny.

[Agrimorfee]

I laughed my ass off when that article came out.!!! [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

For more theological humor like DanSRose was discussing, look for "God Knows" by Joseph Heller, where the Biblical character David complains about how God screwed up his life, or "God's Other Son" by Don Imus.

[John B.]

This isn't a literary parody, but it's pretty funny anyway. Those who didn't see the third presidential debate might not see the boundary between what was actually said then and what was not; but then again, the blurred line between fact and fancy is itself an issue in this campaign. By the way: the skewering seems pretty fair and balanced to me.

[John B.]

And all the Knave e’er wanted was his rug
As spoken of, which tied the room together.

The entirety of The Big Lebowski, Shakespeare-style. 'Tis lengthy, but to purpose--and mirth-inducing besides.