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Humor in Life and Letters Series

The Humor in Life and Letters Series—the only book series of its kind—publishes serious, yet not somber, explorations of humor across a range of disciplines.

General Editor: Sarah Blacher Cohen, State University of New York, Albany

Safer: The Contemporary American Comic EpicThe Contemporary American Comic Epic: The Novels of Barth, Pynchon, Gaddis, and Kesey

Elaine B. Safer

Analyzes how twentieth century epic writers make ironic use of traditional themes and patterns to develop a new genre, the American comic epic novel.

Gardner: The Mocking of the PresidentThe Mocking of the President: A History of Campaign Humor from Ike to Ronnie

Gerald Gardner

Out of print. See Campaign Comedy on following page.

Olsen: Circus of the Mind in MotionCircus of the Mind in Motion: Postmodernism and the Comic Vision

Lance Olsen

Olsen focuses on seven British and American fiction writers, using their works to examine various aspects of the rise and fall of postmodern humor in our culture.

Cohen: Jewish WryJewish Wry: Essays on Jewish Humor

Edited by Sarah Blacher Cohen

Examines the development of Jewish humor in a series of essays on topics that range from Sholom Aleichem’s humor to Jewish comediennes through to the humor of Philip Roth.

Clayton: Horsing AroundHorsing Around: Contemporary Cowboy Humor

Edited by Lawrence Clayton and Kenneth Davis

Out of print.

Sochen: Women's Comic VisionsWomen’s Comic Visions

Edited by June Sochen

Out of print.