Seriously Funny: Poems About Love, Death, Religion, Art, Politics, Sex, and Everything Else

by Barbara Hamby (editor), David Bottoms (Contributor), Lucille Clifton (Contributor)

Can serious poetry be funny? Chaucer and Shakespeare would say yes, and so do the authors of these 187 poems that address timeless concerns but that also include comic elements. Beginning with the Beats and the New York School and continuing with both marquee-name poets and newcomers, Seriously Funny ranges from poems that are capsized by their own tomfoolery to those that glow with quiet wit to ones in which a laugh erupts in the midst of terrible darkness. Most of the selections were made in the editors’ battered compact car, otherwise known as the Seriously Funny Mobile Unit. During the two years in which Barbara Hamby and David Kirby made their choices, they’d set out with a couple of boxes of books in the back seat, and whoever wasn’t driving read to the other. When they found that a poem made both of them think but laugh as well, they earmarked it. Readers will find a true generosity in these poems, an eagerness to share ideas and emotions and also to entertain. The singer Ali Farka Touré said that honey is never good when it’s only in one mouth, and the editors of Seriously Funny hope its readers find much to share with others.

Genres: Poetry, Humor

427 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Barbara Hamby was born in New Orleans and raised in Hawai’i. She now lives in Tallahassee, Florida. She teaches creative writing in the English Department at Florida State University.

Reviews

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars as an anthology. Poems are of consistently high quality, though by end they tend to share a bit of the Hamby / Kirby taste for verse of a certain rhythmic quality. I flagged multiple poems. Some favorites include Kevin Young's "Ode to Pork", Thomas Lux "On Seeing an Ultrasound of an Unborn Child", Sharon Olds "Prepositions," and R. S. Gwynn's "Shakespearian Sonnet." Hamby has the good sense to include both her well-known "Ode to American English" ( a favorite) and her much better "Ode on Satan's Power" -- a fine seasonal favorite.

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost two hundred poems here broken into a dozen topical sections. I plowed through half the book before finding a slew of poetry that connected with me.

This anthology sought work that succeeded “on a literary as well as ha-ha level,” wrote the publisher’s editor who commissioned the book.

Barbara Hamby and David Kirkby, the editors of the collection, wanted seriously funny poems, not funny poems. They searched for work of literary merit that brings a smile or a laugh.

The two editors took two years to make the choices. They read the poems out loud to each other, seeking ones that made them think and laugh. Read these poems out loud, they urge. OK. Many pieces here may work well in readings or performance. But many of us read quietly, albeit at the pace of a speaker in our heads.

The poetry in this volume begins around the time of The Beats, which dates to the early fifties.

One section, Family Life And Strife, included half of the pieces that I liked in this book: “The Lanyard,” by Billy Collins, became over the years familiar from his reading it on the radio. “Upon Seeing and Ultrasound Photo for an Unborn Child,” a sweet and tender piece by Thomas Lux. “Not That Great of An Evening,” by Mark Halliday. “Amnesty,” by Carol Dennis. “I Said Yes But I Meant No,” where Dean Young assigns a percent of likability to friends and couples. (Which brings to mind a theory of coupledom. Each couple expresses itself, with a total emotional capacity of a hundred percent, split between the two. But, outliers exist where the woman in a couple I know carries almost all of the emotion while the guy lives as a near flat-liner, emotionally speaking.)

The America section also included some goodies. “Naturalization Exam,” a funny one by Natalie Shapero. “Immigrant Picnic,” by Gregory Djanikian. “Consolation,” by Billy Collins who poeticizes “… it is enough to stay home …” writing that he finds joy where he lives and does not need another tour.

The section on Poetry Goes to Work also included some fun ones. “On Being Fired Again,” by Erin Belieu. “Bless Their Hearts,” where Richard Newsman ponders the phrase that precedes insults and takedowns.

This book came on my radar from Planet Funny, by Ken Jennings, which mentions this anthology as a volume where five Billy Collins poems appear.

[John Wojtowicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seriously not that funny but I am glad the book exists. Funny poets usually get the crowds but not the spotlights. I felt the anthology was trying too hard to prove its thesis. Even poets who are consistently funny like Duhamel Hoagland Bilgere Collins Lux Dobbyns Dunn Scafidi Hicok Addonizio get kind of shafted by being represented by some of their middle-ground humorous poems.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed these poems more when I approached them without expecting humor. There were plenty that did not seem at all funny, to me. Overall I did like the collection, though it's a little uneven, in the way any anthology is.

[Jess]

This collection is trash and the premise gets annoying very quickly, but there are some good poems mixed in

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This included some excellent poems, many of which I ticked in the table of contents to revisit. But by the time I left the book, I had the impression that it was skewered towards longish, long-lined poems without a stanza break, or with many chunky stanzas. This just seems to be the style favored. Such as:

-"Daffy Duck in Hollywood" (http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/da...)
-"Foley" (http://www.poetrymagazines.org.uk/mag...)
-"Heat Lightning in a Time of Drought" (http://www.poemoftheweek.org/id282.html)
-"First Job: The Southern Sweets Sandwich Shop and Bakery" (http://www.poetrynet.org/month/archiv...)

This made for occasionally slow going. The editors also favor narrative poetry with the somewhat humorous situation, or a situation seen somewhat humorously, and I use 'somewhat' because it's not really a big bellylaugh book.

Nevertheless, I thought it was fun and peppered with the occasionally brilliant poem. For example

Sharon Olds' "The Prepositions" (http://archives.newyorker.com/?i=1990...)

which you'll notice isn't really particularly funny, and Billy Collins' "Workshop" (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/...), which was quite funny.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorites:

The Phone Call by Toney Hoagland: http://anthonytao.blogspot.com/2010/1...

Yes by Denise Duhamel: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/pr...

I'd Rather Look for Keys by Freeman Rogers

Rice and Beans by Campbell McGrath: http://indianareview.org/content/issu...

Upon Seeing an Ultrasound Photo of an Unborn Child by Thomas Lux http://www.wenaus.com/poetry/ultrasou...

Muck-Clump by Mark Halliday

Not That Great of an Evening by Mark Halliday

Hate Poem by Julie Sheehan: http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/127.htm

For the Women of the All-female Bookkeeping Department at H.G. Smithy's by Enid Shomer

Bless Their Hearts by Richard Newman: http://www.versedaily.org/2007/blesst...

I have to send this book back to library. Sadly my library had to order it from the Carnegie Library at Pittsburgh. It was the only library even remotely close to me that carried it and that makes me a little sad. This is an amazing collection and more people should read it.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tend to read several collections of poems at the same time, like Billy Collins, B.H. Fairchild, Henry Taylor, or anthologies like this one that offer a variety. Seriously Funny is fun to read... like the others I pick it up on occasion to read. I mark my favorite ones as I will return to read them. But I will often return to others to see if I missed something. Having said all that, I am enjoying the book.

Update: read most of this, but return to it. Love humor in poetry.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally finished this excellent anthology of funny but serious poetry. It took a long time, but that's because it's long for a poetry book and the poems were worth reading. I find that good poetry is not something to rush through. Full of favorites like Billy Collins, Stephen Dunn, and Albert Goldbarth, this is one contemporary anthology I can highly recommend.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poems in this anthology are amazing. Every section has poems that really grab you. The poems cause varying emotions. They are all really great quality. This is one of my favorite poetry anthologies I've ever read.

[David Fairbanks · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to find anthologies that are consistently good, but this one was better overall than most.

[FSU Alumni]

Barbara Hamby (B.A. '78, M.A. '81)

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful compilation of poems that entertain and inspire, make you laugh and make you cry, and ultimately make you think.