{"title":"Wisdom Humor from Upcountry Maine","authors":"T. A. Perry","doi":"10.1080/17409292.2023.2152581","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract A common assumption in literary studies is that laughter is, if not the chief goal of humor, certainly a desirable and increasingly necessary one. Can there even be such a thing as humorless humor? I argue that upcountry language and humor are a search for home and belonging, literally as the State of Maine and, when unavailable, as a longing and expression of a certain state of mind and practice of simple living. These following stories and anecdotes make a case for a humor that gently displaces funny by FUN, using language as a universal search for home and belonging: literally when in the State of Maine, and universally as a state of mind that focusses on the humble practice of simply living a worthy human life.","PeriodicalId":10546,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary French and Francophone Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2000,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Contemporary French and Francophone Studies","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17409292.2023.2152581","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"LITERATURE, ROMANCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract A common assumption in literary studies is that laughter is, if not the chief goal of humor, certainly a desirable and increasingly necessary one. Can there even be such a thing as humorless humor? I argue that upcountry language and humor are a search for home and belonging, literally as the State of Maine and, when unavailable, as a longing and expression of a certain state of mind and practice of simple living. These following stories and anecdotes make a case for a humor that gently displaces funny by FUN, using language as a universal search for home and belonging: literally when in the State of Maine, and universally as a state of mind that focusses on the humble practice of simply living a worthy human life.
期刊介绍:
An established journal of reference inviting all critical approaches on the latest debates and issues in the field, Contemporary French & Francophone Studies (formerly known as SITES) provides a forum not only for academics, but for novelists, poets, artists, journalists, and filmmakers as well. In addition to its focus on French and Francophone studies, one of the journal"s primary objectives is to reflect the interdisciplinary direction taken by the field and by the humanities and the arts in general. CF&FS is published five times per year, with four issues devoted to particular themes, and a fifth issue, “The Open Issue” welcoming non-thematic contributions.