Interview of
Barry Parham
We Can’t Use
Funny
Questions:
R. Murry
Can
you tell me a little about yourself?
Well, let's see. I'm a moderately pleasant single
guy. I'm a music lover, a lucky Uncle, a proud graduate of the University of
Georgia, and a recovering software developer. I'm middle-aged, assuming I live
to be 112. And I'm fiscally conservative, except for music CDs.
Do
you remember the first story you wrote?
The first humor column I ever published was called
"Things I've Learned from Television." It was basically a list of
misconceptions that somebody from another planet might make, if their only
source of information was a few hours watching TV. For example:
If you live in a trailer park, and have a 200 lb.
pet chimp, and then feed the chimp Xanax, and then invite the neighbors over,
you may shortly appear on the TV news in what is known as a "Breaking
Story."
Were
you inspired by someone or something?
Absolutely - two of the best: Mark Twain and Dave
Barry.
What
do you like about writing a story?
What's most fun for me is finding an odd angle; an
unexpected connection; a pairing between things that, at first glance, might
seem to have nothing in common.
Can
you tell us about your book?
Sorry,
We Can't Use Funny is my second (of five) collections of
humor columns and other short pieces. The book's title is actually a quote I
received in a rejection letter from a newspaper editor. He's dead now, but
let's not get into all that.
What
genre best fits for the book?
Observational humor, I suppose, is a good fit. I was
once told that what I write is not fiction, which was a silly thing to say.
After all, I know perfectly well its fiction - I made all of it up myself.
Are
you working on something new at the moment?
Other than the weekly columns, I'm
thinking...slowly...about a new book. I've enough material for another book,
but this time I might skip the physical venue altogether, and just stick with
an eBook version.
Do
you have any tips for aspiring writers?
My self-inflicted discipline is to write a minimum
of 625 words, about something, every week. But I understand not everyone can do
that - it takes a firm commitment to be that lazy.
Where
can people go to read your work?
The weekly columns are
available online, via a yearly subscription, at
Alternatively, Kindle
owners can subscribe and have the columns automatically downloaded each week,
from this address:
Do you have anything to add?
I'm thankful to my God,
I'm grateful for my parents, and I'm honored to now be able to count myself
among the authors reviewed on these pages. Thanks, Roy, to you and your
readers!
I can attest to the fact that Barry is one funny guy. His writing has given me minutes of entertainment. :)
ReplyDeleteHi! I remember reading your column in the newspaper! Great Stuff! Glad to meet you too!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cindy!
Delete