Who's to Say What's Obscene?: Politics, Culture and Comedy in America Today
- ISBN-10
- 0872865010
- ISBN-13
- 9780872865013
- Category
- Humor / Form / Essays
- Pages
- 242
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2009
- Publisher
- City Lights Publishers
- Author
- Paul Krassner
Description
Yippie co-founder, merry prankster and satirical provocateur Paul Krassner reads from Who's to Say What's Obscene?: Politics, Culture and Comedy in America Today at City Lights podcast home page.
Fans of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Onion will appreciate this timely collection of satirical essays by counterculture icon Paul Krassner. With irreverence and an often X-rated wit, Krassner explores contemporary comedy, and obscenity in politics and culture from "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banners to scenes cut out of recent movies, including Borat.
In his essay "Don Imus Meets Michael Richards" Krassner examines racism in comedy from Lenny Bruce to Dave Chapelle, on The Sarah Silverman Show and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and in controversial comic strips like The Boondocks. Krassner riffs about busted public figures, counterculture, free speech, late-night talk shows, censorship, sex, and the jokes of other famous comedians.
"These are times of repression," says Krassner, "and the more repression there is, the more need there is for irreverence toward those in authority."
Paul Krassner's Contributions to the Counterculture: Watch a short history of Krassner's career from High Times.
Praise for Paul Krassner:
"He is an expert at ferreting out hypocrisy and absurdism from the more solemn crannies of American culture."
—New York Times
"Krassner has the uncanny ability to alter your perceptions permanently."
—Los Angeles Times
"I have been a fan of his since I was a snot-nosed kid, and his words have been a driving force and influence on my life... If you have read his work before, you know the joys that you are in for. If you haven't, start reading, and consider this your lucky day. For Paul Krassner is an activist, a philosopher, a lunatic and a saint, but most of all he is funny."
—Lewis Black, Root of All Evil and The Daily Show
"Krassner is one of the best minds of his generation to be destroyed by madness, starving, hysterical, naked—but mainly hysterical."
- Art Spiegelman
"He is a unique character on the American landscape. A self-described 'investigative satirist,' he straddles the lines between politics, culture, pornography and drugs--in other words, the land where all of us, were we really honest with ourselves, would choose to dwell."
—Harry Shearer
"Krassner loves ironies, especially stinging ironies that nettle public figures. He would rather savor a piquant irony about a public figure than eat a bowl of fresh strawberries and ice cream."
—Ken Kesey
"To classify Krassner as a social rebel is far too cute. He's a nut, a raving, unconfined nut."
—Federal Bureau of Investigation
"The FBI was right. This man is dangerous—and funny; and necessary."
—George Carlin
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2013-12-10
- 240 pages
- Ebook
- City Lights Publishers
Similar books
-
The Complete Prose of Woody Allen
By Woody AllenFor the first time in one hardcover edition, here are three best-selling books by one of 20th century's greatest movie directors. Woody Allen is an American cultural icon -- funny,...
-
Depth Takes a Holiday: Essays from Lesser Los Angeles
By Sandra Tsing Loh"In a town where everybody at least pretends to be Somebody, Sandra Tsing Loh reveals the truth about the amount of (slightly rubbery) Canadian Brie served, the $2.99 Chardonnay consumed...
-
海边的房间
By 黄丽群编辑推荐无常往往很平常，台湾新生代小说家黄丽群代表作，简体出版--荣获台湾多项文学大奖、两岸跨世代文学家盛赞、豆瓣高人气期待华语小说《海边的房间》盛夏来袭。黄丽群是台湾新生代小说家代表人物，短篇小说集《海边的房间》荣获时报文学奖、联合报文学奖、林荣三文学奖等华文奖项，同名小说改编影片入选金马影展。简体版首次推出，作者亲选篇目，新增3篇新作，是其二十余年写作生涯的结晶。爱的卜算师，老灵魂的世情写作，拨动大命运上的小机关--黠慧之心，刁钻之笔，小说家黄丽群熬制典雅细密的汉语，故事精巧布局，卜算爱与命运，将人间悲欢大戏斩落整齐。老灵魂的世情写作，温热俏皮，幽冷美艳，拨动平凡市井里的人心与天机，失意人的情欲与哀伤，我们日常的困顿与无常。炉火纯青的汉语之美，沉迷进黄丽群爱的算式。城市畸爱者的世界，十二个坏掉的人，十二个令人倒吸一口凉气的好故事--写给孤独患者的恋歌，人生逆旅中的安顿。 "我写了各种不美的，零星的，凋的，毁的，那些我总是不可克制而一再抚摸的人生小瑕疵。一个人如果在社会上找不到自己舒适的位置，就必须自欺，自欺久了就会坏掉。"语言的俏皮与一个个意料之外被冰冻的反转结尾，形成黄丽群作品独特的文字张力。"已经很久没有一路直达阅读沸点，皮肤被烫伤的感觉了。"郭强生、骆以军、柯裕棻、张怡微、七堇年等两岸作家盛赞--"资质秾艳幽美，可是那美里面暗暗渗着凉气。黄丽群的文字温煦如日，速如风雨。晴日静好的午后，还觉得太平岁月温暖快乐，一转眼，不知哪来的乌云罩顶，大雨倾盆落下。" 内容简介《海边的房间》是台湾新生代小说家黄丽群的短篇小说集。十二个坏掉的人，十二个令人倒吸一口凉气的好故事。小说家熬制典雅细密的汉语，精巧布局，将人间悲欢斩落整齐，写出一个城市畸爱者的幽冷世界：老公寓里的弃女和养父，乡间卜算师与患病的儿子，梦游的宅男，中年独居女人和三花猫......语言的俏皮与一个个意料之外被冻住的结尾，以及对平凡人事细致入微的体察，构成作品特有的文字张力。无常往往平常，黄丽群的世情书写，温热冷艳，拨动平凡市井里的人心与天机，失意人的情欲与哀伤，我们日常的困顿与孤独。
-
家有六仟金: 李家有六位如花似玉、千嬌百媚的女兒
By Gwen Li, 余國英本書集結旅美華裔女作家余國英女士發表的三十九篇散文，中英雙語對照；其中《我們的小妹夫》也在2020年"天津好家風小說─成人組競賽"得獎，另二篇英譯作品《The first prize winner》與《One Red Flower among Ten Thousands Green Leaves》也已經蒐錄於"2020-2021 English Short Story Conference Anthology"。 閱讀，是最好的學習，余國英的文采充滿幽默風趣，她的作品字裡行間無不閃現著幽默才華；將中西方文化與生活上的點滴，用中文、英文雙語精確表達，讓人會心一笑。三十九篇文章，篇篇含蓄雋永，妙筆生花，引人入勝，令人不禁莞爾。 ◎感謝◎ 「那，這樣好了！我把發表过的中文章翻譯成英文再給不讀中文的讀者们看，不就行了嗎？」為了讓不能讀中文的讀者讀我的文章,我自告奮勇，非常慷慨地回答，心想這樣也給了我鍜練自己英文的機会。 不過，英文到底是我的第二語言，伊妹兒給自已人看一看，笑一笑就罷了，要轉寄給大家看，只怕我的英文文字不夠完美，有辱大家的視聽，就央求那些英文修養比較好的親戚朋友們，替我把英文文章编輯一下再發出去，變成不定期的轉寄，沒有想到數年下來，竟然可以積成一本書，真是太高興了！ 因為怕太打擾工作繁忙的親戚朋友們，為了要把每人工作擔子減輕一些，所以請求了不止一位來改正編輯，以期減輕各人的工作量，這些人按次序排列，包括： 1，柯艾達，親家，律師及英文教授。 2，秦珊蒂，好友，特殊教育者。 3，李德康，兒子，心理系副主任醫師及教授。 4，周文婷，姨姪女，環境工作者。 5，顏如詩，外甥女，圖書館理員。 6，李維珍，孫女兒，大學畢業。...
-
Life on the Mississippi: A Library of America Paperback Classic
By Mark Twain?Mark Twain was the first truly American writer, and all of us since are his heirs.?--William FaulknerA brilliant amalgam of remembrance and reportage, by turns satiric, celebratory, nostalgic, and melancholy,...
-
Playboy's Silverstein Around the World
By Shel SilversteinDisplaying the wit and marvelous drawings that made Shel Silverstein one of the most beloved artists of the century, Playboy's Silverstein Around the World collects and reproduces the twenty-three travel...
-
The Ultimate Book of British Comics
By Graham Kibble-WhiteWhat was your favourite comic as a child? Everyone has one - the one you would faithfully read each and every week then take to school to swap, the one...
-
There I Was...: A Collection of Wild Stories from Wild People
By MICHAEL HODGSONIt all started out as a reckless but innocent ritual of some Western United States raft guides. A band of out of control thrill seekers who love to embellish and...
-
Stay Tuned to this Channel and Other Stories
By Vernon FrazerThe thirteen stories in Stay Tuned to this Channel explore the terra incognita of cutting-edge fiction in a manner as accessible as it is adventurous. A young jazz musician on...
-
Without Feathers
By Woody AllenHere they are--some of the funniest tales and ruminations ever put into print, by one of the great comic minds of our time. From THE WHORE OF MENSA, to GOD...