Saturday, September 12, 2009

Not witty.

That's me. I am funny, I can concede, able to make people laugh, though most often my method is self-mockery, which is the opposite of witty. I'm teaching a senior capstone on Donne this term. Who is witty, in both the metaphysical way and the way that would make him easy and magnetic at a cocktail party with urbane and sophisticated academics. I reflect on wit and its movements, its rhythms, and I must acknowledge that I don't have it. But my kids think I'm a riot, and so do the kids I hang out with, outside, during the cocktail parties.

4 comments:

Ink said...

Self-mockery can be witty, can't it? I hope so, anyway. And as long as your kids enjoy the humor, that means it's OSUM (awesome, as my son spells it). Yay!

Lisa B. said...

Uh, if you're not witty, then I am afraid wit is way overrated. And anyway, I prefer a laugh riot any day.

Renaissance Girl said...

I think I'm too earnest, in the uncool and naive way, to be witty. BTW, LisaB, this post was prompted in part by your fantastic posts of late, which are models of wit.

Blue Cheese said...

Wit? What is that? Urban slang?