Recently, my book The Surreal Adventures of Anthony Zen won the 2023 Cadmus Book Award, Humour and Satire category.

In a recent interview with the Cadmus Book Awards, I was asked the following question …

In a world that can sometimes feel overwhelmingly serious, how important do you think humor and satire are in literature, and what do you believe they bring to the literary landscape?

I think satire is crucial and a sign of a strong, functioning democracy. Satire is a barometer and a mirror – if left to do its job without interference. It should be measuring societal change and reflecting back our foibles. Humor is a survival mechanism – part of our evolution. Humor is a shared experience that brings us together. It helps heal and overcome hurdles. More than any other art form or genre, humor defines us and in many cases determines who we choose to associate with. In my life, sense of humor has trumped musical taste as an indicator of who I can get along with. I think that, for such a small genre that I feel is neglected and poorly represented, humor punches way above its weight class. This is why it is often under attack – because it has power. Hollywood seems reluctant to even make comedies anymore, so I think it is up to literature to fill the gap. Indeed, things are far too serious; we need to lighten up, share a laugh, reflect on our issues and continue to evolve.

For more information on how I value humour, you might like to read “The Importance of Being Humourous“.

Postscript

Recently, Jerry Seinfeld made some comments that dovetail with what I just wrote.