“Humor can be dissected, as a frog can,” wrote the essayist E. B. White, “but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind.” Humor is difficult to explain and define, because our perceptions of what’s “funny” are so subjective. One thing is certain, however: comic writers are careful writers, regardless of the genre in which they are working. All comic forms require a sensitivity to the sound, rhythm, and suggestiveness of words. Moreover, humorous writing can take on serious subjects as well as light ones. If that seems contradictory, consider the comic “fools” in the works of Shakespeare, who are usually the bearers of uncomfortable and sobering truths. Similarly, the writers of reflective essays can use humor to deepen our understanding, make surprising connections, or startle us into viewing familiar things from unfamiliar angles.

In reflective essays, comic writers frequently assume the role of observers and interpreters. The subjects — and objects — of humor can be sobering, even as they make us laugh: human fallibility, the disparity between the “ideal” and the “real,” the incongruities and ironies of everyday life. Sometimes they try to make sense of obviously absurd or comic situations; at other times, they reveal the subtle absurdity of day-to-day life. In both cases, they make connections and share insights with readers, almost always from an eccentric, original, and profoundly personal point of view. When they succeed, our own point of view may be altered — permanently.