Codrescu Brings Humor to ECU
East Carolina University hosted a Humor Festival in Greenville, N.C. which provided a rare opportunity for professional speakers to interact with students in a variety of humorous ways.
Andrei Codrescu was among one of the renowned speakers at the festival. Codrescu is popular for his poetry, novels, essays, screen writes, and commentaries on the National Public Radio.
On November 1, 2007, Codrescu spoke to an audience of students, professors, and fans at a conference that was held in the ECU Hendrix Theater.
A moderator gave an introduction to Codrescu before he was welcomed to the stage. The moderator spoke of some of Codrescu’s previous work, one which was an essay about electric chairs.
After the quick introduction, and the thought of electric chairs, the audience gained a glimpse of what Codrescu was about to offer to the conference.
When Codrescu was applauded to the stage, he merely made it above the microphone. A short man indeed, he did not hold back from cynical jokes and selflessly pointing out the fact that he was eating the microphone.
Codrescu shared an essay he had recently written entitled, ‘Sit down Wolf,’ which was around 45 minutes of political correctness and laughter.
Originally from Romania, Codrescu was subjected to a communist government which fashioned him into the political writer he is today.
Codrescu made points about government, communist and democratic, and how jokes are what keep people in line when it comes to politics.
A political writer indeed, Codrescu’s essay was a roundabout essay speaking lightly on government issues. However, Codrescu had a keen way to himself and how he presented his information.
Codrescu read his essay as though he had memorized it. He was aware and knew when the audience would respond with laughter. It was easy to tell he had spoken in front of large audiences numerous times before.
The audience applauded him and his entirety when he jokingly spoke of Wolf Blitzer, the infamous CNN news anchor.
Codrescu explained how shows like ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’ and ‘The Colbert Report’ with Stephen Colbert, are becoming a more popular way to receive news than actual news stations.
At the end of Codrescu’s speech, he opened the floor up to the audience to ask questions.
An audience member asked if Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath would ever be looked at as a way to make political jokes.
Codrescu responded calmly saying that there are some things that are too deep and have impacted too many people to ever be looked at as a joke.
“Take the Holocaust for example,” stated Codrescu.
This was ECU’s first Humor Festival and was sponsored by many departments within the University.
Filed under: HumorFest Reports