Episode 356 – Emily Flake

Virtual Memories Show 356:
Emily Flake

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“My personal brand tracks so well with physical awkwardness.”

With her new book That Was Awkward (Viking Books), cartoonist and humorist Emily Flake explores the world of awkward hugs. We get into how that book landed in her lap, why she hates drawing other people’s jokes, and how she learned (and pushes the boundaries of) the New Yorker cartoonist’s voice. We talk about the massive influence of Shary Flenniken’s Trots & Bonnie comics on her work, the question of “age-appropriate” reading and her 7-year-old kid, performing stand-up cartooning and hosting the Nightmares and Shitshow series (and getting Robyn Hitchcock to guest on that evening’s Nightmares!), how making 4-beat comic strips taught her to write humor, the guilt she felt the first time she saw someone with a tattoo of one of her gags, building up immunity to editorial rejection, and more! Plus: news about the NYC memorial service for Tom Spurgeon on Jan. 24, 2020! Give it a listen! And go buy That Was Awkward: The Art and Etiquette of the Awkward Hug!

“Halfway through art school, I realized my work got better reception if it was funny.”

“I stopped going in for Look Day. Once you can e-mail things in, why wear pants?”

Enjoy the conversation! Then check out the archives for more great episodes!

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About our Guest

Emily Flake‘s cartoons and humorous essays run regularly in The New Yorker, The Nib, and many other publications. Her weekly strip, Lulu Eightball, ran in alt-weeklies for many years. She’s written and illustrated two books: These Things Ain’t Gonna Smoke Themselves and Mama Tried. Her illustrations and cartoons appear in publications all over the world, including the New York Times, Newsweek, the Globe and Mail, The Onion, The New Statesman, and Forbes. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, daughter, and a new cat. Her new book is That Was Awkward: The Art and Etiquette of the Awkward Hug (Viking Books). She’s on Twitter and Instagram.

Credits: This episode’s music is Fella by Hal Mayforth, used with permission from the artist. The conversation was recorded at Emily’s home on a pair of Blue enCORE 200 Microphones feeding into a Zoom H5 digital recorder. I recorded the intro and outro on a Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone feeding into a Cloudlifter CL-1 and a Mackie Onyx Blackjack 2×2 USB Recording Interface. All processing and editing done in Adobe Audition CC. Photos of Emily by me. It’s on my instagram.