LEADER 03175oam 2200469 450 001 9910794526203321 005 20231207220710.0 010 $a1-951213-38-6 035 $a(CKB)4100000011999176 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC6455136 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL6455136 035 $a(OCoLC)1256255096 035 $a(EXLCZ)994100000011999176 100 $a20210929d2021 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcnu|||||||| 181 $ctxt$2rdacontent 182 $cc$2rdamedia 183 $acr$2rdacarrier 200 10$aRude talk in Athens $eancient rivals, the birth of comedy, and a writer's journey through Greece /$fMark Haskell Smith 210 1$aLos Angeles :$cThe Unnamed Press,$d[2021] 210 4$dİ2021 215 $a1 online resource (210 pages) $cillustrations 311 0 $a1-951213-34-3 330 $aIn ancient Athens, thousands would attend theatre festivals that turned writing into a fierce battle for fame, money, and laughably large trophies. While the tragedies earned artistic respect, it was the comedies--the raunchy jokes, vulgar innuendo, outrageous invention, and barbed political commentary--that captured the imagination of the city. The writers of these comedic plays feuded openly, insulting one another from the stage, each production more inventive and outlandish than the last, as they tried to win first prize. Of these writers, only the work of Aristophanes has survived and it's only through his plays that we know about his peers: Cratinus, the great lush; Eupolis, the copycat; and Ariphrades, the sexual deviant. It might have been the golden age of Democracy, but for comic playwrights, it was the age of Rude Talk. Watching a production of an Aristophanes play in 2019 CE and seeing the audience laugh uproariously at every joke, Mark Haskell Smith began to wonder: what does it tell us about society and humanity that these ancient punchlines still land? When insults and jokes made thousands of years ago continue to be both offensive and still make us laugh? Through conversations with historians, politicians, and other writers, the always witty and effusive Smith embarks on a personal mission (bordering on obsession) exploring the life of one of these unknown writers, and how comedy challenged the patriarchy, the military, and the powers that be, both then and now. A comic writer himself and author of many books and screenplays, Smith also looks back at his own career, his love for the uniquely dynamic city of Athens, and what it means for a writer to leave a legacy. 606 $aAuthors, Greek 606 $aGreek drama (Comedy)$xAppreciation 606 $aGreek drama (Comedy)$xHistory and criticism 606 $aLiterary quarrels$zGreece$xHistory$yTo 1500 615 0$aAuthors, Greek. 615 0$aGreek drama (Comedy)$xAppreciation. 615 0$aGreek drama (Comedy)$xHistory and criticism. 615 0$aLiterary quarrels$xHistory 676 $a929.605 700 $aSmith$b Mark Haskell$01354382 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910794526203321 996 $aRude talk in Athens$93718571 997 $aUNINA