WWU Psychology Professor Emeritus Lou Lippman to Speak About Puns and Science April 13 at Wilson Library

Western Washington University Emeritus Professor of Psychology Louis Lippman will present “A Lifetime of Humor: Puns Meet Science,” as part of the Western Libraries Reading Series from 4-5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 13, in Special Collections on Wilson Library’s sixth floor.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

What do a high school essay, the USA bicentennial, Edward L. Stratemeyer, and “Worm Runner’s Digest” have to do with the development of a collection of original stories? Get answers to those questions and more when Lippman discusses his book, a unique collection of 176 original vignettes, each culminating in a pun or spoonerism.

The stories are unrelated to one another and with few exceptions, are not longer than a single page, making the book ideal for people with limited reading time or for those who seek small doses of levity. The book also features a foreword that describes how an intuition about enhancing the humor value of fables led to a series of empirical studies.

Lippman taught experimental psychology courses at Western for 42 years, and his research focuses included learning, sports psychology and humor. He wrote articles for Worm Runner’s Digest and the Journal of Irreproducible Results (science humor), and is on editorial boards for the Annals of Improbable Research and the Journal of Irreproducible Results.

This event is being offered as part of the Western Libraries Reading Series, dedicated to showcasing the scholarly and creative work of Western faculty by featuring diverse speakers from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines who are engaged in research, writing, and teaching at Western.

For more information about this event, please contact Western Libraries Scholarly Communications Librarian Jenny Oleen at (360) 650-2613 or Jenny.Oleen@wwu.edu.