English professor Gina Barreca, dubbed the \u201cfeminist humor maven\u201d by Ms. Magazine has kept us laughing through 10 books from \u201cI Used to Be Snow White But I Drifted\u201d to \u201cIf You Lean In, Will Men just Look Down Your Blouse?\u201d Her latest, though, invites others to the party. \u201cIt\u2019s like that children\u2019s book \u2018Stone Soup,\u2019\u201d she says of the \u201clittle of this, little of that\u201d approach she took to editing \u201cFast Funny Women: 75 Essays of Flash Fiction.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the compilation Barreca brought together 75 writers including Jane Smiley, Mimi Pond, Fay Weldon, Marge Piercy, and Judy Sheindlin aka Judge Judy \u2014 and 35 UConn students, alums, and staffers. \u201cI thought, \u2018I want emerging writers, I want students, who might not have their voices heard, alongside these foundational writers,\u2019\u201d says Barreca. English major Nicole Catarino \u201922 (CLAS) is one of those students. She also helped Barreca put the book together. \u201cShe said, \u2018We\u2019re making a book and I want you in it,\u2019\u201d says Catarino, \u201cwhich was massive for me. It\u2019s such an honor to be side by side with these women. My confidence has skyrocketed.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not surprising that Barreca would find a pandemic project like this. \u201cMaking comedy, making a story, has always been my way to cope,\u201d she says. And she is known for gathering people. Pre-Covid, friends, students, and former students were always stopping by Barreca\u2019s office, which she describes as \u201ca cross between a pi\u00f1ata, a toy store, and an Italian deli. Everybody comes, we eat, we talk.\u201d Even more than humor, perhaps, this is Barreca\u2019s brand \u2014 bringing people together to support one another in a community, as she says, \u201cbased on letters, on a love of words.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDartmouth may have Gina\u2019s papers. The Friars Club may have Gina\u2019s photo. Thankfully, UConn has Gina\u2019s living legacy of students and alumni,\u201d is how Laura Rossi Totten \u201991 (CLAS), another English major, puts it.<\/p>\n