To those who know me, it’s no surprise to hear that I’m obsessed with comedy. Simply put, I like reading and watching things that make me laugh. Recently, I’ve seen a spike in popularity of the comedic memoir, with names like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Aziz Ansari, to name a few, becoming more and more relevant. So it shouldn’t come a surprise that since it was released, Mindy Kailing’s new memoir Why Not Me? has been near the top of numerous best sellers lists.
Yet, it is a little surprising, at least to me. The memoirs and autobiographies in the humour section at my local bookstore, or on the Chapters website, are primarily those of white comedians. Amy Poehler, Tyler Oakley, Felicia Day, Ellen DeGeneres, Marmie Hart, Bill Murray, Steve Martin: these are a few of the names that pop up when you google search “comedy memoir.” Recently, however, these names have begun to diversify. In particular, more and more South Asian comedians are entering the forefront of the comedic memoir genre. Besides Mindy Kailing, whose first memoir, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) gained enough popularity to warrant writing another one, there’s Aziz Ansari’s Modern Romance and Kunal Nayyer’s Yes, My Accent Is Real, both of which have a received a substantial amount of praise.
Growing up, I hardly ever saw books by Indian authors or saw anyone on TV who looked like me. Seeing comedy diversify feels personal; to me, the fact that even one or two Indian comedy writers have made it to the display table in Chapters or the front page of Amazon Books is extraordinary. It means that more people are interested in hearing the stories of comedians of colour, stories of immigrant parents and cultural differences, stories that may differ from the dominant narrative.
The sales of memoirs like Kailing’s signify that readers are interested in stories like hers, and this opens the door to publishing houses to publish more memoirs of comedians of colour, and beyond that, other marginalized groups whose stories aren’t usually told in the comedy sphere. As the comedic memoir continues to rise in popularity, I hope diversity rises with it, as with greater access to storytelling comes greater stories, new experiences, and a look into the rich diversity of the world of comedy.