By Jeanni Ritchie
April is National Humor Month, founded in 1976 by author Larry Wilde to highlight the therapeutic benefits of laughter, joy, and silliness. Celebrated annually, it promotes humor as a way to reduce stress, improve mental health, and even boost immunity.
The Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop is also held during National Humor Month. Hosted at the University of Dayton, it has been dubbed the “Woodstock of Humor” and a “utopia” for writers. This year marked the 25th anniversary of Erma.
The workshop’s mission is simple: to encourage and inspire writers in the same way that celebrated columnist and author Erma Bombeck once found encouragement there herself. Its mantra is timeless: “You can write!”
It was a humorous piece I’d written that earned me an all-expense-paid trip to Ohio to attend this year’s workshop.
And just like that, I found myself in Dayton… and I laughed for three straight days.
I met writers from every walk of life—judges, teachers, photographers, insurance agents, college students, copy editors—all drawn together by a shared love of storytelling laced with humor.
Halfway through hors d’oeuvres one evening, I realized I was talking with a literary agent and wondered if I should pitch… or keep talking about the charcuterie board.
Between early mornings, late nights, and more than one snooze-button negotiation, I powered through with Coca-Cola and laughter—the weekend proof that humor is the true universal language.
And then, it was time to leave.
Because as Erma once famously said, “When you start looking like your passport photo, it’s time to go home!”
