On Sept. 25, stand-up comedian Owen Benjamin was the guest speaker for the 2017 Living Writers Series. The series acts as a class in which various writers, from poets to published novelists, visit the Marano Campus Center auditorium and discuss their writing process, their experiences thus far in their careers and sometimes their life in general with students.

The talks are also open to the rest of campus and the community. Juliet Giglio, assistant professor at Oswego State, organizes the class and is in charge of recruiting guests to visit. “Whoever’s teaching it has to, starting nine months before or a year before, you have to book all the writers.

You have to kind of make a good blend of people so that you don’t have all fiction writers or all poets,” Giglio said. “Then, over the summer, I sort of created a theme, that was Find Your Voice, after I had looked at all of the authors we had coming.” Giglio hopes to help students understand what makes them unique and to dig deeper within themselves to be vulnerable and discover what is truly important in their lives.

All of this is done so those attending class can advance as writers and develop a personalized style. Benjamin fits in perfectly with this year’s theme. A deep intellectual background and strong presence on social media sets him apart from other comedians, and he is okay with that. He has had two stand-up specials released on Comedy Central, and has also appeared on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Chelsea Lately” and “Inside Amy Schumer.” Although comedy is his primary passion, he has appeared in films such as “The House Bunny,” “Jack & Jill,” “Staten Island Summer,” while recurring as a character on TBS’ “Sullivan & Son.” He is also writing a book with the publishing company Norton Books.

Perhaps the most interesting part about Benjamin is where he grew up, which is here in Oswego, New York, a city not usually known for being the stomping grounds of anybody getting their names in headlines. Benjamin has love for Oswego, but said it is kind of a horrible place.

That was not an issue for him though, as he found it to be the best groundwork for writing comedy. “Having the kind of contradiction between my parents who really encouraged reading and learning and being more in the college business and all my friends just being small-town bros,” Benjamin said. “I think that contradiction allowed me to kind of operate between the visceral life of the emotional and the abstract world of the intellectual.” Benjamin’s parents are both professors at Oswego State.

His opera-loving father currently teaches public speaking among other courses, and his mother teaches children’s literature. Benjamin grew up surrounded by knowledge and parents who allowed him to explore in any direction he felt like traveling. One thing he is known for, regarding his act, is he enjoys incorporating piano playing. He believes there is a connection between music and comedy and the two can share a similar rhythm, sometimes resulting in the production of a song that is peculiarly hilarious. Benjamin, who attended SUNY Plattsburgh, said if he were not a stand-up comedian today, he would be a history teacher.

Benjamin answered various questions about his writing process, with topics diving into politics, society, tales from his career and looking at life from different viewpoints. Throughout all of the questions, he quoted numerous historical events and related them to events reminiscent of today’s struggles, from World War II and exploring Adolf Hitler’s mindset to President Donald Trump’s true intentions to many other historical periods.

It was impressive that a guy made out to be a simple comic was truly a layered intellect. Benjamin said comedy is a dark art. He believes being vulnerable, writing what you know and attempting to perfect the craft of stand-up comedy rather than making others like you are all essential elements of the art form. He believes that comedy is one of the last honest forms of truth, and sometimes people get angry at the truth. It is not other people who are the enemy; the enemy is ourselves.

Our own demons are what need to be conquered, not other people. He is wary of alienating the audience, something he does not want to do, but comedy is meant to push the limits of certain things. Mocking is another essential element, but not to the point of self-hatred, which is a nasty quality to which the audience will not respond positively.

It is all about surfing the fine line. “I remember the first time I made an all-Hispanic crowd in Miami buckle with laughter I knew that comedy transcended culture,” Benjamin said. “That it could go anywhere and the right joke could move people that I never knew growing up laugh, and that was very moving for me.” The next speaker visiting the Living Writer Series is Lindy West, a columnist and author, who will appear Oct. 11 in the Marano Campus Center auditorium.

Photo: Dominick Lioto | The Oswegonian