Stand-up Comedy in Theory, or, Abjection in AmericaStand Up Comedy in Theory, or, Abjection in America is the first study of stand up comedy as a form of art. John Limon appreciates and analyzes the specific practice of stand up itself, moving beyond theories of the joke, of the comic, and of comedy in general to read stand up through the lens of literary and cultural theory. Limon argues that stand up is an artform best defined by its fascination with the abject, Julia Kristevas term for those