I heard David speak/perform readings of his work at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center last night. I feel that we are now on a first-name basis because I love his work and am amazed at his talent as a wordsmith. I have read all of his books several times, so seeing him in person was phenomenal.
David is a playwright and a regular commentator for National Public Radio. He is also the author of the bestselling Barrel Fever, Naked, Holidays on Ice, and Me Talk Pretty One Day. Central concerns of his writing – family and childhood – are ones that everyone can relate to. He travels extensively though Europe and the United States on lecture tours and lives in France.
David grew up in Raleigh, NC, was discovered by at a Chicago club who heard him read his diaries. David's stories are enlightening, hysterical, laugh out loud. He captures the essence of our humanity, parodies family, and his descriptions and stories are intentionally exaggerated and manipulated to maximize comic effect.
Sedaris became a frequent contributor on a Chicago Public Broadcasting radio show. He essays appear in Esquire and The New Yorker. He was named "Humorist of the Year" by Time magazine. He received an honorary doctorate from State University of New York at Binghamton.
Sedaris has a skewed sense of humor and his spot-on observance of those peccadilloes in daily life that ultimately makes us laugh at ourselves. David's family, friends, and neighbors again serve as fodder for his short essays, from his miserly Dad to his slovenly brother, to his sister whose sense of humor may be more outrageous than his.
His performance and readings last night had the audience laughing out loud the entire evening---the kind of laughing that makes you cry and grab your sides.
If you'd like to read his work, start with "Santaland Diaries."
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