Photo Credit: David Sedaris’s Facebook page
When David Sedaris came on stage in a suit one could only classify as avant-garde, the audience knew they were in for a treat and the reading has not even begun. Without preamble, the humorist launched into an essay addressing his fashion choice and his recent trip to Japan. While a funny enough story about fashion and investing in what makes you happy, the highlights of Sedaris’s performance struck much later in the evening.
In his second reading, Sedaris launched into familiar territory—his family. He recounted Emerald Isle, a childhood vacation spot in North Carolina where he had purchased a vacation home, lovingly named the Sea Section. Anyone familiar with Sedaris’s work is also very familiar with the whole Sedaris clan. They inhabit his books like old friends and you sometimes feel you know their quirks than those of your own relatives. What makes a Sedaris reading memorable is his ability to seamlessly guide a story from rancourous jokes to raw emotion.
In particular, my heart broke hearing the story of his final interaction with Tiffany, before she had committed suicide. At the time of her death, they had not spoken for several years. The last time he saw her was at the Symphony Hall in Boston, when he was on the verge of performing at the beginning of a tour. Sedaris recalled to us that final interaction “she shouted through the crowd “‘David. David. It’s me. Your sister. I have something for you.’ And there was a guard holding the door open. And I said, ‘Could you close the door, please?’ And he shut the door in her face and I never saw her again.” No jokes. No guilt. Just honesty.
Sedaris’s candor offers us not only a model of how to deal with familial difficulties but also allows us to admit that family is never one feeling or emotion. It is an emotional ecosystem of love, anger, sadness, and–of course–laughter.
Sedaris ended his formal presentation with a reading from his recently released book, Theft by Finding, which features diary entries from four decades of journal writing. A rocket fire change of pace from his previous story, Sedaris recited to us entries that ranged from pages to mere sentences in length. While some landed more with the audience than others, it was clear to me that even in his earliest years, Sedaris viewed the world through a lens brimming with wit and humor.
Finally, the Sedaris spent the final 30 minutes of the show answers questions from the audience. It is clear that Sedaris delights in meeting his fans. He even held a book signing both before and after the show. While certainly his written works already make you feel like you know him as a friend, there is something special about attending a show and feeling a similar sort of treatment from the living breathing version of artist you admire. Answering questions that ranged from derivative to highly personal, Sedaris treated each question-asker with an admirable respect.
My only regret from this performance was that he did not recount to us his essay on an (in)famous Dutch holiday tradition:
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