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David Sedaris Had PSU in Tears During His Humorous Talk
Elizabeth Barden
Editor in Chief
On Oct. 20, David Sedaris, author of Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, gave a talk in the Silver Center, highlighting some of pieces and talking openly about his life with the audience.
The night began with a book signing and meet-and-greet as members of the University and surrounding community gathered into the Hanaway Theatre.
Sedaris opened by reading one of his pieces recently published in the New Yorker, titled “A Modest Proposal.” It’s description reads, “Now gay people are as good as any other dopes who want to get married.”
“He presented pieces I've read before, so I thought it would be disappointing at the start, but it turned out to be vastly more entertaining than I'd imagined,” said Dr. Metasebia Woldemariam, associate professor of communication and media studies and longtime reader of Sedaris’s work. “His inflection as reading those pieces brought them alive and made the stories new again for me.”
Sedaris would break away from his readings to comment and add details, and laughter filled the Hanaway Theatre throughout the show. He spoke of his aging father, his loyal and stubborn boyfriend, his beach house, which he named “the sea section,” pornography he has found on the road while picking up trash and the interesting people he has met on tour.
“He has a cynical way about him that had everyone bent over in their seats laughing,” said Ben Hunton, senior communication major.
He spoke of politics, cultural issues and downright issues we are faced with everyday. This included everything from “national conversations” to Donald Trump to racial issues. Sedaris hit every issue with humor and a side of grace.
“He has a comedian's timing and ability to turn mundane daily issues into things to think about,” said Woldemariam.
Toward the end of the talk, he pulled out copies of diary entries he had written throughout his life and decided to share them with the audience. He said that it was his way of figuring out which pieces work and which don’t so he can add them to a file he later looks at for story pieces.
The audience took to the humor, which made Sedaris laugh to himself a bit explaining that sometimes audiences don’t take well to particular topics. PSU made a warm welcome and may have helped David Sedaris choose his next piece.
Check out: http://www.plymouth.edu/silver-center/ to find out what’s happening next.
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