I’m feeling creatively rejuvenated and inspired after a
great weekend of literary and musical events: David Sedaris at Poughkeepsie’s
Bardavon 1869 Opera House on Friday night (April 5th), and An Evening With Neil Gaiman and
Amanda Palmer at Bard College’s Richard B. Fisher Center on Saturday night (April 6th). So
now I have not just one but three amazing artists to add to my creative muses.
I’ve been a fan of David Sedaris’ humorous essays and
stories since I first read his “SantaLand Diaries” essay in the mid-‘90s – his funny
account of working as a Christmas Elf in Macy’s cracked me up so much, and I could
really relate to his cynical view of the retail holiday season, especially
after years of working in retail.
David Sedaris has written several books, been featured on
NPR, and has done many book tour appearances, including a 2008 event at the
Bardavon. Barnes & Noble had sold his books at the theatre for that
appearance, but I hadn’t been able to work that event. So I was glad to have
been part of the bookselling team at Friday’s event – we sold books and audio
books from his backlist, and took pre-orders for his newest essay collection, Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls, that’s
being released on April 23rd.
After the audience was seated, my fellow booksellers and I
got to watch David Sedaris’ reading from the back of theatre balcony. I was so
glad for the opportunity to finally see him perform.
He read from his new book, and also from some new material that
he’d written – he was so freakin' funny, telling twisted family tales and giving
outrageous observations with a deadpan delivery, like the diary entry he read
about an airport worker recognizing him that turned into a raunchy Willie
Nelson joke!
He frequently mines his family for his writing – one
memorable story involved his father bugging him incessantly to get a
colonoscopy, until he finally went through it, with his sister Lisa as moral
support. Afterwards, he felt so blissful from the anesthesia (Propofol, like
Michael Jackson used) that he wondered why he didn’t get a colonoscopy sooner.
As soon as he got home, his father called to check up on his test results.
Sedaris said that he told him that they found something, and it might be cancer
– just to hear his father’s reaction! (Definitely a twisted family tale!) After
his reading, he answered questions from the audience, and someone asked if he
really said that to his father, and Sedaris said yes – that his family has that
kind of sense of humor. Another family would never find humor in that type of
situation, but the Sedaris family does, and that’s one reason why he’s on the
stage now.
David Sedaris told the audience that it was his father’s 90th
birthday that night, and asked everyone to help him with something – he borrowed
a cell phone from an audience member and called his father, leaving him a voice
message saying that he was at the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie and that he had a
message for him – he held the phone out and all of us in the audience yelled “Happy
Birthday, Lou!” It was so cool that he included us in his birthday greeting to
his father.
Afterward, David Sedaris signed books for audience members,
and spent time having conversations with every one of us. He is known for being
accessible and accommodating to his fans, and will sign for hours to make sure
that he meets and speaks to everyone. When it was my turn to ask him to sign my
CD of his “Live at Carnegie Hall” performance, he told me I have great hair,
and signed, “To Linda – Great Hair – David Sedaris.” That was so awesome! I told him that I
was one of his booksellers for the event, and that I was so glad to finally be
able to see his reading, and he shook my hand. He asked where the store was,
and said that he’s doing a bookstore tour soon, where he can spend even more
time with the readers.
I love the humor of David Sedaris’ books, but his generosity
to his readers makes me an even bigger fan of his – for life. And it reinforces
my vow that if (when) I have a book published and am ever fortunate enough
to do book signings, I’ll make sure to take my time with every reader,
acknowledging them and letting them know how much I appreciate them. Because it’s
a great thing for a writer to create a book, but it’s the readers who truly
bring that book to life.
(posted on Monday, April 8, 2013 3:00am)
No comments:
Post a Comment