American writer and humorist David Sedaris will be speaking on Tuesday, April 30 at the Michigan Theater. The show is titled “An Evening with David Sedaris.”
Sedaris is well known for his satirical commentary and sharp wit and is also considered one of the most forefront humor writers in the country. He has been compared to Mark Twain and Dorothy Parker. One of his popular publications and a best-seller is “Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls.” (2013). Other books and essays include: “Barrel Fever and Holidays on Ice,” and personal essay collections, “Naked,” “Me Talk Pretty One Day(2000), ’“Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim” (2024), “When You Are Engulfed in Flames.”
Sedaris was nominated for a 56th Annual GRAMMY Award for his audio version of “Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls.” He also edited “Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules: An Anthology of Outstanding Stories.”
Much of the humor that Sedaris presents is about himself. He was reportedly discovered by NPR radio host Ira Glass. His first appearance on National Public Radio was in December 1992 where he read his story “The SantaLand Diaries,” where he recalled his memories of portraying an elf at Macy’s department store. After that broadcast, his essays proliferated in magazines like The New Yorker, Esquire, and Harpers.
Sedaris’s first book was “Barrel Fever” published in 1994. In 1997, “Naked” was published which explored a characterization of his lively mother. In 2000, in the book “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” he explored methods in which communication fails. Sedaris was awarded the Thurber Prize for American Humor in 2001.
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Sedaris was born in Johnson City, New York. His was of Greek heritage and his mother was Anglo-American. His mother had a Protestant background while his father was Greek Orthodox, the faith in which David was raised. When David was young, they moved to a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina. He attended various Universities and experimented in visual and performance art. In 1983 he moved to Chicago and in 1987 graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
“An Evening with David Sedaris.” Michigan Theater. April 30. 7:30pm. Tickets.
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Donna Marie Iadipaolo is a writer, journalist, and State of Michigan certified teacher, since 1990. She has written for national publications like The Village Voice, Ear Magazine of New Music, Insurance & Technology, and TheStreet.
She is now writing locally for many publications, including Current Magazine, Ann Arbor Family, and the Ann Arbor Independent. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she graduated with an honors bachelor’s degree and three teacher certificate majors: mathematics, social sciences, English. She also earned three graduate degrees in Master of Science, Master of Arts, and Education Specialist Degree.
