Sedaris kicks off auditorium season

It took author David Sedaris a little while longer to take the stage than presumed.
Taking the stage late is nothing the auditorium stage hasn’t seen before; any number of performers move at their own pace.

But with Sedaris, it was different. Running onto the stage to his podium, Sedaris explained the holdup — he wanted everyone in the lobby, including those waiting to buy one of his books and meet him, to find their seats.

“Usually when I’m late, I feel like people think I’m sitting back in my dressing room watching TV or something,” he said, smiling. “It’s never my fault.”

Sedaris opened the 2010-11 auditorium season to a packed theater Wednesday. Before he began reading from his new book, “Squirrel Meets Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary,” Sedaris announced that the collection of fables would reach number five on the New York Times Best Seller list, despite initial indications that it would be released on the non-fiction list.

“They classify humor books as nonfiction,” Sedaris said of the New York Times. “But I pulled everything from this book directly out of my ass.”

Sedaris, perhaps best known as a frequent contributor to Public Radio International’s “This American Life,” has earned his reputation as one of America’s most prestigious humor writers.

Perhaps, in the greatest joke of all, he has earned this reputation while residing in France. After garnering national attention for the “SantaLand Diaries”, Sedaris’ memoirs about working in a department story during the Christmas season, Sedaris released a succession of collections of memoirs and essays, each to critical acclaim.

Known for his astute observations and commentary, as well as his self-depreciating humor, “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” Sedaris’ 2001 release, earned him the Thurber Prize for American Humor. His latest, “Squirrel Meets Chipmunk,” features essays finding animals enacting in and dealing with human life and emotion — the evolutionary step forward from the “Dogs Playing Poker” painting, if unquestionably  more intellectually stimulating.

After the performance, fans ran to the lobby, lining up to meet the author.
Sophomore Grant Williams said he decided to attend Sedaris’ performance after his parents, longtime fans of the author, convinced him the event wouldn’t disappoint. Williams said the performance lived up to the hype.

“I thought it was really funny,” he said. “It was clever; he took a lot of common, everyday experiences and put a funny twist on them. He made a lot of smart and interesting observations.”

Williams’ girlfriend, sophomore Lizzy Stone, said she also enjoyed the performance, despite having not read his material.

“I thought it was hilarious,” she said. “I want to go read his books.”

Williams confessed that he hadn’t read Sedaris’ work either, but after the performance, he was eager to start.

“It’s definitely on my to-do list,” he said.