David Sedaris Comes to the Valley

I love Zebra brand pens. They look good, they feel good, and they're durable. This was the reason I gave celebrated author David Sedaris a black, ball-point Zebra I happen to have on me, risking him thinking that maybe I was a pen salesman, sure, but I also figured someone with a line like he had for the book signing portion of his show needed a reliable pen. This was during his Friday night reading at the Jefferson Center downtown.

My wife and I showed up late - halfway into the first story Sedaris read, but still getting the gist by the end. My wife had insisted on it being a surprise, and since she'll be late to her own funeral, no doubt, by extension we were running to our balcony seats.

Sedaris read several stories, as well as some hilarious journal entries, followed by some Q and A before signing books.

My new copy of Naked was graced with a drawing of a turtle with the head of Abe Lincoln. My wife jokingly reminded me that singed books that were addressed to someone sold for a lot less, though she knew I had no intention of selling my new book - reading it, certainly.

I've read Sedaris in The New Yorker, last year's Greatest American Short Stories, and his non-fiction essays and short stories in collections Me Talk Pretty One Day and Holidays On Ice. His knack for seeing the comic potential in every situation, and the ability to communicate that comedy in an astute and complex fashion only makes the laughs that much bigger.

Though he has traveled all over, it's still nice to know the Roanoke is big enough for what seem to be annual visits (I missed him last year, alas). He's from Raleigh, which might have something to do with touring cities in the area, though I was proud to see a pretty packed house that night.

If you've not had the pleasure of reading Sedaris, his work is sure to have even the most somber cackling, and the partioned style is perfect for the person who takes months to finish a book.