Talk:David Sedaris

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[edit] Main Article Picture and Question About Hugh

Does anyone have a picture of Sedaris that is a bit more flattering then the current one? I know David Sedaris is middle-aged and all, but this picture makes him look dopey (and he is anything but that.)

Also, Sedaris' boyfriend, Hugh Hamrick, is a successful artist, photographer, and director. Does anyone have some information regarding Hugh that would make for a worthwhile Wikipedia entry? BadMojoDE 23:34, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Naked date?

In-text says 1996, the link at the end says 1997. Which is correct?--AaronM 17:38, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Re: youcantkilltherooster.com

Why isn't youcantkilltherooster.com pertinent?

I think because it isn't technically a David Sedaris page, rather a products page linked to from Paul Sedaris' company site, http://www.sedarishardwoodfloors.com, which doesn't technically pertain to David Sedaris (directly) either. But I'm pretty indifferent on the issue. I think www.youcantkilltherooster.com could be useful to a David Sedaris fan looking for a product related to that story. Dharma 15:48, August 9, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Sedaris New Yorker gig a regular one?

David Sedaris seems to have been taken on as a formal contributor to the New Yorker -- his second (third?) piece this year just arrived in the last issue. Given that...

1. if it turns out to be true, the abovementioned new role at TNY should be menitoned. 2. the external link to the FIRST article (listed as from Feb. 2005?) should be deleted, as it would be too specific to link to just one article if he's going to be a regular there.

Thoughts? Jfarber 21:27, May 15, 2006 (EST)

Certainly. Inoculatedcities 05:41, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Jewish Heritage

The claim that he is of Jewish heritage is something of a surprise since most of his work is heavily autobiographical and I am pretty sure it is never mentioned, and it seems like it would be a topic ripe for dissection. Can anyone substantiate this claim? jordan 13:39, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

To my knowledge, he only mention he makes of a family religious heritage is Greek Orthodox. One of his books -- Me Talk Pretty One Day, I think -- has an extended section talking about his family's customs of celebrating Orthodox Easter (noting especially the fact that it usually takes place one week after the Easter celebration of other Christian traditions). Personal opinion: The misinformation may simply come from someone's stereotypical associations of Jewish heritage with either humorists or New Yorkers.Lawikitejana 23:11, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
Sedaris is not Jewish. As user Lawikitejana has mentioned, his heritage is Greek Orthodox. In Naked, however, there is a story which recounts his experience working for an anti-Semitic woman.Radishes (talk) 21:49, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] david sedaris picture

David Sedaris metiones that in his neighborhood in Raleigh their were very little Jewish households along with his Greek orthodox background in his audio version of Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. Also in the audio version of Naked he mentions that his fathers parents were immigrants from Greece along with the fact that they were Greek orthodox. His father was also Greek orthodox acording to the same audiobook. Also of note in Naked was his story of the time when he was forced by his father to go on a trip to a greek camp for those who were Greek orthodox. He finaly mentiones it in his book Me Talk Pretty One Day that he is Greek orthodox. That is three diffrent books to mention his religion.

[edit] Alex Heard's article

Too little attention is paid in the "criticism" section to Alex Heard's "This American Lie." Sedaris's readers, including myself, expect his work to contain a good amount of comic exaggeration. But Heard's article states that not only is Sedaris's work exaggerated, but that Heard contacted Sedaris, who admitted that parts of his essays, including almost everything he wrote about his midget piano teacher in "Giant Dreams, Midget Abilities," was false. If this is true, it should merit more than a short one-paragraph summary/dismissal. However, I'm not sure if Sedaris has confirmed or denied his conversation with Heard. If Heard's information is confirmed, we might add a few sentences to the "Criticism" section. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Graymornings (talk • contribs) 23:47, 2 May 2007 (UTC).

[edit] "Criticism" section

I'm of the opinion that the "Criticism" section is unnecessary and should be removed. Anyone? --AStanhope 02:37, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

Well, I think it's of note that the veracity of many autobiographical elements in David's stories has been challenged. If I remember correctly, even his sister Amy has admitted that the stories are, as is aptly put in the article here, "exaggerated for comic effect" (see paragraph above re: Alex Heard). It's relevant if not all that important. Inoculatedcities 05:41, 11 July 2007 (UTC)
I have seen David Sedaris speak a few times, and last year (in Santa Cruz), the debate about "A Million Little Pieces" was in full swing. I don't remember his exact wording, but it was along the lines of "the last place you would want to look for the truth is in an autobiography". Having read his books, in many cases several times, it is clear that not everything is totally true, but that doesn't matter. In my opinion, his themes and messages the important part, and the fact that he is a comedian, not a historian, gives him license to say whatever he wants. That, and the fact that he admits openly not everything is true. 71.143.108.105 20:31, 31 August 2007 (UTC)
The issue here is that David Sedaris has never explicitly stated that anything in his essays is truly autobiographical. Sure, the stories may come from events which actually transpired, but has he ever publicly admitted that the essays he writes are complete fiction? I think the burden of proof lies with the columnist(s) that accuse him of lying – and not with Sedaris himself. BadMojoDE 23:41, 1 October 2007 (UTC)
Let me state that I have read a few of Sedaris' books, and I thoroughly enjoy them. That said, his work does imply that a certain degree of truthfulness is necessary, and if his works are "part fiction," then that should be indicated here in this article. To paraphrase an author's note found on the copyright page of Naked, "The stories in this book are true. Names and identifying characteristics of characters have been changed." This is Sedaris directly claiming that his works are true. Regardless of how this turns out, David Sedaris is one of the most entertaining writers around. Radishes (talk) 21:54, 22 January 2008 (UTC)
The questions Heard brought up about veracity in Sedaris' works focus primarily upon one book: Naked. When that book was written Sedaris was still finding a voice as a writer and, if you recall, his earlier works (Barrel Fever and Holidays On Ice) were in-part works of fiction. In other words they were works that comprised a handful of autobiographical essays and a handful of works of pure fiction. "Naked" does include one essay of almost pure fiction (he did volunteer at a psychiatric hospital in his hometown but his duties there were significantly different from the ones detailed in his story) and in other essays, particularly Something for Everyone and C.O.G., some dialogue is made up. In "Me Talk Pretty One Day" two essays in particular have elements of fiction: Giant Dreams, Midget Abilities and The Late Show. Giant Dreams is a true scenario - he was forced into guitar lessons and his teacher was a little person - but the guitar teacher's personal characteristics were changed and, if I'm not mistaken, the homophobia incident was entirely made up. The Late Show is fiction in that it is specifically an essay about his late-night fantasies; dreams about the things he fantasizes he could do and be. Heard, as a news journalist, judged Sedaris I believe from the position of a news writer, a practice that demands strict accuracy and fairness. As a memoirist Sedaris should be judged, I believe, by a different set of rules. Memoirs are personal and emotional, just as all the stories we tell about ourselves are colored by what we know happened, what we wished happened and what we might have forgot happened. It appears to me that most of the elements of his work are true – that is, the stories are based on true events – but much of the dialogue and identifying elements of the characters seem to be larger than life. Is there any humorous memoirist that has never embellished or exaggerated for the sake of a chuckle? Dave Barry, Bill Bryson or Mark Twain? Could we hold Augusten Burroughs to every word he wrote? What seems most honest about Sedaris’ works are the emotional elements of his stories – the feelings of alienation and confusion, the envy and disappointment – that render the tales true for everyone who has experienced similar feelings and not merely true for the writer. The label “non-fiction” and the author’s note are used by the publishing industry as aids to the classification and cataloging of the published works. There has yet to be established a category called “creative non-fiction.” We simply call that “memoirs.” Wickedwonz (talk) 02:56, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Re: "Greek Orthodox Christians" category

I have yet to find any evidence that Sedaris subscribes to any particular religious denomination; just because one's parents are of a particular religious background does not necessarily imply that one subscribes to the religion (to me this seems to be an obvious point). Furthermore, his homosexuality gives me serious reason to doubt that he is in fact a Greek Orthodox Christian. If there is any evidence for this paradoxical subscription on his part, please do post it here. In the meantime, in the absence of evidence, it shall be removed. Inoculatedcities 05:41, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

According to Sedaris himself, he was born and raised in the Greek Orthodox Church. (See bibliography.) As to his current religious beliefs, I have no clue. But isn't this a cultural matter just as much as a religious one? I believe he should be categorized as Greek Orthodox, especially since he's written about his upbringing in such close detail. BadMojoDE 23:50, 1 October 2007 (UTC)
One can be a homosexual and a Greek Orthodox Christian at the same time - or a mainstream Christian, practising Muslim, observant Jew, whatever. Since we are not here to judge according to our personal beliefs (I believe) please let the reference stand as Sedaris has written of his experiences attending Greek Orthodox church in Raleigh until the age of seventeen in more than one essay. I do agree, however, that this seems more a cultural matter in Sedaris' case since he doesn't appear to be particularly religious himself.Wickedwonz (talk) 02:17, 26 March 2008 (UTC)