Sedaris...There are no angels in America....
When I was in primary school my family and I used to go on very long car trips to see our relatives in other states. One such trip was from our home in Florida to my aunt Regina's house in St. Paul Minnesota.
To entertain my sister and me on the long trip across the country, my aunt read aloud to a recording so we could listen to stories on the way. One of which was "The Santaland Diaries" by David Sedaris.
After years of hearing what my sister and I had come to know as "The funny elf story," My father introduced us to some of his other writings and, in recent months, I've been reading more and more of his work on my own.
Last night I got to go see David Sedaris do a reading in Tampa.
I had never been to a reading before so I had no idea what to expect. When David stepped onstage to begin his reading the audience broke into applause. We finally became quiet but only to start laughing the moment he began speaking.
David Sedaris, like my drama instructor, has that talent for taking something that would normally be considered vastly unfortunate and retelling it in a way that leaves you on the floor laughing. A talent which is probably hugely helped by his voice. It's hard to take any man seriously when he sounds like an eight-year-old girl, especially when he's talking about playing strip poker in Jr. High school.
After the show I got a chance to talk to David in person. He asked how old I was and I told him fifteen. He was surprised that I wasn't bored during his reading. I was surprised he thought he could be boring. I asked him if there were any other writers he looked up to or tried to be like. He told me there were authors he tried to be sometimes (Tobias Wolff for example) but it never really worked. Everyone has their own style of writing, and when you try to copy someone else's you might miss a key ingredient to their work.
I might try to write like David Sedaris, but because I am Mab, and not David Sedaris, I will never be just like him. That upset me a little. I want to be a great writer like him. He gave me a hairy bookmark though. That alone is enough to make sure he remains my favourite living writer. At least until the next Harry Potter comes out.
There are no angels in America
Quite a while ago I read a story about a girl whose favourite play was "Angels in America". That wasn't the point of the story I read, but it was mentioned. Ever since then I had wanted to see that play.
Last week I finally did start to read the play and quite honestly I was extremely impressed. I love how many lives and stories could fit into one play like that. Like a huge intricate puzzle, where every detail has a place and every place has a meaning. I love how Tony Kushner could take the lowest form of greedy manipulative right-wing corporate America, tie it together with love, hate, and addiction, homosexuality, disease and the pain of everyday life, toss it in with a little of the supernatural and still have it make enough sense to be considered one of the best plays ever (to me at least).
The symbolism in this play is so deep and complex that, to tell the truth, I haven't entirely figured it out yet. I do, however, strongly recommend this play to anyone looking to see a well-written piece of work that isn't your everyday carefree entertainment, but was design to open your eyes to a truth that maybe you'd rather not know about.
To entertain my sister and me on the long trip across the country, my aunt read aloud to a recording so we could listen to stories on the way. One of which was "The Santaland Diaries" by David Sedaris.
After years of hearing what my sister and I had come to know as "The funny elf story," My father introduced us to some of his other writings and, in recent months, I've been reading more and more of his work on my own.
Last night I got to go see David Sedaris do a reading in Tampa.
I had never been to a reading before so I had no idea what to expect. When David stepped onstage to begin his reading the audience broke into applause. We finally became quiet but only to start laughing the moment he began speaking.
David Sedaris, like my drama instructor, has that talent for taking something that would normally be considered vastly unfortunate and retelling it in a way that leaves you on the floor laughing. A talent which is probably hugely helped by his voice. It's hard to take any man seriously when he sounds like an eight-year-old girl, especially when he's talking about playing strip poker in Jr. High school.
After the show I got a chance to talk to David in person. He asked how old I was and I told him fifteen. He was surprised that I wasn't bored during his reading. I was surprised he thought he could be boring. I asked him if there were any other writers he looked up to or tried to be like. He told me there were authors he tried to be sometimes (Tobias Wolff for example) but it never really worked. Everyone has their own style of writing, and when you try to copy someone else's you might miss a key ingredient to their work.
I might try to write like David Sedaris, but because I am Mab, and not David Sedaris, I will never be just like him. That upset me a little. I want to be a great writer like him. He gave me a hairy bookmark though. That alone is enough to make sure he remains my favourite living writer. At least until the next Harry Potter comes out.
There are no angels in America
Quite a while ago I read a story about a girl whose favourite play was "Angels in America". That wasn't the point of the story I read, but it was mentioned. Ever since then I had wanted to see that play.
Last week I finally did start to read the play and quite honestly I was extremely impressed. I love how many lives and stories could fit into one play like that. Like a huge intricate puzzle, where every detail has a place and every place has a meaning. I love how Tony Kushner could take the lowest form of greedy manipulative right-wing corporate America, tie it together with love, hate, and addiction, homosexuality, disease and the pain of everyday life, toss it in with a little of the supernatural and still have it make enough sense to be considered one of the best plays ever (to me at least).
The symbolism in this play is so deep and complex that, to tell the truth, I haven't entirely figured it out yet. I do, however, strongly recommend this play to anyone looking to see a well-written piece of work that isn't your everyday carefree entertainment, but was design to open your eyes to a truth that maybe you'd rather not know about.
posted by Mabreg at 2:06 PM
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