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David Sedaris

 David Sedaris doesn't care whether we like him -- and this sense of indifference is his superpower.


Sedaris is repelled by certain pandemic-era behaviors. If you use the word "heroes," "hunker-down," "new normal," then you're disinvited from a Sedaris dinner party. Also, Sedaris thinks it's absurd that people are angry that Ellen DeGeneres lives in a mansion. Do you know who bought that mansion? You did, when you supported "Finding Nemo."

Bluntly, Sedaris recalls visiting a white movie star many years ago. A Black woman was dishing out the meal. "You make her work so late?" asked Sedaris. And the movie star said, "She's not my employee. She's my wife."

This level of honesty is impressive to me. It's more impressive than Anna Kendrick appearing on "Colbert," announcing that she spent the weekend watching the documentary "13th," so she could educate herself.

Finally, and boldly, Sedaris expresses some impatience with the orthodoxies of 2022. "Five years ago, I could begin a story by noting that I woke up and washed my face. Today, if I wrote that, people would post on the Times site: How lucky for you that you can *wash* your *face* ... That must be nice. I can't even remember what it's like to have a face. I have only a neck and one cheek. If I tried to wash, the water would dribble down to my toes, or it would just collect in a pond, in the crater where my nose once was. But do go on. Do tell me about your washing process. And enjoy your privilege...."

I admire Sedaris's ballsiness, and his commitment to his art. He says he is a poor teacher, but I think he *does* teach; he teaches people effectively, through his fearless writing.
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