Sedaris on New York

David Sedaris Courtesy Hugh Hamrick

Commentator David Sedaris lived in New York City for a number of years. It was his adopted home, and he had some interesting views on its institutions and its people. He shared some of those views with Morning Edition listeners during the fall of 1998.

On October 5th, David recalled working for a small moving company in New York.

In his October 12th essay, he described his disdain for New York’s restaurants, saying, "I’ve never thought of myself as a finicky eater, but it’s hard to be a good sport when each entree includes a paragraph long description listing no fewer than 18 ingredients, one of which I’m bound to dislike.

On October 19th, David explored some the safety concerns he, his father, and you, might have about New York City.

During the October 26th edition of the `Visitors Guide to New York City,' he recalled some of the cashiers he had dealt with, their carefully cultivated fingernails, and the cult of body piercing.

For his November 2nd report he recalled with horror guiding his sister's friend, who had never ventured more than 50 miles from her Goldsboro, North Carolina, home, around New York.

In his final essay November 9th, David recalled his attempt to escape New York during a vacation in France. He found that New York was all people he met on his trip wanted to talk about.

Sedaris first appeared on Morning Edition in 1992, recounting his strange-but-true experiences working for Macy's Department Store as a Christmas elf clad in green tights. The sardonic humor and incisive social critique of the SantaLand Diaries essay made it one of public radio’s most popular stories. Sedaris went on to tell many stories on Morning Edition and eventually authored the best-selling Barrel Fever and Naked for Little, Brown. His SantaLand Diaries were also converted into a popular one-man show.