September 29, 2008

• More from Sedaris (Me Talk Pretty One Day)…
  
  “After a few months in my parents’ basement, I took an apartment near the state university, where I discovered both crystal methamphetamine and conceptual art. Either one of these things is dangerous, but in combination they have the potential to destroy entire civilizations” (44).
  
  “Because I was the writing teacher, it was automatically assumed that I had read every leather-bound volume in the Library of Classics. The truth was that I had read none of those books, nor did I intend to” (86). Precisely!
  
  “As Mr. Sedaris I made it a point to type up a poorly spelled evaluation of each submitted story. I’d usually begin with the high points and end, a page or two later, by dispensing such sage professional advice as ‘Punctuation never hurt anyone’ or ‘Think verbs!’” (93)
  
  About his sister, Amy: “Her fondness for transformation began at an early age and has developed into something closely resembling a multiple personality disorder. She’s a Sybil with a better sense of humor, Eve without the crying jags. ‘And who are we today?’ my mother used to ask, leading to Amy’s ‘Who don’t you want me to be?’” (134) So, obviously, I’m more like his sister than my namesake? Perhaps.
  
  “A dopey letter is still a dopey letter, no matter how you dress it up; and there’s a reason regular people don’t appear on TV: we’re boring” (144). Yeppers.
  
  “People in New York love to tell you how exhausted they are. Then they fall apart when someone says, ‘Yeah, you look pretty tired’” (162). This occurs in every community, I would bet… because I’ve witnessed it.

  • 8:45 am
  • 2 Comments