NPR humorist and best-selling author David Sedaris comes to UB Oct. 18

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Center for the Arts at the University at Buffalo will present David Sedaris on Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Mainstage Theatre in the Center for the Arts, UB North Campus. A book signing will follow.

The great skill with which Sedaris slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves that he is a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today. His sardonic wit, often autobiographical and self-deprecating, has helped to establish Sedaris as one of America's pre-eminent humor writers.

Sedaris has written Barrel Fever and Holidays on Ice, as well as collections of personal essays, Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and When You Are Engulfed in Flames, each of which became a bestseller. To date, his books have collectively sold more than 7 million copies and have been translated into 25 different languages.

Sedaris' first big break came when he read a portion of his essay SantaLand Diaries on National Public Radio's Morning Edition. Since then, Sedaris' pieces have appeared regularly in The New Yorker and have twice been included in "The Best American Essays." His latest book, a collection of fables entitled Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary (with illustrations by Ian Falconer), was published in September 2010 and immediately hit The New York Times Bestseller Fiction List.

About David Sedaris, The San Francisco Chronicle has said, "Sedaris belongs on any list of people writing in English at the moment who are revising our ideas about what's funny." Toronto Globe & Mail has said, "Sedaris has hit upon the narrative equivalent of Pepsi, or the PlayStation, or oxygen, or the haircut: something that others in the world might actually want and find useful. . . He's smart, he's caustic, he's mordant, and, somehow, he's… well, nice."

Tickets for David Sedaris are $38.50. Tickets are available at the Center for the Arts Box Office (Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and all Ticketmaster locations, including ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets, call 1-800-745-3000; in Canada, call 416-870-8000. For group sales, call 716-645-6771. For more information call 716-645-2787.