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"Years of Inner Nunnitude": Saunders on Letterman

Filed under: The Squib Report Tagged: books, David Letterman, George Saunders, Steve Martin, TV

One Good Move has video of George Saunders's September 6 appearance on Letterman. I thought he was very entertaining. (The commenters at One Good Move seem a bit crabby, though.) You can assure yourself of precisely that manner of tomfoolery if you attend one of the many Saunders events in the coming weeks.

I love David Letterman, but I would never accuse him of being in the least highbrow. Perhaps Saunders will spark a trend! I'm sensing a good opportunity for a little reader participation.

Question: Steve Martin aside (he's always the big outlier in such matters), can anyone think of other "serious" writers appearing on the show? I'm pondering who the least likely literary guest Letterman ever had might have been. (My brain just concocted a fleeting image of Beckett grimacing at Paul Shaffer.) Is there a good resource for checking past Letterman guests? If not, I'm sure our readers have plenty of mind-blowing anecdotal evidence to share.

As far as I'm concerned, we can consider the NBC show as part of this too. (Hat tip: The Millions and Paper Cuts.) —Martin Schneider

2 comments

Comments

Tom Stoppard was on Letterman many years ago. A big tall long-haired guy, he kind of looked like, if you didn't know who he was, he might be an aging rock musician from the Alice Cooper band or Queen or something. I think he told a story about Mike Nichols. That's all I remember.

DavidSeptember 12, 2007

Tom Wolfe, I think, has been on Letterman.

DavidSeptember 13, 2007

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Emdashes, founded December 2004, is a place where keen and dedicated readers of The New Yorker, past and present, can find related news and commentary: about people, subjects, and ideas within the magazine, and events and conversations outside its pages. Learn more about us and our contributors.

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