Bernard Hirsch Herman Memorial Lecture: Mike Sacks

We were thrilled to welcome this year’s Bernard Hirsch Herman Lecture Honoree, writer Mike Sacks, to the Henson Auditorium. Sacks works on the editorial staff of Vanity Fair and has contributed to The New Yorker, Esquire, GQ, Believer, Vice, Salon, McSweeney’s, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications. He is the New York Times bestselling author of 12 comedy books and three audio projects. The last four books have been featured on Vulture’s “Best Comedy Books of the Year” list.

His new audio comedy, StanLand, will premiere on the Sonar network in August 2025 and feature, among others, Jon Hamm, Rhea Seehorn, Bobby Moynihan, and John Waters. It will be performed live at Montreal’s Just For Laughs in July 2025.

As a proud graduate of Tulane University and an enthusiast for the city of New Orleans, Sacks spoke with students about the influence of living in the South has had on his work. "In New Orleans there is a basic decency amongst people and an honesty, particularly when it comes to character," Sacks said. "To me, comedy should be honest and about real characters; real, everyday people that you might not traditionally see being portrayed as heroes, but people who nonetheless deserve to be celebrated."

When asked about the motivation behind the start of his writing career, Sacks shared, "When I was growing up I was very interested in comedy and there were very few books about comedy out there. I always wanted to go after those writers whose work I admired but didn’t know much about. To be able to interview someone from a different time, to speak with comedians who went to war, that is something I was very fortunate to be able to do and something you don’t see much of anymore."

When Sacks was asked about his high school days, he candidly shared that while in school he had some "room for growth" and what an honor it was to be invited back to his own alma mater to serve as  a commencement speaker. Within this speech to students, he shared the following pieces of advice:

• • Life is not a competition in which one winner takes all. It is not you versus the world. It’s important to surround yourself with as many talented people as possible and to go through it together.
  • Don’t be a jerk! If you're driven to the point that you're obnoxious, no one will want to work with you.
  • You have to teach yourself a lot and that learning and teaching should never stop.
  • If you're going to wait for permission for success, you're going to be waiting for a long time. You really have to make it happen. Go out, meet people, go to places you wouldn’t go to otherwise. Form connections and give yourself the most opportunities you can.
  • Life is arbitrary. Nothing is preordained; you have to make it happen.
  • No matter what you end up doing, you will have to work hard. The higher you get up the ladder, the more you have to work, which means you have to get into something that you enjoy. If it’s not something you may want to do every day for the rest of your life, you may want to think about doing something else.
  • Don't be so hard on yourself. Be patient with yourself. There’s going to be ups and downs but at least it will be interesting.
  • There’s no such thing as perfect happiness. Know that even the most successful writers go through down times; they're just not posting about it. Don’t think that others have it so much easier than you. It’s a hard world to be a creative, but you have to show yourself respect and not be too hard on yourself.