R.I.P. David Foster Wallace 09/12/08
JunSky42
Posts: 17
I'm not too sure how many people on here are aware of DFWs death or even his work. Yet, I feel compelled to share the news with you anyway. It was a loss of one of the greatest literary icons in American Lit. We talk so much about the power of words, through amazing Jam lyrics, or through poetry, prose and the such. For anyone that enjoys reading quality material, DFW provided a fine example of the power of words through writing. Thanks for listening!
Matt
Matt
And when he came back to, he was flat on his back on the beach in the freezing sand, and it was raining out of a low sky, and the tide was way out..
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He will be greatly missed.
I still return to "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men" regularly. Easily my favorite out of a big collection of fine works...
He will be missed.
Came across his commencement speech from, I believe, '05' Kenyan class last night while dealing with the news... I recommend reading it if you have a chance. It was an amazing speech.
What a shame.
Matt
For those who don't know, David Foster Wallace -- besides his brilliant career as a writer-- was a professor of creative writing at Pomona College.
He began teaching there in 2002 -- the year after I graduated from the school. He was granted a very large salary to teach at the school as part of an endowment created specifically for a creative writing chair by Roy E. Disney (an alumnus of Pomona).
As part of the graduating class of 2001 who was to be earning a bachelor's degree in English, I was among a fairly large group of students and faculty who was asked to attend various meetings and functions in order to evaluate worthy candidates for the position.
As soon as Wallace was brought up, he was pretty much the #1 choice. It was because of his potential professorship that I became acquainted with his writing, but MAN am I glad he did. He completely reshaped the way I thought about writing and, seriously, thinking. Unfortunately, I graduated a year too soon; I would have LOVED to have had the chance to take one of his classes. I can't even imagine the magic his students received through his teaching.
In addition, having interacted David a few times, I can vouch for the fact that he was a very humble, intelligent, and funny man. He truly cared for his students and everyone around him.
I don't know what could have brought him to commit suicide, but he will be sorely missed.
The world has lost one of its few geniuses.
“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” - Albert Camus
It's hard to validate the feelings you have when someone you've admired but never met in person dies. You almost feel like you shouldn't be saddened by it, like you don't deserve to feel those emotions; almost like friends and family are the only ones who should be entitled to them.
I know that's somewhat irrational, but it's the way I feel; almost guilty. The first time I ever dealt with this was back in '94 when news broke about Cobain's death. Like many teens and young adults at the time, his music meant a lot to me, and the news brought a great deal of shock.
I don't know if it's because I'm older and have more life experience behind me now, but the feelings I'm having with this news are much more complex, and frankly harder to deal with.
There is a big empty space in the world now that was once occupied by an amazing mind, talent, and soul. And that's what hurts the most about this, because in a world where we seem to be bombarded with so much negativity and cynicism every day, DFW was a shining light that simply told it the way he saw it (in his essays) and wrote about the things we never realized we felt until we read them (in his novels).
All I can hope is that the people who have been reached and inspired by his voice are able to help fill the void left by his passing, and build on its foundation.
http://gawker.com/heres-the-first-photo-of-jason-segel-as-david-foster-w-1547279739