David Foster Wallace, RIP

[Matthew_S]

I have little to add to what has been said but..

DFW was a fantastic author.  It is very sad that his life ended at only 46.

While his fiction gave him his greatest fame and acclaim it seems to me (and probably deservedly so), I think his non-fiction essays are also superlative.  His writing always clearly demonstrates his profound intelligence and insight about whatever topic he addressed and, where warranted, the hilarity and absurdity of this modern world.

Yes, his writing is challenging and often quite long but it is almost always worthwhile.  What I especially enjoyed about this essays were that even if I had little interest in the topic, he was able to keep me engaged and eventually entertained and probably enlightened.

For those interested, here is a list of some of the various topics of his essays: John McCain, David Lynch, Sept. 11, the porn industry, grammar, right-wing talk radio (http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200504/wallace), pleasure cruises, state fairs, Dostoyevsky, tennis...


I'll post some links in the Links section of his work from Harpers, most of it, I think,  collected (and revised) in his collections of essays.

[Omar]

PO.

[joanna]

i understand that he was sick and that nothing seemed to be working. i completely get that depression is irrational and allows you to get to a place where you think that suicide is the only choice--the obvious choice.

but i can't wrap my mind around his leaving himself where he knew his wife would be the person who found him. that seems cruel to me, and i know he wasn't a cruel person. there are lots of ways to off oneself, but having to see the hanged body of the person you love most in the world is a trauma i wouldn't inflict on my worst enemy, so it makes me profoundly upset that he chose that. i am glad that his pain is over but am heartbroken for her.

[iAmBaronVonTito]

I was so sorry to hear about this and hate to think of his wife finding him.

i experienced this first-hand myself; it makes me sad to think about what his wife is going through.  the loss is a serious disappointment considering the influence he had as a writer and undoubtedly a human being, for those who knew him.  for decades, the tortured soul has been a tried, but true, cliche of many great writers and artists- DFW was living the dream.

[Bryan]

but i can't wrap my mind around his leaving himself where he knew his wife would be the person who found him. that seems cruel to me, and i know he wasn't a cruel person.

I think we should be generous in our assessment of this. He was a sensitive and thoughtful person (in his writing, at least, and by all accounts he was a super guy.) He must have been in profound pain to commit suicide, especially in those circumstances. We can never know how others are suffering.

p.s. So sorry, von Tito, to hear that you experienced a similar loss.

[iAmBaronVonTito]

but i can't wrap my mind around his leaving himself where he knew his wife would be the person who found him. that seems cruel to me, and i know he wasn't a cruel person.

I think we should be generous in our assessment of this. He was a sensitive and thoughtful person (in his writing, at least, and by all accounts he was a super guy.) He must have been in profound pain to commit suicide, especially in those circumstances. We can never know how others are suffering.

p.s. So sorry, von Tito, to hear that you experienced a similar loss.

it wasnt suicide, but ive had the merciless and unfortunate experience of finding my husband dead.  the feeling of stricken grief is an emotion i wouldnt wish on my worst enemy.  i feel terrible for his wife and family, despite the circumstances surrounding the reason for death; his fans have all lost the tremendous insight that he brought with his work. 

anyone who had the pleasure of reading David Foster Wallace, whether you liked it or not, provided the discussion and debate to give his books a life i believe he wanted, on both paper and in thought.  personally, i always wanted to discuss with him my love/hate relationship with the art of footnotes and how he brought that to a head. 

[Bryan]

I'd guess that others are still thinking about this even though there's little more to say on a forum about it. In case others may be interested, I came across this letter posted online - there's no sure proof it was written by DFW, but it at least seems credible.

[Beth]

There was a nice repeat from a '97 interview on Fresh Air yesterday. I began to cry towards the end, right there in the car. It's so sad that someone so talented and earnest is just...gone.