David Foster Wallace
I would feel remiss if I went without mentioning the passing of writer David Foster Wallace who ended his own life one week ago today. When I was an undergrad at Iowa, my friends and I treasured his collection Girl with Curious Hair, and when Infinite Jest came out, we were the first ones lined up at Prairie Lights to claim our copies. (I recall, actually, taking back my copy because I was unhappy with the glue job on the binding. I wanted it to be that perfect.) In recent years, I admit to have fallen off the bandwagon, but a good friend of mine has written a reminiscence for the Observer UK that has brought it all back to me. (Look for Joshua Ferris’ piece in the next day or so.)
We saw in DFW a DeLillo for our generation. He was the first guy anywhere close to our age who began to point in a new direction. I can’t say for sure, but my guess is that without him, we would have no Dave Eggers, no McSweeney’s , and for all its differences from the DFW style we might not have The Corrections. For all his genius, though, it’s my opinion that Wallace never really reached the true zenith of his talent–not because of his lack of accomplishment, but because his every line was so roaring with energy and potential that expectations were impossibly high. One wonders whether or not Wallace felt the same.
I recall something DFW said to Josh in 96. He said he felt like everyone he knew was sad–that sadness seemed to be a sort of earmark of his generation. (My own words.) The odd thing was, he didn’t seem sad. He was pleasant, funny, and despite some awkwardness he seemed pretty comfortable in his own skin. (I get most of this from his reading in IC–my own contact amounted to little more than asking him to sign my books.) His prose was electric–how could he be sad? But really, it is impossible to read his work now without seeing it.
We’ve really lost someone great. My heart goes out to his family, because they have obviously lost the most. But all of us have lost something as well, perhaps more than we’ll ever know.