Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Now In Infinite Jest -David Foster Wallace (1962-2008)


I don't know what I'm more shocked by - the suicide of writer/meta-fictionalist David Foster Wallace, or the surprising lack of coverage of his death. I mean, Wallace style of incredibly descriptive prose, ridiculous amounts of footnotes, and playful use of punctuation was somewhat prescient to what the whole blog-o-sphere is today.

In the monster book, Infinite Jest, there exists a movie that is so entertaining, that the viewer becomes so enthralled by it that they can do nothing else and actually expire watching it. Somehow I can't help but connecting this metaphore to the Twitter/Blog-o-sphere.

I've actually never made it through Infinite Jest, for one reason or another, but always found Wallaces essay's so incredibly great. Pick up Brief Interviews With Hideous Men, or A Supposedly Fun Thing I will Never Do Again. Wallace did change my view of what was possible in Fiction and Non-Fiction alike, and I am grateful for that.

Here's a link to the LA Times Obituary on D.F.W.