Novelist David Foster Wallace found dead

[Ghost in the Machine]

Novelist David Foster Wallace found dead
Published: 9/14/08, 12:25 AM EDT

CLAREMONT, Calif. (AP) - David Foster Wallace, the author best known for his 1996 novel "Infinite Jest," was found dead in his home, according to police. He was 46.

Wallace's wife found her husband had hanged himself when she returned home about 9:30 p.m. Friday, said Jackie Morales, a records clerk with the Claremont Police Department.

Wallace taught creative writing and English at nearby Pomona College.

"He cared deeply for his students and transformed the lives of many young people," said Dean Gary Kates. "It's a great loss to our teaching faculty."


Wallace's first novel, "The Broom of the System," gained national attention in 1987 for its ambition and offbeat humor. The New York Times said the 24-year-old author "attempts to give us a portrait, through a combination of Joycean word games, literary parody and zany picaresque adventure, of a contemporary America run amok."

http://my.att.net/s/editorial.dll?bfromind=7814&eeid=6093645&_sitecat=1522&dcatid=0&eetype=article&render=y&ac=-2&ck=&ch=ne

[Mabus]

1. His book, "McCain's Promise" is a must read

I bought it a few months ago. It is a fascinating work. It is a reworking of Wallace's 2000 Rolling Stone article. It talks about how McCain played the press and how vapid the political press really are.

[glinda]

2. well that is a sad way

to bring attention to the issue.

[Mabus]

3. What are you talking about?

:shrug: What, I shouldn't mention the LAST book that an author published? It's a great book and he was an incredible writer who dared to talk about things that most other writers wouldn't touch.

[glinda]

5. talking about McCain book he wrote

on the stupid Media

[Mabus]

6. And...

do you actually have something of substance that you would like to discuss? Or are you just going to make cryptic one liners for your own amusement without any explanation?

[glinda]

9. never read his work

but did he not write a book about the media circus that was traveling with McCain's plane recently? And no...I am not easily amused.

[Mabus]

10. So you're chiming in on something that you haven't read

and questioning why I posted it? I have read his writings and if you actually cared you might do the same. The book he wrote about the media circus was the book that I referenced in my first post (i.e. McCain's Promise that you took exception to. He wrote while on assignment for The Rolling Stone in 2000. He then had it published three more times, once online, once in Consider the Lobster and then he had it published earlier this year as McCain's Promise. Call me silly but if an author goes to the trouble to have something published four different times I take it as a sign that the work was important to them.

So, I brought attention to McCain's Promise in my first response because Wallace seemed to think it was important. Moreover, most of the blurbs about Wallace's death mention his work Infinite Jest but fail to mention the work that Wallace kept going back to. I've read McCain's Promise and it is wonderfully insightful and made me a Wallace fan.

If you haven't read his work and weren't familiar with him or his life, why did you even post on this thread?

[bigpenguin]

4. no!

this makes me sad - Infinite Jest is one of my favorite books - an absolutely wild read.

Damn.

[JitterbugPerfume]

7. Infinite Jest

is in my bookcase It is time for a re read!

[marions ghost]

8. RIP David

:cry:

Why couldn't he hang on and work his way through it? It even sounds like he had a reasonably good support system and an enviable success. You never know.