Remembering David Foster Wallace

[CthulhuAvenger]

I didn't know Wallace, I started reading A supposedly fun thing... some months ago and then I shifted to Infinite Jest. Now I'm reading the Pale King (although I'm not english mother-tongue and I don't understand a f about mine italian or your american taxation system). Hearing this short msg and writing this comment sounds like talking with David or playing tennis with him(I used to play tennis), so thanks for posting it and thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[vermeer5]

Very brief and very charming, and of all the tributes I have seen to DFW online I believe that this may be the most touching in its own sweet minimal way.

[L0LhahaDEAD]

This makes me incredibly sad. I've only been a fan of Wallace for a short while, but in that time I've fallen in love with him and his work. I had heard of him a long time ago, but didn't start reading him until after his death. Nor did I know he was dead until long after I started reading him. Such an excellent, intelligent writer.

[EamonnMurphy00]

Ugh. I know this is an old video but I just wanted to say that it's one of my favourites on Youtube. Thanks for posting both his voicemail, and your own testimony of someone I'd give anything to meet.

[jonnycabana]

tyvm for this little sample of his voice, busy on a simple daily routine problem. I've just finished IJ and I spent last 8 hours reading tons of interviews and essays of/about him. Everything I can say it will sound like a clichè, so I'll just say you were so lucky to have him as a teacher. He taught and will teach me so many things even if he's not anymore here. Lucky you to have met Himself personally :) I wished it too

sorry for my bad english, if I made any mistakes feel free to correct me

[maankindj]

i've just learned about him through his 'this is water'-assay, and i feel hypocritical saying anythings about him personal, but damn..

it's night now and i'm reading all things he wrote and i feel so stupid only knowing him now. he sounds like an amazing person.

i wish you way more than luck in the rest of your life.

[kkallebb]

You remind me of one of his stories.

[blanche805]

Thanks for helping me cry.

[EnjoicoolPanda]

I watched the video and decided; you are cool.

[KiwiSire]

Thanks for posting.

[wes52101]

I knew Dave back in the late 90's. I hadn't seen him in years when I heard about his suicide. I have to say I have never met anyone who impacted my thinking like he did. The funny thing is that all the time I knew him I never knew how famous he was. He was a very humble man who thought more about what he could give than he could get. RIP Dave.

[Hoowa06]

This is water. This is water.

[BZASB]

"I am" and "I am here"  appear in the first paragraphs of Infinite Jest. He IS his writing. He is in his books forever, and accessible to readers who really want to work hard. Those who do, will get to know him well by reading him. His archives (books in his library, notes, and writings) have been acquired by the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas Austin (google it) READ HIM so he'll live forever!

P.S. hauntingly expressive face you have!

[palehousepress]

i have his reincarnation - pale house

[ViperRob42]

Awesome, thanks for sharing! RIP

[tomservo17]

thanks for sharing this, it's a pleasure to see someone larger than life yet so heartbreakingly endearing through a personal perspective

[anthonydc50]

You talk just like him! Those open, floating mannerisms. Thanks for posting this, the whole thing made me smile.

[byronichero12]

you are truly lucky to have known him! I had always wanted to meet him since reading infinite jest a few years ago, but I hadn't kept up on any news related to him at all. I only just learned of his passing a week ago. it really blows me away. I think about that book all the time, it's one of those rare works that change the way you see everything, that become a lense through which you see your life. I hope knowing him has changed you the way his writing has changed me! I'm sure it has, cheers!

[EndrsInifinteGravity]

Hey thanks for the post.

The class of his you were in, did DFW ever mention the short story he wrote called Nothing Happened?

The story's about him having a daymare (still called that?) and/or fascination about his dad "waggling" his dick in David's face when he was 8 or 9. It's a ridiculously hilarious/awkward story that even a gifted genius such as Wallace, must have blushed to mention in front of students.

13th a traveling bio is coming out, but would rather hear some stories first hand

[mrqateen]

thanks for posting this video. was very sweet

[ernestnallen]

DFW was the most brilliant man I have EVER known of  in my life. He and his wisdom are a gift to this world, DFW is greatly missed but will never be forgotten.

[neerdowell9]

... thank you, i sorely needed this today. i'm a baha'i that finds of late she needs to know what would dearest dfw do!? you look like two of my kids. they're self conscious and beautiful too.. their sister agrees from my lap. on to one more dose of dfw. best to you and yours ...and gratitude to his... for him.

[danielsmdoyle]

to still6: thanks for making this video. I appreciate your sincerity. Is there any way we can hear the message?

[BlueCollarWorker2001]

great tribute.i have started reading infinite jest and i have to say that it rescued my motivation to read. thanks david normally i dont do that but r.i.p .

[B3nkr3w]

If I find myself in some sort of metaphysical self-transcendent breakdown, I would like DFW's ghost to read to me Infinite Jest in its entirety*.

*Including end notes.

[jeremylater]

how come pretty girls aren't into literature at my college? you were lucky as hell to work under him. thanks for posting.

[tovadaq]

nice tribute.

I guess he was a great guy.

[Artlitfan]

great tribute, thank you for posting,

it must have been cool studying under him, i can't wait to read Pale King

thanks again :)

[Postscript624]

Having read 52 pages of Infinite Jest (plus the surprisingly lengthy related footnotes) and watched the various videos of his speeches on Youtube I am feeling something not unlike anger that I was unable to meet and talk with this man at least once before his death, if to just to ask him for a lengthy critique of the "brevity is the soul of wit" philosophy. On the other hand, he's fairly economic with what he says, it's just that he says so much!

[ChadMedellin]

I abhor gushy sentiment, the likes of which, plaster this videos commentary. Wallace seemed like an interesting person. Interesting people are not the kind warm fully-adjusted people. They are off-centre, sadistic/masochistic, individuals with interesting stories to share. Raconteurs. From my understanding his demons were great. His literature may have been greater, but to my point, doesn't anyone have anything interesting to say about the man, aside from his writing and his warmth??!!

[sopdadope]

What a great writer. So young too. Such a terrible loss.

btw, you're really cute.

[apathyinternational]

now just how is that relevant to the topic at hand?

[wallsedwin]

Makes me so sad.

[rojax6]

Of all the tributes I've come across for DFW, that one is the best.

[Raketmensch00000]

thank you. it helped.

[bpsmith1979]

Why do we lose the geniuses so young? Sorry if I sound crude but it sure as shit doesn't seem fair.

[Lemure33tree]

Sensitivity and dealing with this world scraping through your insides... adds up...takes it's toll... and unfortunately takes some of the best away from us. RIP

[geolazenby]

oh man , david would have loved this

[ChristopherFers]

You're incredibly privileged to have gotten to know the man on some personal level. Until his death, I had only known him as an author that I adored, in the sense of the word that implies some degree of fearful respect. But now, viewing a lot of videos of him speaking and such, I realize that not only was he a wonderful writer but a very warm man as well. What was he like as a professor, if you don't mind my asking?

[TemplarReturns]

In many ways he was like the Paul Bunyan of literature. He made it his effort to give a beacon of light in a world of madness and corruption. I wished he had stuck around longer, someone needed to make it known to the world in the beauty of his writing just how the world was and is.

Im gonna miss his writing so much, but im glad that i do have Consider the Lobster and the legendary Infinite Jest. You are really fortunate to have known this great author. He was an inspiration to me. RIP DAVE

[phitdemon]

I have never been grateful, and yet so saddened to have discovered a writer I love. Sadly, I never read his work while he was still alive. I have been making up for it since his death, but I sometimes I think I would rather remain ignorant of his genius in order to still have someone like him in the world.

RIP Dave.

[loktkey]

Thank you.

[LadyMercutia]

I found his nonfiction back in the late '90s and almost took a couple days off from work to drive to Illinois and tell him how great I thought he was, just for the hell of it, but I didn't, thinking it would be silly. I told myself I'd write him a letter, but I didn't do that either. Now I wish more than anything I'd done either.

You are so fortunate to have known him. I'm sorry for both of us, and for so many others who knew him, and who wanted to. Thank you for posting this.

[podycheck]

oh man, can you post the whole thing now!

[Still6]

sadly, i don't have it anymore. i didnt resave it and voicemail automatically deleted it. i truly, truly wish i did.

[wallsedwin]

It is indeed a selfish act. But I suppose when one is in that particular condition, regardless of the cause and in spite of many blessings, one acts selfishly.

[wallsedwin]

Thank you. You are so fortunate to have known him.

[lnghrnfn]

Tears are streaming down my face as I type this. How fortunate you are to have known him. I only began to research him after his death- I love to read & somehow had never heard of him. After reading 30 pages of Infinite Jest, I realize what a genius he was. I also just listened to part of a speech/interview that he did in Italy in 2006 (here on youtube). What a charming, seemingly so sweet & caring kind of person he must have been. To lose such talented artists, such as DFW & Kurt Cobain, hurts.

[mezzobuff]

Thank you so much for your this! His work has been such a touchstone for so many of us who never had the opportunity to meet him.

[narablog]

Very nice, thank you.

I was in grad school with him.

He was a total giant.

[threelegduck]

dave was a deep thinker and a great tennis player but sometimes i think he tried to carry too much. it's okay that he's gone now. sometimes that's what it takes to let go, to stop thinking

[thejayc]

The man was simply too smart for his own good. Its sad. But i get it.

[8Giamma]

very nice video, and very moving. I read him the first time last month, end he suddenly became a reference to me. I felt very empty when i heard he killed himself, i felt we are all poorer now, deprived as we are of his points of view, of his depth. The death of an artist matters (or it should) to everybody. He gave us his eyes to see what surrounds us.

[inersphobia]

Thanks for posting this.

[inersphobia]

It seems one can only thumb-down a comment until it is negative 6. So I necessarily post a text comment. You're a wlatsome, negligible fuck.

[toReasonWhy]

Thank you for this video. I can sense the great sadness in your voice and I only wish I knew what it was to know him more personally, as you did. I didn't, and I am still crying.

[ianwadesdad]

What was the assignment? What stories did he have you read in class?

[pemulis1948]

Perfect. Someone who has decided there are actual "reasons" non-suicidal people may understand for not commiting suicide. I think the self-referential quality of that thought might have pleased DFW... in a very very sad way.

[algid]

Nice tiny tribute. Thanks.

[howardbeasley]

thanks

[isaimoreno666]

Oh, you were in the David's class! It was a great previlege. Nice video.

Are you writer?

[Still6]

it really was a great privilege.

And I suppose I am a writer, in that I write, but not in that I am very good. Writer's block has been a long-time curse of mine for about 7 months.

[Attakijing]

@Still6 wallace says he spends 1 hour a day writing and 8 hours worrying about not writing. just keep it up!!!

[0mrFloppy]

Thank you!

[camaples]

i had to cry when i found out, i felt like the paranoid insecurity I identified with in his words had just been reminded of its terrifying potential. And wallace was selfish, and so am I, feeling deprived now of any future material from the Lion in the Path. I wept for him, his pain, his unbelievable talent, and for myself. RIP DFW: the way you made it all seem so funny obviously wasn't good enough for you, but it was good enough for me...

[SuicideOnMyMind]

i for one admire the guy but won't say why to someone i don't know. anyway besides you need to be inside it to understand.

[Send1UrLuv]

People who committ suicide aren't right in the head. It's not about selfishness, it's about illness. We should all be so lucky that we haven't reached such a troubled state of mind.

[SuicideOnMyMind]

how in hell would you know. make them sound crazy. most i feel who commit suicide are def not being selfish. they are lost and instead they are also in a world of hidden pain. many will never acknowledge nor understand mostly by the ones who put them there.

[bladerunner7470]

Thank you for posting this video.

Can you please post another video with his entire message if you have it? I think that a lot of people who are grieving his loss would find it helpful. It is, of course, totally understandable if you don't want too.

Thanks again, Marty

[BradNostral]

Nice. How long ago was the voice mail recorded?

[Still6]

A little over a year ago, I believe on 9.10.07. He was asking me in the message to bring an assignment to our next class (9.12.07).

[catobear1704]

This is a nice piece.

[OldMcEyeballs]

I'm so heartbroken to learn that DFW had been plagued by horrible depression his entire adult life, the very madness he animates so instructively and compassionately in IJ - and "The Depressed Person" - and "Good Old Neon" - etc

Mark Nechtr desired "to write something that stabs you in the heart. That pierces you. That makes you want to die"

DFW's work has made me want to live - stronger, smarter, and with greater empathy than I ever needed to before reading him.

Written in grief.