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Conversations with David Foster Wallace
Across two decades of intense creativity, David Foster Wallace (1962-2008) crafted a remarkable body of work that ranged from unclassifiable essays to a book about transfinite mathematics to vertiginous fictions. Whether through essay volumes ( A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, Consider the Lobster ), short story collections ( Girl with Curious Hair, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Oblivion ), or his novels ( Infinite Jest, The Broom of the System ), the luminous qualities of Wallace's work recalibrated our measures of modern literary achievement. Conversations with David Foster Wallace gathers twenty-two interviews and profiles that trace the arc of Wallace's career, shedding light on his omnivorous talent.
Jonathan Franzen has argued that, for Wallace, an interview provided a formal enclosure in which the writer “could safely draw on his enormous native store of kindness and wisdom and expertise.� Wallace's interviews create a wormhole in which an author's private theorizing about art spill into the public record. Wallace's best interviews are vital extra-literary documents, in which we catch him thinking aloud about his signature concerns―irony's magnetic hold on contemporary language, the pale last days of postmodernism, the delicate exchange that exists between reader and writer. At the same time, his acute focus moves across MFA programs, his negotiations with religious belief, the role of footnotes in his writing, and his multifaceted conception of his work's architecture. Conversations with David Foster Wallace includes a previously unpublished interview from 2005, and a version of Larry McCaffery's influential Review of Contemporary Fiction interview with Wallace that has been expanded with new material drawn from the original raw transcript.
Jonathan Franzen has argued that, for Wallace, an interview provided a formal enclosure in which the writer “could safely draw on his enormous native store of kindness and wisdom and expertise.� Wallace's interviews create a wormhole in which an author's private theorizing about art spill into the public record. Wallace's best interviews are vital extra-literary documents, in which we catch him thinking aloud about his signature concerns―irony's magnetic hold on contemporary language, the pale last days of postmodernism, the delicate exchange that exists between reader and writer. At the same time, his acute focus moves across MFA programs, his negotiations with religious belief, the role of footnotes in his writing, and his multifaceted conception of his work's architecture. Conversations with David Foster Wallace includes a previously unpublished interview from 2005, and a version of Larry McCaffery's influential Review of Contemporary Fiction interview with Wallace that has been expanded with new material drawn from the original raw transcript.
186 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
83 people are currently reading
2,752 people want to read
About the author
David Foster Wallace
133books12.6kfollowersDavid Foster Wallace was an acclaimed American writer known for his fiction, nonfiction, and critical essays that explored the complexities of consciousness, irony, and the human condition. Widely regarded as one of the most innovative literary voices of his generation, Wallace is perhaps best known for his 1996 novel Infinite Jest, which was listed by Time magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005. His unfinished final novel, The Pale King, was published posthumously in 2011 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
Born in Ithaca, New York, Wallace was raised in Illinois, where he excelled as both a student and a junior tennis player—a sport he later wrote about with sharp insight and humor. He earned degrees in English and philosophy from Amherst College, then completed an MFA in creative writing at the University of Arizona. His early academic work in logic and philosophy informed much of his writing, particularly in his blending of analytical depth with emotional complexity.
Wallace’s first novel, The Broom of the System (1987), established his reputation as a fresh literary talent. Over the next two decades, he published widely in prestigious journals and magazines, producing short stories, essays, and book reviews that earned him critical acclaim. His work was characterized by linguistic virtuosity, inventive structure, and a deep concern for moral and existential questions. In addition to fiction, he tackled topics ranging from tennis and state fairs to cruise ships, politics, and the ethics of food consumption.
Beyond his literary achievements, Wallace had a significant academic career, teaching literature and writing at Emerson College, Illinois State University, and Pomona College. He was known for his intense engagement with students and commitment to teaching.
Wallace struggled with depression and addiction for much of his adult life, and he was hospitalized multiple times. He died by suicide in 2008 at the age of 46. In the years since his death, his influence has continued to grow, inspiring scholars, conferences, and a dedicated readership. However, his legacy is complicated by posthumous revelations of abusive behavior, particularly during his relationship with writer Mary Karr, which has led to ongoing debate within literary and academic communities.
His distinctive voice—by turns cerebral, comic, and compassionate—remains a defining force in contemporary literature. Wallace once described fiction as a way of making readers feel "less alone inside," and it is that emotional resonance, alongside his formal daring, that continues to define his place in American letters.
Born in Ithaca, New York, Wallace was raised in Illinois, where he excelled as both a student and a junior tennis player—a sport he later wrote about with sharp insight and humor. He earned degrees in English and philosophy from Amherst College, then completed an MFA in creative writing at the University of Arizona. His early academic work in logic and philosophy informed much of his writing, particularly in his blending of analytical depth with emotional complexity.
Wallace’s first novel, The Broom of the System (1987), established his reputation as a fresh literary talent. Over the next two decades, he published widely in prestigious journals and magazines, producing short stories, essays, and book reviews that earned him critical acclaim. His work was characterized by linguistic virtuosity, inventive structure, and a deep concern for moral and existential questions. In addition to fiction, he tackled topics ranging from tennis and state fairs to cruise ships, politics, and the ethics of food consumption.
Beyond his literary achievements, Wallace had a significant academic career, teaching literature and writing at Emerson College, Illinois State University, and Pomona College. He was known for his intense engagement with students and commitment to teaching.
Wallace struggled with depression and addiction for much of his adult life, and he was hospitalized multiple times. He died by suicide in 2008 at the age of 46. In the years since his death, his influence has continued to grow, inspiring scholars, conferences, and a dedicated readership. However, his legacy is complicated by posthumous revelations of abusive behavior, particularly during his relationship with writer Mary Karr, which has led to ongoing debate within literary and academic communities.
His distinctive voice—by turns cerebral, comic, and compassionate—remains a defining force in contemporary literature. Wallace once described fiction as a way of making readers feel "less alone inside," and it is that emotional resonance, alongside his formal daring, that continues to define his place in American letters.
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March 29, 2016
En el mundo real, todos sufrimos en soledad; la empatía verdadera es imposible. Pero si una obra de ficción nos permite de forma imaginaria identificarnos con el dolor de los personajes, entonces también podríamos concebir que otros se identificaran con el nuestro. Esto es reconfortante, liberador; hace que nos sintamos menos solos.
Parte del propósito de la narrativa consiste en agravar esa sensación de encierro y soledad y muerte, para inducir a la gente a afrontarla, puesto que cualquier posible salvación humana requiere que antes nos enfrentemos a lo que nos resulta espantoso, a lo que queremos negar.
La buena escritura actúa como un antídoto contra la soledad. Todos estamos terriblemente solos. Y hay un modo, al menos en la narrativa, que te permite intimar con el mundo y con mentes y personajes con los que no te es posible hacerlo en el mundo real.
Mi experiencia me dice que los días buenos son aquellos en los que levantas la vista y es mucho más tarde de lo que pensabas que sería.
Brillante la mente de este señor.
Parte del propósito de la narrativa consiste en agravar esa sensación de encierro y soledad y muerte, para inducir a la gente a afrontarla, puesto que cualquier posible salvación humana requiere que antes nos enfrentemos a lo que nos resulta espantoso, a lo que queremos negar.
La buena escritura actúa como un antídoto contra la soledad. Todos estamos terriblemente solos. Y hay un modo, al menos en la narrativa, que te permite intimar con el mundo y con mentes y personajes con los que no te es posible hacerlo en el mundo real.
Mi experiencia me dice que los días buenos son aquellos en los que levantas la vista y es mucho más tarde de lo que pensabas que sería.
Brillante la mente de este señor.
March 13, 2017
Repetitive and seemingly dated interviews, the gist of which you've read if you've read a few interviews with him. The repetition of semi-stock responses about his novels and themes sounds after a while like ad copy that's trying to "seduce you"/persuade you into accepting DFW perception technology that helps you see the world in a smart, funny, empathetic way, but one that after a while maybe seems to skew less on the side of true complexity than something always focused on gut-level sadness of a world saturated by corporate-sponsored images, which doesn't really feel true to me in 2012. Maybe in the 1990s every one was very very lonely and TV was an omnipresent evil (damn you, "Friends"!), but a lot of that sort of talk seems pretty late-20th century, pre-Internet, before actions by the U.S. against the Axis of Evil, before much larger evils in the world such as social media (other than goodreads, of course), all these fractured narratives through which people feel so incredibly less lonely that the sensation of loneliness is maybe now akin to hunger in most of the U.S., an unpleasant sensation easily ended, albeit superficially. It also seems that now more than ever, as they say, longer narrative is heavy artillery in the soul-fight against forces gathered by constant "ecstasy of communication" commentary/updates. The end of the story, the essay by Lipsky that was also in his book (), about the Nardil and the weight loss and his last year is crushingly sad, but most of this is the sort of talk you've heard before if you're a fan. One LOL when he says that he and Cynthia Ozick are similar in that they're both middle-aged New York Jewish women. Maybe one or two pages turned down. Interesting to see him mature over the years, to go from hyper-wonky literary smart alec and all over the place to something more subdued and humble and of course wholly himself. I'll read the DT Max biography later in the year, and then the final collection of essays, and then his collected letters/e-mails with DeLillo and Franzen and whoever else when they eventually come out, but I think this one is pretty much obviated if you listen to his interviews with Michael Silverblatt about and all his other books from 1996 on:
January 7, 2018
In un momento in cui leggere non mi va più, mi pesa e capisco di perdere consistenza, arriva la spiegazione che cercavo. "Leggere richiede solitudine e lunghi periodi di un tipo particolare di attenzione"
"Però ci sono parecchi libri che dopo averli letti mi hanno lasciato per sempre diverse da com'ero prima, e penso che tutta la buona letteratura in qualche modo affronti il problema della solitudine e agisca come un suo lenitivo. Siamo tutti tremendamente, tremendamente soli. Ma c'è qualcosa, quantomeno nei romanzi e nei racconti, che ti permette di entrare in intimità con il mondo e con un'altra mente, e con certi personaggi, in un modo in cui non puoi proprio farlo, nel mondo reale."
"Però ci sono parecchi libri che dopo averli letti mi hanno lasciato per sempre diverse da com'ero prima, e penso che tutta la buona letteratura in qualche modo affronti il problema della solitudine e agisca come un suo lenitivo. Siamo tutti tremendamente, tremendamente soli. Ma c'è qualcosa, quantomeno nei romanzi e nei racconti, che ti permette di entrare in intimità con il mondo e con un'altra mente, e con certi personaggi, in un modo in cui non puoi proprio farlo, nel mondo reale."
May 1, 2016
Fantástica la experiencia lectora. Aprender de quien lee, descubrir nombres, visiones de libros ya leídos, reflexiones y recovecos de una de las grandes mentes lectoras y escritoras del siglo pasado.
Un verdadero placer.
Un verdadero placer.
January 10, 2020
ancora qualche parola di DFW
Sembrerebbe un'operazione editoriale con il solo obiettivo di lucrare ancora un pò sulla innegabile statura culturale e letterario del genio di Ithaca, questa. Invece (proprio perchè stiamo parlando di una delle migliori menti della mia generazione) c'è molto di utile, di intelligente e di emozionante in questa raccolta in interviste.
In particolare, risalta in modo chiaro la poetica di DFW, costituita di forma complessa e stile curatissimo, ma lontanissima da sterili virtuosismi o da eccessivi postmodernismi. Foster Wallace aveva ben chiaro la responsabilità dell'autore verso il lettore, ma considerava il lettore con grande rispetto, credendolo capace di letture difficili, impegnative, dense e coinvolgenti.
Come compendio visivo consiglio due interviste reperibili su YouTube: l'intervista a Charlie Rose il 27-4-1997 (con il retropensiero dedicato agli eventi futuri di entrambi i personaggi) ed l'intervista data all'emittente tedesca ZDF nel 2003 (non editata). Il collegamento tra idee di DFW e persona di DFW ne risulta ancora più arricchito e permette di apprezzare quanto abbia lasciato alla letteratura e alla cultura di questo secolo
Sembrerebbe un'operazione editoriale con il solo obiettivo di lucrare ancora un pò sulla innegabile statura culturale e letterario del genio di Ithaca, questa. Invece (proprio perchè stiamo parlando di una delle migliori menti della mia generazione) c'è molto di utile, di intelligente e di emozionante in questa raccolta in interviste.
In particolare, risalta in modo chiaro la poetica di DFW, costituita di forma complessa e stile curatissimo, ma lontanissima da sterili virtuosismi o da eccessivi postmodernismi. Foster Wallace aveva ben chiaro la responsabilità dell'autore verso il lettore, ma considerava il lettore con grande rispetto, credendolo capace di letture difficili, impegnative, dense e coinvolgenti.
Come compendio visivo consiglio due interviste reperibili su YouTube: l'intervista a Charlie Rose il 27-4-1997 (con il retropensiero dedicato agli eventi futuri di entrambi i personaggi) ed l'intervista data all'emittente tedesca ZDF nel 2003 (non editata). Il collegamento tra idee di DFW e persona di DFW ne risulta ancora più arricchito e permette di apprezzare quanto abbia lasciato alla letteratura e alla cultura di questo secolo
October 2, 2021
"Una de las cosas que los escritores de ficción verdaderamente geniales hacen, desde Carver a Chejov (...) hasta Flannery O'Connor, o como el Pynchon de El Arcoíris de Gravedad, es darle al lector algo. El lector se marcha del arte auténtico mucho más pesado de lo que entró. Más lleno. Toda la atención, y el trabajo que se le requieren al lector no puede ser para tu propio beneficio, tiene que ser para el suyo."
A estas alturas no se puede añadir mucho más a lo que ya sabemos, se ha escrito, leído y/o hemos imaginado sobre David Foster Wallace, una vida, intuyo, intrínsecamente ligada a su obra porque es difícil no reconocerle en ella. También tengo que admitir que quizá no hubiera disfrutado tanto de estas Conversaciones de no haberme leído a lo largo de este año alguno de sus ensayos, algún cuento y finalmente su gran obra, La Broma Infinita, porque hay obras que te acaban marcando (este año llevo un par de ellas) y esta ha sido una. Llego a estas Conversaciones con un cierto vacio por haber abandonado algunos de los personajes de LBI y estas 22 entrevistas (a lo largo de dos décadas) de alguna forma lo ha llenado porque aunque sabemos de la timidez de DFW, de su horror a las entrevistas, de su huída cada vez más agorafóbica de la gente y de los espacios urbanos, si que he percibido mucha generosidad por su parte a la hora de que nos podamos adentrar en su mente, bueno, una parte de ella.
"El problema no es que el lector de hoy sea tonto, yo no lo creo. Lo único que pasa es que la tv y la cultura comercial le han enseñado a ser una especie de vago e infantil en cuanto a sus expectativas. Eso hace que intentar llamar la atención de los lectores de hoy implique una dificultad imaginativa e intelectual sin precedentes."
(...)
"Observamos que la televisión y el cine popular y la mayoría de los tipos de -baja cultura-, lo cual simplemente quiere decir arte cuyo objetivo es ganar dinero, son lucrativos precisamente porque asumen que el público prefiere un cien por cien de placer a una realidad que suele componerse de un 49 por ciento de placer y un 51 por cierto de dolor. Mientras que el -arte serio- tiende a hacer que te sientas incómodo."
DFW se muestra generoso porque siempre he percibido que muchos autores huyen un poco a la hora de confesarse sobre sus influencias, sus referentes, y sin embargo, Wallace no tiene ningún reparo en mojarse y mostrarnos a flor de piel lo que opina sobre muchos temas, que incluso ahora siguen en plena vigencia; tampoco tiene ningún reparo a la hora de abordar su obra en conexión con el lector porque quién lo haya leído sabe que no es un autor pasivo que escriba solo para sí mismo sino que hace partícipe al lector que lo convierte en un cómplice, juega con él y consigue introducirle en su universo y hacer activar al mismo tiempo la mente su mente. He conocido a pocos autores como él, que impliquen tanto al lector, y en estas Conversaciones aborda este tema desde varios aspectos.
En definitiva, estas "Conversaciones con David Foster Wallace", magníficamente editadas y traducidas por Pálido Fuego (José Luis Amores) son un must-read, mucho mejor si antes se le ha leído aunque si no, también son un punto de inflexión para comenzar a leerle. Nunca es tarde para empezar a conocer esta mente prodigiosa que fue David Foster Wallace.
"Hay centenares de libros de buenos volúmenes de narrativa y poesía que consiguen ser publicados todos los años. Es cierto que no son anunciados ni publicitados tan intensamente como las cosas comerciales, por el simple hecho de que con ellos no se gana mucho dinero. Pero tengo la sensación de que la gente a las que les interesa, y que tiene ganas de buscar en Internet o de ir a las librerías y mirar nunca se ha encontrado escasa de material con calidad literaria de todo tipo de clases diferentes."
A estas alturas no se puede añadir mucho más a lo que ya sabemos, se ha escrito, leído y/o hemos imaginado sobre David Foster Wallace, una vida, intuyo, intrínsecamente ligada a su obra porque es difícil no reconocerle en ella. También tengo que admitir que quizá no hubiera disfrutado tanto de estas Conversaciones de no haberme leído a lo largo de este año alguno de sus ensayos, algún cuento y finalmente su gran obra, La Broma Infinita, porque hay obras que te acaban marcando (este año llevo un par de ellas) y esta ha sido una. Llego a estas Conversaciones con un cierto vacio por haber abandonado algunos de los personajes de LBI y estas 22 entrevistas (a lo largo de dos décadas) de alguna forma lo ha llenado porque aunque sabemos de la timidez de DFW, de su horror a las entrevistas, de su huída cada vez más agorafóbica de la gente y de los espacios urbanos, si que he percibido mucha generosidad por su parte a la hora de que nos podamos adentrar en su mente, bueno, una parte de ella.
"El problema no es que el lector de hoy sea tonto, yo no lo creo. Lo único que pasa es que la tv y la cultura comercial le han enseñado a ser una especie de vago e infantil en cuanto a sus expectativas. Eso hace que intentar llamar la atención de los lectores de hoy implique una dificultad imaginativa e intelectual sin precedentes."
(...)
"Observamos que la televisión y el cine popular y la mayoría de los tipos de -baja cultura-, lo cual simplemente quiere decir arte cuyo objetivo es ganar dinero, son lucrativos precisamente porque asumen que el público prefiere un cien por cien de placer a una realidad que suele componerse de un 49 por ciento de placer y un 51 por cierto de dolor. Mientras que el -arte serio- tiende a hacer que te sientas incómodo."
DFW se muestra generoso porque siempre he percibido que muchos autores huyen un poco a la hora de confesarse sobre sus influencias, sus referentes, y sin embargo, Wallace no tiene ningún reparo en mojarse y mostrarnos a flor de piel lo que opina sobre muchos temas, que incluso ahora siguen en plena vigencia; tampoco tiene ningún reparo a la hora de abordar su obra en conexión con el lector porque quién lo haya leído sabe que no es un autor pasivo que escriba solo para sí mismo sino que hace partícipe al lector que lo convierte en un cómplice, juega con él y consigue introducirle en su universo y hacer activar al mismo tiempo la mente su mente. He conocido a pocos autores como él, que impliquen tanto al lector, y en estas Conversaciones aborda este tema desde varios aspectos.
En definitiva, estas "Conversaciones con David Foster Wallace", magníficamente editadas y traducidas por Pálido Fuego (José Luis Amores) son un must-read, mucho mejor si antes se le ha leído aunque si no, también son un punto de inflexión para comenzar a leerle. Nunca es tarde para empezar a conocer esta mente prodigiosa que fue David Foster Wallace.
"Hay centenares de libros de buenos volúmenes de narrativa y poesía que consiguen ser publicados todos los años. Es cierto que no son anunciados ni publicitados tan intensamente como las cosas comerciales, por el simple hecho de que con ellos no se gana mucho dinero. Pero tengo la sensación de que la gente a las que les interesa, y que tiene ganas de buscar en Internet o de ir a las librerías y mirar nunca se ha encontrado escasa de material con calidad literaria de todo tipo de clases diferentes."
June 29, 2016
I have been on a DFW binge for about a year now. He has sincerely enlightened me and has felt like a big brother and mentor all at once. I can't write well right now but he has inspired me to improve my communication skills. Reading DFW has stretched me intellectually, emotionally, & spiritually. I've lost family to mental health issues and struggled quietly with my own -- I think most of us do at one point or another if we are honest with ourselves -- and my soul aches just thinking about the suffering that he and others with acute mental health challenges face.
DFW has an incredible ability to breathe into the grey area of life. To see and empathize with both sides of an argument. Also, he's a genius...so he's got that going for him; if I ever doubted that before reading this book, it's been settled. He has an uncanny ability to articulate stuff that I feel on a gut/subconscious level but can't wrap my head around. I know I'm not alone here and that's why I find his work so important and refreshing.
There are a lot of quotes I would like to share but in the interest of time here are some of my favorite insights from this book that are short paragraphs:
"The interesting thing is why we're so desperate for this anesthetic against loneliness. You don't have to think very hard to realize that our dread of both relationships and loneliness, both of which are like sub-dreads of our dread of being trapped inside a self (a psychic self, not just a physical self), has to do with angst about death, the recognition that I'm going to die, and die very much alone, and the rest of the world is going to go merrily on without me. I'm not sure I could give you a steeple-fingered theoretical justification, but I strongly suspect a big part of real art-fiction's job is to aggravate this sense of entrapment and loneliness and death in people, to move people to countenance it, since any possible human redemption requires us first to face what's dreadful, what we deny."
"The cliche that getting a lot of attention is not the same as getting a lot of affection takes on new dimensions when you learn it through experience."
"Like the fact that it takes enormous courage to appear weak. Hadn't heard that anywhere else. I was just starting to entertain the fact that that might be true."
"I'm not sure how fiction and poetry work, but part of it is that really we notice a lot more than we notice we notice. A particular job of fiction is not so much to note things for people but rather to wake readers up to how observant they already are, and that's why for me as a reader the descriptions or just toss offs that I like the most are not the ones that seem utterly new but the ones that have that eerie 'good Lord I've noticed that too but have never even taken a moment to articulate to myself.'"
"Because you want your art to be hip and seem cool to people, you want people to like the stuff, but a great deal of what passes for hip or cool is now highly, highly commercially driven. And some of it is important art. I think The Simpsons is important art. On the other hand, it's also - in my opinion - corrosive to the soul, and everything is parodied, and everything's ridiculous. Maybe I'm old, but for my part I can be steeped in about an hour of it, and I sort of have to walk away and look at a flower or something. If there's something to be talked about, that thing is this weird conflict between what my girlfriend calls the 'inner sap' - the part of us that can really whole-heartedly weep at stuff - and the part of us that has to live in a world of smart, jaded, sophisticated people and wants very much to be taken seriously by those people. I don't know that it's that irony tyrannizes us, but the fashions that are so easy to criticize but are so incredibly powerful and authentic-seeming when we're inside them, tyrannize us. I don't know that it's ever been any different. That probably makes absolutely no sense. That was my experiment at telling the truth."
DFW has an incredible ability to breathe into the grey area of life. To see and empathize with both sides of an argument. Also, he's a genius...so he's got that going for him; if I ever doubted that before reading this book, it's been settled. He has an uncanny ability to articulate stuff that I feel on a gut/subconscious level but can't wrap my head around. I know I'm not alone here and that's why I find his work so important and refreshing.
There are a lot of quotes I would like to share but in the interest of time here are some of my favorite insights from this book that are short paragraphs:
"The interesting thing is why we're so desperate for this anesthetic against loneliness. You don't have to think very hard to realize that our dread of both relationships and loneliness, both of which are like sub-dreads of our dread of being trapped inside a self (a psychic self, not just a physical self), has to do with angst about death, the recognition that I'm going to die, and die very much alone, and the rest of the world is going to go merrily on without me. I'm not sure I could give you a steeple-fingered theoretical justification, but I strongly suspect a big part of real art-fiction's job is to aggravate this sense of entrapment and loneliness and death in people, to move people to countenance it, since any possible human redemption requires us first to face what's dreadful, what we deny."
"The cliche that getting a lot of attention is not the same as getting a lot of affection takes on new dimensions when you learn it through experience."
"Like the fact that it takes enormous courage to appear weak. Hadn't heard that anywhere else. I was just starting to entertain the fact that that might be true."
"I'm not sure how fiction and poetry work, but part of it is that really we notice a lot more than we notice we notice. A particular job of fiction is not so much to note things for people but rather to wake readers up to how observant they already are, and that's why for me as a reader the descriptions or just toss offs that I like the most are not the ones that seem utterly new but the ones that have that eerie 'good Lord I've noticed that too but have never even taken a moment to articulate to myself.'"
"Because you want your art to be hip and seem cool to people, you want people to like the stuff, but a great deal of what passes for hip or cool is now highly, highly commercially driven. And some of it is important art. I think The Simpsons is important art. On the other hand, it's also - in my opinion - corrosive to the soul, and everything is parodied, and everything's ridiculous. Maybe I'm old, but for my part I can be steeped in about an hour of it, and I sort of have to walk away and look at a flower or something. If there's something to be talked about, that thing is this weird conflict between what my girlfriend calls the 'inner sap' - the part of us that can really whole-heartedly weep at stuff - and the part of us that has to live in a world of smart, jaded, sophisticated people and wants very much to be taken seriously by those people. I don't know that it's that irony tyrannizes us, but the fashions that are so easy to criticize but are so incredibly powerful and authentic-seeming when we're inside them, tyrannize us. I don't know that it's ever been any different. That probably makes absolutely no sense. That was my experiment at telling the truth."
September 19, 2022
Grande parte das entrevistas aqui segue uma certa fórmula, que é: o entrevistador tenta fazer uma pergunta incrivelmente sofisticada, DFW diz algo do tipo "nada que eu responda vai ser tão interessante quanto sua pergunta" e dispara a responder algo que nem sempre é exatamente a pergunta, mas é sempre muito maior e mais inteligente do que ela.
O que torna este livrinho tão interessante, entretanto (além das respostas incríveis de DFW), é que as entrevistas compiladas aqui compreendem praticamente toda a carreira do escritor - desde o lançamento de , até o ápice com , a origem e recepção dos ensaios, até o fim de sua vida, em 2008. É muito bacana acompanhar o autor falar sobre o lançamento de cada uma das obras, sobre os temas de cada uma, interpretações e tal.
O que torna este livrinho tão interessante, entretanto (além das respostas incríveis de DFW), é que as entrevistas compiladas aqui compreendem praticamente toda a carreira do escritor - desde o lançamento de , até o ápice com , a origem e recepção dos ensaios, até o fim de sua vida, em 2008. É muito bacana acompanhar o autor falar sobre o lançamento de cada uma das obras, sobre os temas de cada uma, interpretações e tal.
March 24, 2025
Qua ci sono un paio di interviste davvero meravigliose e il volume è costruito bene, a parte qualche ripetizione di troppo, ma gli articoli iniziano tutti più o meno nello stesso modo e il curatore ci poteva fare ben poco.
La cosa straziante è che alla fine c'è il pezzo in cui Lisky racconta l'ultimo periodo di DF: l'antidepressivo che non fa più effetto, i trenta chili persi nell'ultimo anno, gli occhi spiritati, l'amico Franzen che va a trovarlo e dice che "aveva un'espressione terrorizzata, terribilmente triste e molto distante", La sua mamma che gli cucina manicaretti e dice: "continuavamo a ripetergli che eravamo felici che fosse vivo, ma penso che oramai ci stesse gia lasciando. Non ce la faceva proprio più" e ogni volta che rileggo queste cose è come vederlo impiccarsi di nuovo.
La cosa più stupida, invece, è che mi sa proprio che le due persone morte che mi mancano di più sono mia nonna Raffaella e David Foster Wallace. E David non l'ho neanche mai conosciuto
La cosa straziante è che alla fine c'è il pezzo in cui Lisky racconta l'ultimo periodo di DF: l'antidepressivo che non fa più effetto, i trenta chili persi nell'ultimo anno, gli occhi spiritati, l'amico Franzen che va a trovarlo e dice che "aveva un'espressione terrorizzata, terribilmente triste e molto distante", La sua mamma che gli cucina manicaretti e dice: "continuavamo a ripetergli che eravamo felici che fosse vivo, ma penso che oramai ci stesse gia lasciando. Non ce la faceva proprio più" e ogni volta che rileggo queste cose è come vederlo impiccarsi di nuovo.
La cosa più stupida, invece, è che mi sa proprio che le due persone morte che mi mancano di più sono mia nonna Raffaella e David Foster Wallace. E David non l'ho neanche mai conosciuto
December 17, 2020
Me lo he bebido. Las opiniones de DFW sobre la cultura popular, la televisión y su influencia en la población y otros temas son congruentes (aunque no idénticas) a las mías, y que sus opiniones reafirmen tus posturas con gracia y donosura hace que no desees cerrar el libro.
Pero habrá quienes deseen cerrarlo, prenderle fuego y tirar las cenizas por el retrete. Sus líneas de pensamiento no siempre son fáciles de seguir, especialmente cuando entra en los terrenos de la Lógica y las Matemáticas, y la oscuridad de saber que contestaba con cierta normalidad (y evidente falta de empatía social) a preguntas aleatorias, a veces demasiado rosas o hirientes, mientras ocultó durante décadas una depresión clínica que terminaría en suicidio, no hacen alegre esta lectura.
Pero es una lectura valiosa. Sus reflexiones sobre si lo mostrado por los medios de comunicación está demasiado filtrado y sesgado como para conocer las cuestiones cubiertas con la profundidad necesaria, si todas las personas están preparadas para comprender cualquier ficción (opino que no), si seguimos consumiendo narrativas escritas en un mundo que no las necesita porque sus objetivos los cubren otros medios pasivos que apenas requieren la comprensión del público (esto me aterra y a él también), si no nos estaremos pasando con la búsqueda a todo coste del hedonismo, si no estaremos más solos que nunca en el mundo hiperconectado, si nuestros ídolos de juventud no serían productos del capitalismo de ineficaz mensaje por transgresores que parecieran, si nuestros ídolos de la actualidad... Comida para cerebros que quieren comer, sin necesidad de vestir corbata y apta (o incluso recomendada) para leerse en una franquicia de hamburgueserías, como a él le gustaba.
Esta lectura me ha abierto el apetito por explorar más la obra de DFW. me empachó, pero creo que ahora entiendo mejor sus motivaciones al escribirla (si eso es posible). Solo espero que, si su conciencia está ahora en algún lado, todo sea menos abrumador.
Pero habrá quienes deseen cerrarlo, prenderle fuego y tirar las cenizas por el retrete. Sus líneas de pensamiento no siempre son fáciles de seguir, especialmente cuando entra en los terrenos de la Lógica y las Matemáticas, y la oscuridad de saber que contestaba con cierta normalidad (y evidente falta de empatía social) a preguntas aleatorias, a veces demasiado rosas o hirientes, mientras ocultó durante décadas una depresión clínica que terminaría en suicidio, no hacen alegre esta lectura.
Pero es una lectura valiosa. Sus reflexiones sobre si lo mostrado por los medios de comunicación está demasiado filtrado y sesgado como para conocer las cuestiones cubiertas con la profundidad necesaria, si todas las personas están preparadas para comprender cualquier ficción (opino que no), si seguimos consumiendo narrativas escritas en un mundo que no las necesita porque sus objetivos los cubren otros medios pasivos que apenas requieren la comprensión del público (esto me aterra y a él también), si no nos estaremos pasando con la búsqueda a todo coste del hedonismo, si no estaremos más solos que nunca en el mundo hiperconectado, si nuestros ídolos de juventud no serían productos del capitalismo de ineficaz mensaje por transgresores que parecieran, si nuestros ídolos de la actualidad... Comida para cerebros que quieren comer, sin necesidad de vestir corbata y apta (o incluso recomendada) para leerse en una franquicia de hamburgueserías, como a él le gustaba.
Esta lectura me ha abierto el apetito por explorar más la obra de DFW. me empachó, pero creo que ahora entiendo mejor sus motivaciones al escribirla (si eso es posible). Solo espero que, si su conciencia está ahora en algún lado, todo sea menos abrumador.
March 16, 2020
Era uno di quei talenti che compaiono una volta ogni secolo, probabilmente non vedremo mai più uno come lui nel corso della nostra vita: questo mi sento di gridarlo forte. Era come una cometa che passava rasoterra.
Lettura imprescindibile per chi ama DFW, le sue interviste, la possibilità di leggere quel che David aveva da dire durante le conversazioni, dove seppur limitato dalla sua timidezza era tuttavia in grado di esprimere concetti che rimangono impressi in mente.
Però ci sono parecchi libri che dopo averli letti mi hanno lasciato per sempre diverso da come ero prima, e penso che tutta la buona letteratura in qualche modo affronti il problema della solitudine e agisca come suo lenitivo.
Siamo tutti tremendamente, tremendamente soli.
Ma c'è qualcosa, quantomeno nei romanzi e nei racconti, che ti permette di entrare in intimità con il mondo, e con un'altra mente, e con certi personaggi, in un modo in cui non puoi proprio farlo nel mondo reale.
Io non so cosa stai pensando, non so molto di te, così come non so molto dei miei genitori, della mia ragazza o di mia sorella, però un brano di letteratura che sia davvero sincero ci permette di entrare in intimità con...... Non voglio dire con la gente, ma ci permette di entrare in intimità con un mondo che assomiglia al nostro quanto basta, al livello di dettagli emotivi, perché le varie sensazioni che proviamo possono poi riverberarsi anche nel mondo reale.
L'effetto che vorrei che avesse quello che scrivo è far sentire le persone meno sole. Oh insomma, toccare le persone in qualche modo.
Dopo le interviste iniziali fatte dopo le sue pubblicazioni ed i successi ottenuti c'è la parte finale delle interviste post suicidio, dove intervengono la sorella, i genitori ed i suoi miglior amici Costello e Franzen, le ultime 10 pagine sono un pugno nello stomaco. Non oso immaginare quanto possa aver sofferto e quanto possano aver sofferto le persone che lo amavano e che sono state impotenti davanti alla sua malattia.
Entro in un circolo vizioso in cui noto tutti gli aspetti per cui sono egocentrico, carrierista e non fedele ai principi e ai valori che trascendono i miei meschini interessi, e sento di non essere una persona buona. Ma poi considero il fatto che se non altro sto qui a preoccuparmene, annotare tutti i modi in cui vengo meno alla mia integrità, e mi dico che forse le persone che mancano totalmente di integrità non se ne accorgono o non se ne preoccupano; e a quel punto mi sento meglio con me stesso. Il tutto mi confonde molto. penso di essere molto onesto e sincero, ma sono anche orgoglioso di quanto sono onesto e sincero: e quindi in che posizione sono?
Eri una gran persona, puoi starne certo e molti di quelli che hanno avuto a che fare con te nella vita ne hanno tratto giovamento, me compreso che ho avuto l'onore e la fortuna di leggerti.
ciao David
Lettura imprescindibile per chi ama DFW, le sue interviste, la possibilità di leggere quel che David aveva da dire durante le conversazioni, dove seppur limitato dalla sua timidezza era tuttavia in grado di esprimere concetti che rimangono impressi in mente.
Però ci sono parecchi libri che dopo averli letti mi hanno lasciato per sempre diverso da come ero prima, e penso che tutta la buona letteratura in qualche modo affronti il problema della solitudine e agisca come suo lenitivo.
Siamo tutti tremendamente, tremendamente soli.
Ma c'è qualcosa, quantomeno nei romanzi e nei racconti, che ti permette di entrare in intimità con il mondo, e con un'altra mente, e con certi personaggi, in un modo in cui non puoi proprio farlo nel mondo reale.
Io non so cosa stai pensando, non so molto di te, così come non so molto dei miei genitori, della mia ragazza o di mia sorella, però un brano di letteratura che sia davvero sincero ci permette di entrare in intimità con...... Non voglio dire con la gente, ma ci permette di entrare in intimità con un mondo che assomiglia al nostro quanto basta, al livello di dettagli emotivi, perché le varie sensazioni che proviamo possono poi riverberarsi anche nel mondo reale.
L'effetto che vorrei che avesse quello che scrivo è far sentire le persone meno sole. Oh insomma, toccare le persone in qualche modo.
Dopo le interviste iniziali fatte dopo le sue pubblicazioni ed i successi ottenuti c'è la parte finale delle interviste post suicidio, dove intervengono la sorella, i genitori ed i suoi miglior amici Costello e Franzen, le ultime 10 pagine sono un pugno nello stomaco. Non oso immaginare quanto possa aver sofferto e quanto possano aver sofferto le persone che lo amavano e che sono state impotenti davanti alla sua malattia.
Entro in un circolo vizioso in cui noto tutti gli aspetti per cui sono egocentrico, carrierista e non fedele ai principi e ai valori che trascendono i miei meschini interessi, e sento di non essere una persona buona. Ma poi considero il fatto che se non altro sto qui a preoccuparmene, annotare tutti i modi in cui vengo meno alla mia integrità, e mi dico che forse le persone che mancano totalmente di integrità non se ne accorgono o non se ne preoccupano; e a quel punto mi sento meglio con me stesso. Il tutto mi confonde molto. penso di essere molto onesto e sincero, ma sono anche orgoglioso di quanto sono onesto e sincero: e quindi in che posizione sono?
Eri una gran persona, puoi starne certo e molti di quelli che hanno avuto a che fare con te nella vita ne hanno tratto giovamento, me compreso che ho avuto l'onore e la fortuna di leggerti.
ciao David
November 13, 2022
Impresionante.
April 23, 2025
5/5. I have liked DFW for a long time, but really didn't understand a lot of what he was doing until reading this collection of interviews.
Boy oh boy, what he was doing was fascinating. I can't POSSIBLY write everything I learned from the best interview on the book (the one with Larry McCaffery from 1993 for the Review of Contemporary Fiction), but at its heart is this: "Really good fiction could have as dark a worldview as it wished, but it'd find a way both to depict this dark work and to illuminate the possibilities for being alive and human in it." And this: "I strongly suspect a big part of real art-fiction's job is to aggravate this sense of entrapment and loneliness and death in people, to move people to countenance it, since any possible human redemption requires us first to face what's dreadful, what we want to deny."
I think he's so right. Literature that essentially communicates that the world is shallow, bad, meaningless, etc. without offering any hope or what it MEANS to be a human in that world just doesn't seem worth it, to me. DFW seemed to want to write things that, yes, showed the world to be a sad and dark place to live, but that also moved his readers, caused them to think (vs just mindlessly be entertained), and had "something to do with love."
There was so much going on in this one interview (many themes of which were repeated in other, shorter interviews, which was cool): postmodernism and its effect on literature; the necessity and goodness of boundaries (vs the breaking of rules purely for shock factor); advocating for a certain selflessness and generosity, as a writer; the responsibility of good writing to face loneliness; the balance between challenging your reader and keeping them engaged (and just a lot of good stuff on the relational nature of writing a book and language in general); a sort of rebellion against forms of art that help you to smoothly ingest their messages without realizing it; the difference between metafiction and minimalism; utilizing techniques in your writing FOR specific purposes instead of just using them to show that you're clever; the redemptive nature of good writing; and more. Honestly, the more famous essay by David Lipsky at the end was kinda garbage in comparison.
It was cool, too, to hear about techniques of his like footnotes and flash cut scenes and why Infinite Jest is such a maze of a book to get through. It's very much on purpose, and I love his work even more now that I know he was doing something with that. Like, seriously. His goal was not to frustrate his readers.
I just can't get over how good this collection was. I'll be mulling over everything I learned for a long, long time and possibly writing a blog post about it. (And I learned like 50 new words, which is always a fun perk of reading David Foster Wallace.) If you're at all interested in literary fiction or any of the topics listed above...read this!!
Boy oh boy, what he was doing was fascinating. I can't POSSIBLY write everything I learned from the best interview on the book (the one with Larry McCaffery from 1993 for the Review of Contemporary Fiction), but at its heart is this: "Really good fiction could have as dark a worldview as it wished, but it'd find a way both to depict this dark work and to illuminate the possibilities for being alive and human in it." And this: "I strongly suspect a big part of real art-fiction's job is to aggravate this sense of entrapment and loneliness and death in people, to move people to countenance it, since any possible human redemption requires us first to face what's dreadful, what we want to deny."
I think he's so right. Literature that essentially communicates that the world is shallow, bad, meaningless, etc. without offering any hope or what it MEANS to be a human in that world just doesn't seem worth it, to me. DFW seemed to want to write things that, yes, showed the world to be a sad and dark place to live, but that also moved his readers, caused them to think (vs just mindlessly be entertained), and had "something to do with love."
There was so much going on in this one interview (many themes of which were repeated in other, shorter interviews, which was cool): postmodernism and its effect on literature; the necessity and goodness of boundaries (vs the breaking of rules purely for shock factor); advocating for a certain selflessness and generosity, as a writer; the responsibility of good writing to face loneliness; the balance between challenging your reader and keeping them engaged (and just a lot of good stuff on the relational nature of writing a book and language in general); a sort of rebellion against forms of art that help you to smoothly ingest their messages without realizing it; the difference between metafiction and minimalism; utilizing techniques in your writing FOR specific purposes instead of just using them to show that you're clever; the redemptive nature of good writing; and more. Honestly, the more famous essay by David Lipsky at the end was kinda garbage in comparison.
It was cool, too, to hear about techniques of his like footnotes and flash cut scenes and why Infinite Jest is such a maze of a book to get through. It's very much on purpose, and I love his work even more now that I know he was doing something with that. Like, seriously. His goal was not to frustrate his readers.
I just can't get over how good this collection was. I'll be mulling over everything I learned for a long, long time and possibly writing a blog post about it. (And I learned like 50 new words, which is always a fun perk of reading David Foster Wallace.) If you're at all interested in literary fiction or any of the topics listed above...read this!!
June 8, 2022
"Sono uno che passa la sua vita nelle biblioteche", dice. "Non sono molto interessante".
October 31, 2013
"Entro in un circolo vizioso in cui noto tutti gli aspetti per cui sono egocentrico, carrierista e non fedele ai principi e ai valori che trascendono i miei meschini interessi, e sento di non essere una persona buona. Ma poi considero il fatto che se non altro sto qui a preoccuparmene, a notare tutti i modi in cui vengo meno alla mia integrità, e mi dico che forse le persone che mancano totalmente di integrità non se ne accorgono o non se ne preoccupano; e a quel punto mi sento molto meglio con me stesso. Il tutto mi confonde molto. Penso di essere molto onesto e sincero, ma sono anche orgoglioso di quanto sono onesto e sincero: e quindi in che posizione sono?".
Eri sopra a tutti, troppo paralizzato dalle tue straordinarie capacità per sopportarlo e questo non può far altro che farti sentire a lutto nel leggere una raccolta che ricorda, spesso con la tua viva voce, la tua grandezza umana, intellettuale e letteraria.
Potrei dire, come già hanno fatto in tanti, che il libro è ripetitivo ma io non mi stancherò mai di leggere le parole di un genio in grado di incanalare alla perfezione quello che anche un piccolo e insulso essere umano come me riesce a percepire, pur non potendolo esternare con una tale precisione e finezza espressiva.
Forse il libro non merita 5 stelle, ma solo perché (come sempre, quando parla David) dopo tante risate di cuore, arrivano le tante, amare lacrime pensando a quanto è venuto meno; uno dei quei geni che può nascere solo una volta per secolo.
Eri sopra a tutti, troppo paralizzato dalle tue straordinarie capacità per sopportarlo e questo non può far altro che farti sentire a lutto nel leggere una raccolta che ricorda, spesso con la tua viva voce, la tua grandezza umana, intellettuale e letteraria.
Potrei dire, come già hanno fatto in tanti, che il libro è ripetitivo ma io non mi stancherò mai di leggere le parole di un genio in grado di incanalare alla perfezione quello che anche un piccolo e insulso essere umano come me riesce a percepire, pur non potendolo esternare con una tale precisione e finezza espressiva.
Forse il libro non merita 5 stelle, ma solo perché (come sempre, quando parla David) dopo tante risate di cuore, arrivano le tante, amare lacrime pensando a quanto è venuto meno; uno dei quei geni che può nascere solo una volta per secolo.
July 20, 2024
You need the Introduction, the Chronology, and the final piece in the book by David Lipsky and you'll have a pretty complete picture of the man alongside the writing. (The End of The Tour being a great watch.) This volume is packed with the irreverent pleasure of his mind.
Was entering college when Infinite Jest came out, and that dates me, but I mention this because it was a privilege and a joy to be able to be studying writing around that time. To tap into and absorb its energy, and have friends who were super excited about this guy and who turned me onto him, even if it took me a long time after that to figure out what I liked about him and how to approach reading him. (Still haven't read IJ... :<.)
Was entering college when Infinite Jest came out, and that dates me, but I mention this because it was a privilege and a joy to be able to be studying writing around that time. To tap into and absorb its energy, and have friends who were super excited about this guy and who turned me onto him, even if it took me a long time after that to figure out what I liked about him and how to approach reading him. (Still haven't read IJ... :<.)
June 29, 2018
According to the editor of this collection, this is the most important and comprehensive interview. I happened to find it online about a year ago and read it. One take away was how insecure and paranoid DFW was about readers not liking his work. He decided to do an odd thing, intentionally make some of his writing abstruse as a kind of advance punishment to the critical readers. The irony, of course, is that it feeds reader frustration.
Read
February 5, 2016in una delle interviste DFW aveva detto che la scrittura dovrebbe essere un antidoto contro la solitudine, in effetti è quello che ho sperimentato quando ho letto Una Cosa divertente che non farò mai più: finalmente ho trovato una persona che pensa apertamente le stesse cose che penso io, non mi sono sentita più tanto strana per il semplice fatto di non condividere con nessuno dei miei amici l'avversione per le crociere e per gli spazi intasati di gente che si DEVE divertire a tutti i costi...
August 4, 2020
Antología de entrevistas a Foster Wallace que no sólo es un retrato preciso de su personalidad (especialmente estremecedor es el último texto, escrito después de su muerte), sino un resumen claro de sus inquietudes, influencias, obsesiones y técnicas narrativas como quizás no pueda serlo ningún tratado o ensayo sobre su obra.
January 18, 2023
«Soy el único "posmoderno" que conocerás que adora totalmente a León Tolstoi».
August 9, 2018
For someone whose main interest is literary fiction, this stuff is like porn. I might as well review the new collection from Ass Enthusiast Weekly. Or whatever. Really interesting to get inside Wallace's head a bit, at least as far as his thoughts on writing. Though knowing how it all ends, you realize he's holding a lot back. An interviewer mentions D.F.W taking a couple years off from Amherst to drive a school bus as if it's a wacky, eccentric little side trip when in fact, you later realize, he was suffering a sort of nervous breakdown and probably wrestling with the knowledge that he would one day off himself. So reading these interviews you're always conscious of the dark undertones that are only alluded to superficially.
The biographical stuff is okay but repetitive, and like I said, not allowed to get too deep. Wallace's philosophy on writing is very interesting; he hints at a level of self-consciousness that would paralyze most artists. His take on our postmodern tendency toward irony I found to be the most thought-provoking thing about the book and what will stick with me the longest. In the end, once again, the possession of genius proves to be not worth the price of admission. Makes a guy glad to be a middle-of-the-road talent for once.
The biographical stuff is okay but repetitive, and like I said, not allowed to get too deep. Wallace's philosophy on writing is very interesting; he hints at a level of self-consciousness that would paralyze most artists. His take on our postmodern tendency toward irony I found to be the most thought-provoking thing about the book and what will stick with me the longest. In the end, once again, the possession of genius proves to be not worth the price of admission. Makes a guy glad to be a middle-of-the-road talent for once.
Read
February 7, 2018It mostly felt like a repetition -- I'd read at least a couple of these interviews before, and they didn't tell me much I didn't already know. Sure, there were some interesting stories, and I got at least one book recommendation out of it that I didn't have before, but this mostly felt like a recapitulation. Also, some of these interviews were pretty lousy -- local magazines emphasizing the relevance of the novel to that locality, that's some cringe right there. Pass.
June 10, 2012
This book is thoroughly enjoyable for the DFW nerd. The choice to make it chronological was brilliant and I enjoyed seeing how his view points changed throughout his life.
Do bear in mind though, that the articles inside were never meant to be read back-to back-to back, so sometimes the information became rather repetitive and kind of inspired an "enough already" vibe in this reader. This is a format issue though and due to the nature of this book series, really couldn't be avoided.
I do feel Mr. Burn did miss out on some great interviews though. DFW did a few interviews with Michael Silverblat on KCRW's Bookworm show. Considering Mr. Burn already hit up the Lannan Foundation for one interview (The one by John O'Brien), I couldn't imagine why he'd leave out such a wonderful source for further insights into DFW's writing technique. They are, however, available for free here:
I did also enjoy the inclusion of the two articles that showed DFW's dickish side. With the nice guy persona that DFW has in the majority of the articles it was an interesting change of pace.
With that though, I question the inclusion of the article where you can't read the interviewers questions. I understand how it was based on the format of BIwHM, but really, it tried to hard to be clever and nothing worthwhile came out of it. It could have been easily left out.
I was kind of surprised that David Lipsky's obituary article ended the book, seeing as it really didn't fit the theme. However, it is a beautiful piece and well worth reading and a great way to end the timeline.
Do bear in mind though, that the articles inside were never meant to be read back-to back-to back, so sometimes the information became rather repetitive and kind of inspired an "enough already" vibe in this reader. This is a format issue though and due to the nature of this book series, really couldn't be avoided.
I do feel Mr. Burn did miss out on some great interviews though. DFW did a few interviews with Michael Silverblat on KCRW's Bookworm show. Considering Mr. Burn already hit up the Lannan Foundation for one interview (The one by John O'Brien), I couldn't imagine why he'd leave out such a wonderful source for further insights into DFW's writing technique. They are, however, available for free here:
I did also enjoy the inclusion of the two articles that showed DFW's dickish side. With the nice guy persona that DFW has in the majority of the articles it was an interesting change of pace.
With that though, I question the inclusion of the article where you can't read the interviewers questions. I understand how it was based on the format of BIwHM, but really, it tried to hard to be clever and nothing worthwhile came out of it. It could have been easily left out.
I was kind of surprised that David Lipsky's obituary article ended the book, seeing as it really didn't fit the theme. However, it is a beautiful piece and well worth reading and a great way to end the timeline.
November 13, 2022
Un libro que enseña quien fue David Foster Wallace, su interesante punto de vista sobre lo que es un escrito de buena calidad a través de múltiples reportajes. Tambien cuenta con reflexiones acerca de vida americana, tv, música, consumismo, marketing, internet y como todo esto compite con la actividad solitaria y de concentración que necesita un lector y también un escritor. Le admiro un montón en cuanto a su locuacidad y memoria, además me sentí identificada con ese 'miedo a la gente' y ese humor irónico que fue necesario desarrollar para sobrellevar su depresión e intentos de suicidio pero que a su vez útil para la escritura de la más nombrada de todo el libro; la novela La Broma Infinita....¡te quiero David!
August 14, 2012
It's amazing how many of these are puff pieces, and how short they are. Rather disappointed - a lot of these are transcripts of shows where there's a great deal of chatter about time remaining and Timely Topics. The somewhat gruesomely named Last Interview is coming out this December or something, maybe it'll be better. I think the intro said there are about seventy DFW interviews extant - beats me why they didn't transcribe some of the better long ones on UTU, like the fucking epic one that's in eight parts. Copyright presumably....also, the inclusion of the Lipsky piece felt really, really off.
April 20, 2013
Después de leer las entrevistas y el epílogo de este brillante libro uno empieza a entender cómo y por qué DFW escribió sus novelas, relatos, artículos y ensayos. El nivel intelectual que tenía Wallace era impresionante, pero además asombra su sencillez, perfeccionismo y honestidad reflejadas en cada entrevista. Pero también es un libro muy triste ya que vamos viendo, con el paso de los años, como la inteligencia de Wallace, que le permite tener consciencia de su mundo y de la realidad que lo rodea, lo lleva a una depresión aguda que al final hace que se suicide. Creo que será un libro de consulta para todos los lectores de narrativa "seria".
January 6, 2020
Tra gli scaffali della mia libreria c’� “Infinite Jest� e “La scopa del sistema�, due romanzi di DFW. Giacciono tutti e due accanto, ancora non letti, ma iniziati un paio di volte. Questa raccolta di interviste è illuminante. Per chi ha letto Wallace ma soprattutto per chi, come me, deve tentare nuovamente l’avventura. Wallace racconta sé, in un modo talmente sincero e spiega perché i capitoli dei suoi libri non hanno un ordine e sparpaglia i paragrafi e ci racconta del ‘vuoto� del mondo postmoderno che è pieno di intrattenimento continuo e senza fine. Una serie di interviste piene di scrittura e filosofia. Peccato che Wallace non ci sia più. Davvero un peccato.
October 30, 2012
The collection isn't revelatory as a whole, you've heard this stuff before, but damn it is a pleasure to revisit his voice. I especially like the frustrated and obviously annoyed but still aiming toward sincere reactions to that arrogant and rather dim French man Didier Jacob's questions. And the McCaffery interview is as essential as ever.
January 3, 2016
Anche basta monetizzare il cadavere.
October 3, 2017
"Scrivere è una specie di esibizionismo privato. E c’� pure una strana solitudine, e il desiderio di avere un qualche dialogo con la gente, ma senza la capacità vera di farlo di persona." (p. 128)
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