RIP David Foster Wallace

:'(

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080914/ap_en_ot/obit_wallace

 

Oh no.

 

Speechless.

 

god

just heard this

this is a rough one

found by his wife

46 years old

what the fuck would compel a person to do this

no matter how bad things are, aren't they worse if you're dead?

 

That's rational thinking applied to a most irrational moment or stretch in one's life, depending on all the factors involved. Sometimes the only thing that seems to matter is ending the pain or anguish of the moment.

Always sad, regardless of fame or talent or age.

 

Sirs, Madames,

RIP from a Nuck, no matter how awful he made us seem.

YD&OHS, etc

 

Was never a fan, but appreciate his bootprint on the world of literature. The creative writing department at Illinois State, in which I was a student, has his fingerprints all over it. I found most of the professors fawned over him way too much.

But he will be missed. I was curious to see what writing cliche he'd next dismantle.

 

Far and away one of the best novelists of our times -- and a hell of a reporter. His story on McCain's campaign during the 2000 election cycle was a masterpiece.

I'll forever regret not going to meet him while he was at Illinois State and I was working in Champaign.

Looks like his demons finally caught him.

 

Into the black hole, another light goes.

 

God dammit.

This sucks.

Devastated.

 

I had, at times, mixed feelings about DFW's fiction, but his non-fiction always represented the best of what we do. He took risks, big ones, and though he had his share of misses, he has a fascinating mind and a wonderful imagination. The worlds of literature and journalism are less today.

Take the time, if you can, and read his essay/story profiling Roger Federer from the NYT Play Magazine last year. A wonderful meditation on the beauty and artistry of athletic competition.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/sports/playmagazine/20federer.html?pagewanted=all

 

Here's that Rolling Stone article on McCain that I referenced above.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/18420304/the_weasel_twelve_monkeys_and_the_shrub