Tuesday, November 23, 2010

to know your double-goer, and for him to be famous and dead

this could be my bio:
•born while dad is in grad school
•elder of two children
•moved to and spent early life in champaign, IL
•dad prof at Univ of Illinois
•eventually went to public school in Urbana, IL
•prodigy in math
•went east for college
•double majored in philosophy and lit
•considered (briefly) grad school in philo
•had extremely unkempt long hair
•became a writer
•suffered depression
•wrote fiction and nonfiction
•taught at a university
•loved tennis
•loved dogs

and in fact, it is. it is also the bio of the late David Foster Wallace.

when i consider my frustrations with my career, i would do well to think that much of his writing is what i would like mine to be, his notoriety what i covet, yet still he tied a noose for himself at the apex of it all.

6 comments:

  1. Is Wallace's writing and fame the right thing to covet given his sad and premature death? P.s I am drunk on bourbon and ginger at LAX waiting for my good brother's arrival.

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  2. ah, the kaufman brother coalescence -- you know i hate to miss that. make sure to have some cafe yai for me.

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  3. even if he didn't die early, i'd much rather have you. (and i am not drunk.)

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  4. What aspects of his writing do you wish yours could be? And, if you don't mind me asking, what type of professor was your father?

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  5. ...you know he was one of my tennis instructors when I was a kid!

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