ctrl-s wrote:Hmm. I believe Wallace got his MFA from the U of Arizona in the 80s

I prefer to believe that he is a Placebo Records completist.*














*Which would mean that he would not only have all the JFA records, but also the custom JFA skateboard.**








**Actually, I believe they are referred to as "decks"*** rather than skateboards.















***I have spent many pleasant hours on Dave Eggers' deck, listening to Blossom Dearie and playing a variation on the Twister game invented by Amy Sedaris, wherein you simply attempt to contort your bulk in to the quirkiest possible shape, and are peer reviewed as to your relative success in this endeavor.

Angus Jung wrote:***I have spent many pleasant hours on Dave Eggers' deck, listening to Blossom Dearie and playing a variation on the Twister game invented by Amy Sedaris, wherein you simply attempt to contort your bulk in to the quirkiest possible shape, and are peer reviewed as to your relative success in this endeavor.

That sounds nice. "We" will make his a small bag, to eat, then; but still a bag.*

* Ho. I see what you did there.**

** For maximum verisimilitude you really need nested footnoted digressions.

Not a man to imitate! Too soon! Too demanding a style! Too many research and mathematics prerequisites!

I think it's hard to imagine someone imitating the style of Wallace without being immediately identified as a watered-down Wallace-imitator*. I think that bodes well for Mr. Wallace.

Good analysis of Eggers there, Mr. Jung.

* However, if done with full self-conciousness, tongue-in-cheek, in the I'm-on-an-internet-message-board-and-this-doesn't-mean-shit kind of way, it can be, like, kind of funny.

gio wrote:Not a man to imitate! Too soon! Too demanding a style! Too many research and mathematics prerequisites!

I think it's hard to imagine someone imitating the style of Wallace without being immediately identified as a watered-down Wallace-imitator*. I think that bodes well for Mr. Wallace.

The same thing has happened in poetry with David Berman. You can't imagine how many young poets attempt to pull off a watered down version of his style.

One can't help falling into an approximation or echo of the voices of certain authors at times (Martin Amis, specifically the narrator of Money, is another for me, which narrative voice itself draws heavily from Bellow and Joseph Heller), in the course of developing one's own style. Straight imitation bad, obviously, except as noted for comedic effect. I've made arrangements to be shot if I ever try to get away with footnoting or using words like "phatic" in nontechnical writing.

Brett Eugene Ralph wrote:

gio wrote:Not a man to imitate! Too soon! Too demanding a style! Too many research and mathematics prerequisites!

I think it's hard to imagine someone imitating the style of Wallace without being immediately identified as a watered-down Wallace-imitator*. I think that bodes well for Mr. Wallace.

The same thing has happened in poetry with David Berman. You can't imagine how many young poets attempt to pull off a watered down version of his style.

hm, wasn't aware of that.

I'll bet similar ripples have occurred in the past with:

- Vonnegut
- Brautigan
- Burroughs
- Joyce (?)

oh yeah, and Slint.

gio wrote:oh yeah, and Slint.

Slint is still my favorite Slint.

i hate to bump this, but i've been flipping through oblivion again this morning and was just reminded of how much i love it. most of consider the lobster is pretty good, too.

if i ever get around to finishing infinite jest i'm pretty sure he'll officially become my favorite author.

not crap.

i've only read Everything and More, but just for that i'll say Not Crap. i got really interested in math for the first time ever after i read that, even though parts were really over my head. really entertaining with tons of weird factoids. i even bought some of the books for further reading that he recommended, something that no other book has got me to do

technicallous wrote:i hate to bump this, but i've been flipping through oblivion again this morning and was just reminded of how much i love it. most of consider the lobster is pretty good, too.

if i ever get around to finishing infinite jest i'm pretty sure he'll officially become my favorite author.

not crap.

Be sure to read "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again", if you haven't already and you enjoy his essays. Some of his best and funniest work.