Day 21: Wallace on Campus
Fans of David Foster Wallace might wonder what it would be like to hang-out with him. I don’t know… maybe play some tennis, write abbreviated deep thoughts on cocktail napkins, eat a few pistachios…
I just tossed that last one in because it’s the only situation that immediately comes to mind in which I might be of some use or interest to him. I’m pretty good at getting into those frustrating barely-cracked ones.
Unfortunately none of us is likely to ever find out, though a few brave souls at Chapman University College have taken his classes and shared the experience on www.RateMyProfessors.com for desperate bloggers like myself to copy and paste into a sorry excuse for a post.
Predictably, some students rave about his brilliance:
“I took all the classes I could from this man. He will ABSOLUTELY make you a better writer. Caring, approachable yet formidably intelligent, passionate about what he does. Very highly recommended, if you are serious about fiction and writing.”
While others bemoan his star-writerly ego:
“DFW sucks. Completely narcissistic. He failed to give constructive feedback since he was so busy going off on tangents about himself/his own writing.”
Ouch.
But the very first review is my favorite:
“Very particular about usage. Excellent at explaining concepts. Very neurotic and tends to chew tobacco and spit in a cup while lecturing. If you are a female, do NOT fall under his spell…he’s a heartbreaker.”
Too late! The chewing-tobacco thing is a bit of a turnoff, but I’m still in trouble, especially after watching his sort of uncomfortable yet appealing appearance on Charlie Rose from several years ago this afternoon YouTube. Possible project for next week: Valentine. And I WILL send it if someone digs up an address for me. I have no pride.
In other “DFW on Campus” news, it looks like there’s a chance he might be the graduation speaker this year at my alma mater. Judging by past years’ selections, I wouldn’t count on a good decision, but one can always hope…
Also in the running: Garrison Keillor. The choice is obvious:
HOT
NOT
Duh.
So it looks like I’ll be making the board game. Keep your standards low.
Also, since we’ve done so much for my family, maybe someone in yours should come up with the next challenge. 3rd grade adaptation of Infinite Jest? What do they do, by the way? I’m trying to remember what I did in 3rd grade and am getting a strong mental image of fruit roll-ups/string-cheese and not much else.
Professor David Foster Wallace
101 Crookshank Hall
Pomona College
140 W Sixth St
Claremont CA 91711-6335
As I live in San Diego (2 hours away), and one of my best friends is an alumna of Pomona (and currently reading Infinite Jest), I’ve seriously considered asking her to try pulling some alumi strings to get an audience with Prof. Wallace.
Billifer
February 8, 2008 at 12:30 pm
I should clarify that last comment to say “an audience for the two of us…”
As for the board game, you already said it yourself on Day 14: “Eschaton (a 13-year-old boy’s DREAM version of ‘Risk’)”. You know you have to make a checkerboard Eschaton, right?
Billifer
February 8, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Billifer, dammnit, you stole my thunder. I clicked on this post from my feed reader fully intending to post DFW’s information at Pomona.
Now I have nothing to add.
Still love the blog, though. Keep it up!
Ryan
February 10, 2008 at 4:40 am
Sorry, Ryan. I’m a dedicated fan of this blog… You gotta catch the posts fast to beat me to ‘em.
Billifer
February 10, 2008 at 7:42 am
Hey Liz… You could always send DFW a photo of yourself wearing this shirt.
Billifer
February 12, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Ack! So it didn’t come through… this shirt.
Billifer
February 12, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Too straightforward. Maybe I’ll send him the Infinite Jest Game.
eazzolini
February 13, 2008 at 5:33 am
I think he’d get a kick out of that. There’s another version I saw–”David Foster Wallace Loves Me”–but that might weird him out.
Billifer
February 13, 2008 at 8:59 am
glad i found this blog, will be back to read the whole challenge
April
September 14, 2008 at 6:20 am
Great Site, keep up the good work!
I would like to address the listing for David Foster Wallace on ratemyprofessors.com:
1. The photo-
a. Is it real?
I. It doesn’t really look like him.
2. The comments-
b. Are they real?
II. They sure seem authentic.
3. The college-
c. David Foster Wallace did not teach at Chapman University, he taught at Pomona.
III. “An article about how some celebrity professors have been evaluated on ratemyprofessors.com (The Chronicle, September 21) incorrectly reported the affiliation of David Foster Wallace, the novelist. He teaches at Pomona College, not Chapman University.”
{The Chronicle of Higher Education – October 5, 2007 – Table of …}
My thoughts: The listing is real, the photo is not, the information is wrong, the comments are legit.
echoparkave.com
October 30, 2008 at 10:16 pm