David Foster Wallace's 'Consider the Lobster'
David Foster Wallace, 46, was found dead in his Claremont, California, home Friday night after having hanged himself. Food-minded folk may already be familiar with his essay "Consider the Lobster," originally published in Gourmet magazine in 2004. If you're not, go read it here on gourmet.com.
My gf here also reminds me that Wallace wrote an essay on the Illinois State Fair ("Ticket to the Fair") for Harper's magazine.* In that essay, a group of women at the fair think he's from Harper's Bazaar, not Harper's (there's a difference), and invite him to taste the results of a bake-off, where, I'm told, hilarity ensues. I haven't read it, but I'm LMAO here listening to the gf describe it. I think I'm going to pick up A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again today.
* I'd link to it, but Harper's puts most of its archives behind a paywall; you can find it in his book A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again.
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15 Comments:
Um, the guy just killed himself, and the only thing you have to say is that we should go read his articles and book? Hello? Did I miss something here?
Banannah at 7:09PM on 09/14/08
Well, it's incredibly sad, even tragic that he killed himself. But yes, I think AK is right to point to his writing -- it's uniquely genius and inspired, and gives meaning/resonance & possibly even insight into his life and death as nothing else would. In addition to what AK mentions, check out his Rolling Stone article on John McCain (circa 8 years ago) which is mind-boggling; and the first one hundred INSANE, wonderful, hilarious pages of Infinite Jest.
cheeseburger at 7:26PM on 09/14/08
I think that one of the finest tributes one can offer any author, alive or dead, is to draw others to that author's work. I believe that DFW's work will endure in part because he could write about an incredible array of topics in such an artful and considered fashion that his language draws you in regardless of your interest in the topic itself. How many other Gourmet articles have become the title piece for a collection of non-food writing?
thatgrrl at 8:57PM on 09/14/08
@Banannah: I disagree--I am a BIG DFW fan, and it would have been weird for Serious Eats to write a standard obit, after all, this is a food site. DFW's legacy will always be his writing, and to point to his writing for others who might not be familiar is one of the best tributes a site can give. (And yes, the McCain article is great.)
NYminknit at 9:36PM on 09/14/08
It would have been helpful to include some more info about him rather than to expect every reader here to have a full dossier of his writing available on a whim. Prior to reading this blog post, I'd never heard of this guy.
To only give part of the story because it isn't consistent with the news provider's standard format is just sloppy and lazy.
ArtoriusRex at 10:32PM on 09/14/08
Thanks for mentioning his passing. I've read DFW's fiction, but somehow I've missed his nonfiction. I've got several books of his books, including Consider the Lobster and Other Essays, on order now. I'm looking forward to reading it, although it's really sad that it took his death to bring me back to his work.
jcwest47 at 10:40PM on 09/14/08
@ArtoriusRex: You're right. I should have linked to DFW's Wikipedia page and an obit in a newspaper. I was in a hurry to get this blogged and get on with my weekend, as you guessed. Anyway, after seeing your comment, I linked to his Wikipedia page and the obit, which I believe is enough background for Serious Eats. If properly linked (and I admit this item was not properly linked when you first saw it), you have the option to click out and gather background outside the scope of the SE post, if you are just coming to the story for the first time. We are primarily about the food, so we are going to blog something like this from a food angle (as we have in previous obits). We do like to acknowledge what's going on in the world at large and pay tribute to people whose work we've enjoyed—as long as we can tie it to food.
@Banannah: See above. I think cheeseburger, thatgrrl, and NYminknit give the reaction I would have given. I could have been more sensitive in the copy and expressed condolences, but apart from that, we don't really go much into cause of death, etc. Our operating principle in our "obits" is to highlight the food goodness that the decedent brought to the world.
Adam Kuban at 7:20AM on 09/15/08
Hey Adam, et al. My initial reaction - posted for all to see - reads harshly, and I apologize. I shouldn't have written that. And, I agree with you. Referring to DFW's body of work is certainly a worthy tribute.
However, my comments stem from what I saw as DFW's tragedy in contrast with what I read as a glib post. It's been my experience that other obits on Serious Eats have been written differently and with appropriate sensitivity, even for a site devoted to exclusively to food goodness. This post seemed... off the mark.
Serious Eats is a site that I read often during day. Adam, your posts are among some of my favorite. Please keep up the good work! I am and will remain a fan.
Banannah at 8:58AM on 09/15/08
@Banannah: No apology necessary. I didn't take it too harshly. You're probably right. I think because I was writing quickly, I didn't treat DFW with as much thought as I probably would have with more time on my hands. I've hardly read any DFW (but just purchased A Supposedly Fun Thing ... and am catching up), but what I wanted to get across was "Here is an amazingly renown American literary talent who passed from the scene far too early. I assume there are many DFW fans among the readers of Serious Eats, and I know how it feels when a favorite author dies. I wanted to acknowledge his death here and highlight his food-related works—as a reminder to current fans and as a starting point for food-minded, would-be DFW readers." Thanks for taking the time to comment. I'm sorry this seemed glib.
Adam Kuban at 10:12AM on 09/15/08
"A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" is perhaps one of the funniest, sharpest essays of the twentieth century. As he usually did, Wallace took an essay about cruise ships and turned it in to a commentary on American life, selfishness and excess. His passing saddens me and I wish hi Godspeed to his next destination.
pcullie at 10:25AM on 09/15/08
I was sorry to read of this author's death. But if we're discussing his writing, I thought that "Consider the Lobster" was a self-righteous, self-referential slam of the Maine Lobster Fesival. I'm not from Maine and almost never eat lobster, and I came to the piece (which ran in Gourmet) with an open mind. But it seemed like Wallace had no affinity for the event he was supposedly covering, and his contemputous attitude left me with no interest in reading anything else that he wrote.
HIs death is a tragedy, but I can't join the universal acclaim for his writing.
pourgirl at 1:48PM on 09/15/08
that is an amazing article. i can't remember if i've ever read anything of his before, but reading that article about lobster, it felt like i had. Perhaps that's because his writing is simply good, and like other good essay writing, draws one in with elegance, intelligence, and challenging ideas. Thanks for posting that.
mr guy at 2:45PM on 09/15/08
pourgirl - slightly agree with you. I went to university where Wallace taught, and though many of my English major colleagues worshiped him, I also thought Wallace was extremely self-righteous (and as for self-referential, well, he footnotes himself in his books). However that is part of his genius - almost like Hemingway, a person I would never enjoy being around, but whose writing I like precisely because of this.
robin170 at 6:07AM on 09/16/08
Harper's has made public all of his articles for the magazine, in memoriam, here:
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/09/hbc-90003557
Honor at 11:06AM on 09/16/08
It's a bummer that Consider The Lobster is getting so much attention on food sites, because it's really kind of reprehensible. --And Mr. Wallace had a ton of writing that was much, much better. Check out The Haphazard Gourmet Girls, to hear what's really going on in Consider The Lobster:
http://haphazardgourmet.blogspot.com/2008/09/supposedly-fun-thing-well-never-do.html
renzolake at 3:29PM on 09/19/08