David Wallace Tribute

The word “genius” has been so overused in the last 30- or so years, applied as it is to everything from this month’s most popular rap singer to political campaign strategists, that it is now nearly devoid of meaning; yet, I can’t think of a word that describes David Foster Wallace more accurately. Apart from any aesthetic judgment about his creativity and style, it was clear to anyone that he was just a flat-out genius by any objective assessment. His education was in Fine Arts, but his writing reflects knowledge and understanding and perhaps even commandof a multitude of disciplines, from mathematics to medicine, to a degree that can only be achieved by someone with a truly rare intellectual gift.

And what he did with words, and imagination, was simply startling. My jaw literally dropped the first time I read him, and it has never stopped dropping each time I picked up something of his to read.

It is sad that he was in pain, and it is sad that we shall not have more of him. We should be thankful for what we do have and for what will be a vital inspiration to other authors.
My sympathies go out to his family and friends.

Mike
Bismarck, North Dakota