To be willing to sort of die in order to move the reader, somehow. Even now I'm scared about how sappy this'll look in print, saying this.

Quote by David Foster Wallace

Topics: David Foster Wallace Quotes

The great thing about irony is that it splits things apart, gets up above them...

The great thing about irony is that it splits things apart, gets up above them...

We're not keen on the idea of the story sharing its valence with the reader....

We're not keen on the idea of the story sharing its valence with the reader....

For these cultures, getting rid of the pain without addressing the deeper cause would be...

For these cultures, getting rid of the pain without addressing the deeper cause would be...

TV's eal agenda is to be liked, because if you like what you're seeing, you'll...

TV's eal agenda is to be liked, because if you like what you're seeing, you'll...

It looks like you can write a minimalist piece without much bleeding. And you can....

It looks like you can write a minimalist piece without much bleeding. And you can....

I just think that fiction that isn't exploring what it means to be human today...

I just think that fiction that isn't exploring what it means to be human today...

The interesting thing is why we're so desperate for this anesthetic against loneliness.

The interesting thing is why we're so desperate for this anesthetic against loneliness.

This is so American, man: either make something your God and cosmos and then worship...

This is so American, man: either make something your God and cosmos and then worship...

One of the things that makes Wittgenstein a real artist to me is that he...

One of the things that makes Wittgenstein a real artist to me is that he...

We're kind of wishing some parents would come back. And of course we're uneasy about...

We're kind of wishing some parents would come back. And of course we're uneasy about...

Rap's conscious response to the poverty and oppression of U.S. blacks is like some hideous...

Rap's conscious response to the poverty and oppression of U.S. blacks is like some hideous...

Fiction's about what it is to be a human being.

Fiction's about what it is to be a human being.

This is nourishing, redemptive; we become less alone inside.

This is nourishing, redemptive; we become less alone inside.

That no matter how smart you thought you were, you are actually way less smart...

That no matter how smart you thought you were, you are actually way less smart...

I often think I can see it in myself and in other young writers, this...

I often think I can see it in myself and in other young writers, this...

The reader becomes God, for all textual purposes. I see your eyes glazing over, so...

The reader becomes God, for all textual purposes. I see your eyes glazing over, so...

What TV is extremely good at - and realize that this is all it does...

What TV is extremely good at - and realize that this is all it does...

Nuclear weapons and TV have simply intensified the consequences of our tendencies, upped the stakes.

Nuclear weapons and TV have simply intensified the consequences of our tendencies, upped the stakes.

This diagnosis can be done in about two lines. It doesn't engage anybody.

This diagnosis can be done in about two lines. It doesn't engage anybody.

It can become an exercise in trying to get the reader to like and admire...

It can become an exercise in trying to get the reader to like and admire...