Monthly Archives: September 2008

David Foster Wallace, 1962-2008

Martin Schneider writes:
Wow. This is very, very, very, very sad. Wallace was one of my very favorite writers, and I’m devastated that he’s gone, of suicide, at the young age of 46. I value his essays and journalism as much as anything written since 1990 or so. The one about the cruise, the one about McCain, the one about Michael Joyce…. top marks, all, and so many others. His work wasn’t for everyone, but I really took to it. He made the literary landscape more special than almost anyone I can think of.
One day in 2005, I noticed that his Wikipedia page was practically empty. Consternated, I proceeded to contribute about ten moderately feverish paragraphs of questionable accuracy attempting to summarize his work to date. There was a lot wrong with it, and subsequent Wikipedia editors were neither slow nor shy in undoing some of my more intemperate remarks. That page has changed a lot, but I was the first to give it a skeleton. In a very small and inconsequential way, I’m proud to have played a role in the public perception of this very special writer.
I saw him read once, at the Union Square Barnes and Noble in support of Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (he was incredibly entertaining) and afterward I lined up to get a book inscribed. A very thrifty friend of mine had brought a battered hardback of Infinite Jest, recently thrown out of the Newark Library System, and Wallace engaged in a little banter about that. I happened to have a Robert Coover novel with me, and rather flippantly handed it to him to sign; in his hyper-scrupulous way, he made it plain that he could not in good conscience put his name in a book by another writer. (I’m an idiot.) Instead he inscribed my copy of Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. I’ll never forget that chilly blast of ethics; it still reminds me of his essayistic voice.
In the Wikipedia link above, readers will notice that I pursue an extended comparison between Wallace and Norman Mailer. I’ve put it out there a few times, and I think nobody really agrees with me, but I still think it has legs. Experimental writer of “big” ambitious fiction capable of sublime passages of ten or fifty pages; journalist of genius. That describes both men; how unspeakably horrible to lose both within the space of a year.
A few years ago I started a small collection of original periodicals containing Wallace articles; it’s so upsetting that they have become true collector’s items so soon.
Update: Those who (like myself) find themselves separated from their collection of Wallace’s writings may be eager to know where they can get some online. I know of three complete works to read, and most of one to listen to.
His 2001 overview of the “usage wars,” which appeared in Harper’s, can be read here.
His 2004 article about the ethics of consuming lobster, which appeared in Gourmet magazine, can be read here (PDF).
His 2005 essay about a conservative radio host, which appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, can be read here.
I don’t think many people are aware of this, but there is an excellent podcast of Wallace reading from his article about 9/11 that appeared in Rolling Stone right after the tragic event. That podcast can be found in iTunes under “KCET podcast: Hammer Conversations.”

Mankoff Denies Knowledge of Lithgow, Claims Nobel Prize

Martin Schneider writes:
Something in the New York Observer that does not go by the name of “Transom” has a nice piece by Leon Neyfakh about Bob Miller’s new HarperStudio project, that remarkably ambitious effort to jettison the outdated publishing techniques of large advances and the practice of taking on remaindered copies you might have heard about. (I’m all for this stuff, by the way.)
In the piece, we learn that:

The most eye-catching title on the list is probably the collection of short, unpublished humor pieces by Mark Twain, which will be out in April. Other notable books in the mix: a memoir by 3rd Rock From the Sun star John Lithgow, a history of humor by New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff, and a Toni Morrison-edited collection called Burn This Book, about “the power of the word,” that will feature pieces by her, Salman Rushdie, Orhan Pamuk, David Grossman, and others.

Emdashes salutes Mankoff’s third billing in this paragraph (beat out Morrison!) and eagerly awaits the book; it sounds like a pip.

You Know This Already, But Ian Parker Nailed It

Martin Schneider writes:
What do you think of the notion that Ian Parker’s Profile of Alec Baldwin may be the most successful Profile of recent years? It’s been cited all over the place, and everyone seems delighted with it. I think it’s penetrated an unusually wide audience for New Yorker fare, and since it’s kind of awesome, that’s a good thing. Am I wrong on this? Are there any other contenders? What are they?

The Wavy Rule, a Daily Comic by Paul Morris: Allen Wrench

Here are Paul’s thoughts on today’s installment. (And here is David Denby’s review of Vicky Cristina Barcelona.) As always, click to enlarge.
Will women vote for John McCain because his running mate is a woman? (McCain’s matrimonial mate is also a woman.) That is the question. I was hoping that for once, we’d have a dignified election about the issues, but it doesn’t look it’s going to come to pass, what with lipstick on a pig, mooseburgers, and hockey moms. We haven’t changed all that much from the unsophisticated days of “Tippecanoe and Tyler too.” So much for “change.”
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More by Paul Morris: “The Wavy Rule” archive; “Arnjuice,” a wistful, funny webcomic; a smorgasbord at Flickr; and beautifully off-kilter cartoon collections for sale (and free download) at Lulu.

Listen: Galway Kinnell Reading “When the Towers Fell”

The poem was first published in The New Yorker; here, he reads it aloud and talks about writing it. Galway’s voice always moves me. I’m also rereading Kim Addonizio’s lovely, forlorn poem “What the Dead Fear,” and I think you’ll find it apropos, too.
Extremely incidentally, I was among the students Galway mentions in his introduction, whose first class in the NYU creative writing program was scheduled for that day.

If It’s Mid-September, It Must Be New Yorker Festival Schedule Time!

As we were excited to report recently, it’s New Yorker Festival season! And here’s the lineup for your browsing and ticket-buying pleasure. Oh, and Calvin Trillin’s walk–you can try, but don’t be crushed if it doesn’t work out. It so rarely does, but then again, it could be your year for the golden ticket! Tickets go on sale Friday, September 12, and you can find them at the Festival website. Quoting from the press release: “Tickets will also be sold during the weekend at Festival Headquarters, located at 125 West 18th Street, and at event doors.” See you there!
FRIDAY
OCTOBER 3
An evening of discussions among writers whose stories have appeared in The New Yorker; an interview with Alice Munro; a New Yorker Town Hall Meeting on race and class in America; a Cartoon Caption Contest at Festival HQ; and a New Yorker Dance Party.
FICTION NIGHT: DISCUSSIONS AMONG WRITERS
Writing About Home
Sana Krasikov, Yiyun Li, and Manil Suri, moderated by Cressida Leyshon
7 p.m. Acura Stage at Cedar Lake Theatre ($25)
The Devil Within
Matthew Klam, Elmore Leonard, and Joyce Carol Oates, moderated by Daniel Zalewski
7 p.m. Ailey Citigroup Theater
Joan Weill Center for Dance ($25)
The American Dream
T. Coraghessan Boyle, Jeffrey Eugenides, and Jhumpa Lahiri, moderated by Leo Carey
7 p.m. Angel Orensanz Foundation ($25)
Family Secrets
Roddy Doyle, Anne Enright, and Tobias Wolff, moderated by Willing Davidson
9:30 p.m. Acura Stage at Cedar Lake Theatre ($25)
Outlaws
Peter Carey, Hari Kunzru, and Gary Shteyngart, moderated by Peter Canby
9:30 p.m. Ailey Citigroup Theater
Joan Weill Center for Dance ($25)
Where I Come From
Sherman Alexie, Shalom Auslander, and Junot Díaz, moderated by Carin Besser
9:30 p.m. Angel Orensanz Foundation ($25)
FICTION NIGHT: IN CONVERSATION WITH
Alice Munro interviewed by Deborah Treisman
8 p.m. Directors Guild of America ($25)
THE NEW YORKER TOWN HALL MEETING: Race and Class in America
With Barbara Ehrenreich, Thomas Frank, John McWhorter, Leslie Sanchez, and Cornel West. Moderated by David Remnick.
7 p.m. Town Hall ($20)
CASUAL FRIDAY
The Cartoon Caption Game
Hosted by Robert Mankoff
8 p.m. Festival HQ
Metropolitan Pavilion ($25)
A NEW YORKER DANCE PARTY
Hosted by Sasha Frere-Jones, with special guest d.j. Ghislain Poirier. Opening set by Megasoid.
10 p.m. Hiro Ballroom and Lounge ($25)
SATURDAY
OCTOBER 4
A day of interviews, panel discussions, and talks by New Yorker writers; an excursion to Governors Island; Early Shift and Late Shift events; preview screenings of the upcoming films “Fear(s) of the Dark” and “Frontrunners”; and book signings at Festival HQ.
WRITERS AND THEIR SUBJECTS
Alexei Ratmansky and Joan Acocella
1 p.m. Acura Stage at Cedar Lake Theatre ($25)
Clint Eastwood and Lillian Ross
1 p.m. Directors Guild of America ($25)
Richard Brody on the films of Jean-Luc Godard
4 p.m. IFC Center ($25)
IN CONVERSATION WITH
Jean-Michel Dubernard interviewed by Atul Gawande
10 a.m. Acura Stage at Cedar Lake Theatre ($25)
Seamus Heaney interviewed by Paul Muldoon
1 p.m. New York Society for Ethical Culture ($25)
Chuck Hagel interviewed by Ryan Lizza
4 p.m. Acura Stage at Cedar Lake Theatre ($25)
Elizabeth Edwards interviewed by Atul Gawande
4 p.m. New York Society for Ethical Culture ($25)
Lynda Barry in conversation with Matt Groening
4 p.m. Festival HQ
Metropolitan Pavilion ($25)
NEW YORKER TALKS
Malcolm Gladwell: “The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes”
2 p.m. Ailey Citigroup Theater
Joan Weill Center for Dance ($25)
Art Spiegelman: “Breakdowns: Comix 101”
4:30 p.m. Ailey Citigroup Theater
Joan Weill Center for Dance ($25)
PANELS
If I Were Running This Campaign
Donna Brazile, Alex Castellanos, Edward J. Rollins, and Joe Trippi, moderated by Jeffrey Toobin
10 a.m. Directors Guild of America ($25)
Extreme Sports
Greg Child, Lynne Cox, and Andrew McLean, moderated by Nick Paumgarten
10 a.m. Festival HQ
Metropolitan Pavilion ($25)
Covering the Candidates
Ta-Nehisi Coates, Bill Keller, Peggy Noonan, and Jack Shafer, moderated by Ken Auletta
10 a.m. Cathedral NYC ($25)
The Next Generation of Fashion
Louise Markey, Makoto Takada, and Joeri Van Yper, moderated by Judith Thurman
1 p.m. Cathedral NYC ($25)
The Campaign Trail
Hendrik Hertzberg, Ryan Lizza, and George Packer, moderated by Dorothy Wickenden
1 p.m. Festival HQ
Metropolitan Pavilion ($25)
Political Humor
Samantha Bee, Andy Borowitz, James Downey, John Oliver, and Allison Silverman, moderated by Susan Morrison
4 p.m. Cathedral NYC ($25)
Young Shakespeareans
Lauren Ambrose, Ethan Hawke, Kristen Johnston, Martha Plimpton, and Liev Schreiber, moderated by Adam Gopnik
4 p.m. Directors Guild of America ($25)
ABOUT TOWN
A Governors Island Bike Tour
Adriaan Geuze, Leslie Koch, and Ricardo Scofidio talk with Paul Goldberger.
11 a.m. Governors Island Ferry Terminal ($80)
EARLY SHIFT
Saturday Night Sneak Preview: “Frontrunners”
Moderated by Rebecca Mead.
6:30 p.m. Stuyvesant High School ($25)
Paul Rudd talks with Michael Specter
7:30 p.m. Acura Stage at Cedar Lake Theatre ($35)
Dawn Upshaw talks with Alex Ross
7:30 p.m. Ailey Citigroup Theater
Joan Weill Center for Dance ($35)
Stephen Colbert talks with Ariel Levy
7:30 p.m. Cathedral NYC ($35)
Worst Nightmares Part 1: Horror Movies
Wes Craven and Hideo Nakata, moderated by Ben Greenman.
7:30 p.m. IFC Center ($35)
LATE SHIFT
Tom Morello talks with James Surowiecki
10 p.m. Acura Stage at Cedar Lake Theatre ($35)
Mary-Louise Parker talks with John Colapinto
10 p.m. Ailey Citigroup Theater
Joan Weill Center for Dance ($35)
Oliver Stone talks with David Denby
10 p.m. Directors Guild of America ($35)
Worst Nightmares Part 2: “Fear(s) of the Dark”
Charles Burns and Lorenzo Mattotti, moderated by Françoise Mouly.
10 p.m. IFC Center ($25)
SUNDAY
OCTOBER 5
A day of About Town excursions and events throughout the city; talks by New Yorker writers; interviews with Tommy Lee Jones and Haruki Murakami; a series of master classes in political cartooning, humor writing, and literary criticism; and book signings at Festival HQ.
ABOUT TOWN
Morning at the Frick
With Peter Schjeldahl
10 a.m. Frick Collection ($65)
Come Hungry
With Calvin Trillin
11 a.m. Ticket buyers will be contacted concerning the starting point. ($100)
Inside the Artist’s Studio
John Currin talks with Calvin Tomkins
11 a.m. Ticket buyers will be contacted concerning the location. ($80)
Presto Change-o
Matthew Holtzclaw, Charles Reynolds, Jamy Ian Swiss, and Johnny Thompson, moderated by Adam Gopnik
11 a.m. Spiegeltent-Salon Perdu ($30)
Spice World
Claudia Roden talks with Jane Kramer
12 noon. Culinary Loft ($80)
WRITERS AND THEIR SUBJECTS
Tommy Lee Jones and Lillian Ross
11 a.m. Directors Guild of America ($25)
IN CONVERSATION WITH
Haruki Murakami interviewed by Deborah Treisman
4 p.m. Directors Guild of America ($25)
NEW YORKER TALKS
Paul Theroux: “Reliving ‘The Great Railway Bazaar'”
1 p.m. Ailey Citigroup Theater
Joan Weill Center for Dance ($25)
Salman Rushdie: “The Composite Artist: The Emperor Akbar and the Making of the Hamzanama”
4 p.m. Ailey Citigroup Theater
Joan Weill Center for Dance ($25)
MASTER CLASSES
Political Illustration
With Barry Blitt and Steve Brodner
10 a.m. Festival HQ
Metropolitan Pavilion ($35)
Humor Writing
With Ian Frazier and Mark Singer
1 p.m. Festival HQ
Metropolitan Pavilion ($35)
Literary Criticism
With James Wood
4 p.m. Festival HQ
Metropolitan Pavilion ($35)
BOOK SIGNINGS
Saturday, October 4
11 A.M.
Joyce Carol Oates – “My Sister, My Love: The Intimate Story of Skyler Rampike”
Tobias Wolff – “Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories”
12 noon
Roddy Doyle – “The Deportees: And Other Stories”
Anne Enright – “Yesterday’s Weather: Stories”
1 P.M.
Alice Munro – “The View from Castle Rock”
Haruki Murakami – “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running: A Memoir”
2 P.M.
Sana Krasikov – “One More Year: Stories”
Manil Suri – “The Age of Shiva: A Novel”
3 P.M.
Peter Carey – “His Illegal Self”
Paul Theroux – “Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar”
4 P.M.
Robert Mankoff – “The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest Book”
Susan Orlean – “Lazy Little Loafers”
Sunday, October 5
11 A.M.
Hari Kunzru – “My Revolutions”
Jhumpa Lahiri – “Unaccustomed Earth”
12 noon
Richard Brody – “Everything Is Cinema: The Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard”
John Seabrook – “Flash of Genius: And Other True Stories of Invention”
1 P.M.
Salman Rushdie – “The Enchantress of Florence”
Art Spiegelman – “Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!” and “Jack and the Box”
2 P.M.
Peter Schjeldahl – “Let’s See: Writings on Art from The New Yorker”
James Wood – “How Fiction Works”
3 P.M.
Lynda Barry – “What It Is”
Steve Brodner – “Artists Against the War”
4 P.M.
John McWhorter – “Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold Story of English”

The Wavy Rule, a Daily Comic by Paul Morris: Palin’s Drome

In today’s “Wavy Rule,” Paul continues his wine labels series with a kind of northern wine we’d rather not be drinking come November. Click to enlarge!
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Paul adds: Like most of America, I had no idea Wasilla ever existed before it became a name uttered by thousands of pundits, voters, orators, and average people in the street. The Wikipedia article on the town has seen a lot of activity recently. And I don’t mean the article on the Sarmatian god of the same name. Let’s face it: it’s a small town, no matter how the Republicans spin it. And there’s nothing wrong with small towns. The United States is dotted with small towns, from Stovepipe Wells, California, to Iceboro, Maine. But saying that running a small town qualifies one to run a country is something of a stretch. That wouldn’t even be so bad if the corollary of that argument wasn’t always added: that Obama is less qualified or experienced because he’s never been an “executive.” The implication is that an “executive” is necessarily of a higher rank than a “legislator” no matter what, even if that executive is the mayor of a small Alaskan town and the legislator is a United States Senator.
The official website for the town of Wasilla has added a section called Questions & Answers Concerning Former Mayor Palin. The only actual question on the page, and on the bottom of it, is “What are the duties of the Mayor of Wasilla?” If you click on that, you are taken to “Document Central.” Click where it says “City Documents–Recently Requested–Former Mayor Palin,” and again on the bottom of the page, is a link to a PDF document titled “What are the duties of the Mayor of Wasilla?”

That document is three pages long. A description of the mayor’s actual duties fill up one of those pages. A description of the mayor’s salary is on page 3. If someone can send me a document listing the duties of a U.S. Senator, I’d be happy to compare the two.
More by Paul Morris: “The Wavy Rule” archive; “Arnjuice,” a wistful, funny webcomic; a smorgasbord at Flickr; and beautifully off-kilter cartoon collections for sale (and free download) at Lulu.