Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/ebookdata/public_html/clevelandreads.org/wp-content/themes/deft/search.php on line 44

David Foster Wallace and Religion

David Foster Wallace and Religion PDF Author: Michael McGowan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1501345303
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 225

Get Book

Book Description
In the years since his suicide, scholars have explored David Foster Wallace's writing in transdisciplinary ways. This is the first book of its kind to discuss how Wallace understood and wrote about religion. At present, the scholarly community is sharply divided on how best to read Wallace on religious questions. Some interpret him to be a Nietzschean nihilist, while others see in him a profoundly spiritual, even mystical thinker. Some read Wallace as a Buddhist thinker, and others as a Christian existentialist. Involved at every level of this discussion are Wallace's experiences in Twelve Step recovery programs, according to which only a higher power can help one remove unwanted defects of character. The multifarious essays in this volume by literature, religion, and philosophy scholars in the Wallace community delve into Wallace's life and writings to advance the conversation about Wallace and religion. While they may disagree with one another in substantial ways, the contributors argue that Wallace was not only deliberate in his writings on religious themes, but also displayed an impressive level of theological nuance.

Roger Federer

Roger Federer PDF Author: David Foster Wallace
Publisher: Kiepenheuer & Witsch
ISBN: 3462302892
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : de
Pages : 83

Get Book

Book Description
»Ich wusste nicht, ob daraus der beste oder der schlimmste Text über mich werden würde.« Roger Federer. 2006 reiste David Foster Wallace im Auftrag der New York Times nach Wimbledon, um über das dortige Tennisturnier zu schreiben. Wallace, selbst in seiner Jugend ein erfolgreicher Tennisspieler, traf Roger Federer – für ihn eine fast göttliche Begegnung. David Foster Wallace' Reportagen sind Herzstücke seines großen Werks. 2006 traf Wallace Roger Federer und führte ein Interview mit dem damals noch nicht ganz so berühmten Schweizer, dessen »übermenschliche Karriere« langsam Fahrt aufnahm. Herausgekommen ist ein Text, der Federers Talent beschreibt, der aber auch wie immer bei Wallace die scheinbaren Nebensächlichkeiten des Turniers in den Blick nimmt. Dieser Text ist berühmt geworden – nicht zuletzt, weil die Tennisspielerin und Autorin Andrea Petković ihn wie die anderen Tennistexte von Wallace mit Nachdruck immer wieder empfiehlt.

The Gospel According to David Foster Wallace

The Gospel According to David Foster Wallace PDF Author: Adam S. Miller
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781474237017
Category : Religion in literature
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book

Book Description
"The Gospel According to David Foster Wallace is the first book to explore key religious themes -- from boredom to addiction, and distraction -- in the work of one of America's most celebrated contemporary novelists. In a series of short, topic-focussed chapters, the book joins a selection of key scenes from Wallace's novels Infinite Jest and The Pale King with clear explanations of how they contribute to his overall account of what it means to be a human being in the 21st century. Adam Miller explores how Wallace's work masterfully investigates the nature of first-world boredom and shows, in the process, how easy it is to get addicted to distraction (chemical, electronic, or otherwise). Implicitly critiquing, excising, and repurposing elements of AA's Twelve Step program, Wallace suggests that the practice of prayer (regardless of belief in God), the patient application of attention to things that seem ordinary and boring, and the internalization of clichš may be the antidote to much of what ails us in the 21st century."--Bloomsbury Publishing

David Foster Wallace in Context

David Foster Wallace in Context PDF Author: Clare Hayes-Brady
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 100908108X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 763

Get Book

Book Description
David Foster Wallace is regarded as one of the most important American writers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This book introduces readers to the literary, philosophical and political contexts of Wallace's work. An accessible and useable resource, this volume conceptualizes his work within long-standing critical traditions and with a new awareness of his importance for American literary studies. It shows the range of issues and contexts that inform the work and reading of David Foster Wallace, connecting his writing to diverse ideas, periods and themes. Essays cover topics on gender, sex, violence, race, philosophy, poetry and geography, among many others, guiding new and long-standing readers in understanding the work and influence of this important writer.

The Cambridge Companion to David Foster Wallace

The Cambridge Companion to David Foster Wallace PDF Author: Ralph Clare
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108602576
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book

Book Description
Best known for his masterpiece Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace re-invented fiction and non-fiction for a generation with his groundbreaking and original work. Wallace's desire to blend formal innovation and self-reflexivity with the communicative and restorative function of literature resulted in works that appeal as much to a reader's intellect as they do emotion. As such, few writers in recent memory have quite matched his work's intense critical and popular impact. The essays in this Companion, written by top Wallace scholars, offer a historical and cultural context for grasping Wallace's significance, provide rigorous individual readings of each of his major works, whether story collections, non-fiction, or novels, and address the key themes and concerns of these works, including aesthetics, politics, religion and spirituality, race, and post-humanism. This wide-ranging volume is a necessary resource for understanding an author now widely regarded as one of the most influential and important of his time.

Gesturing Toward Reality: David Foster Wallace and Philosophy

Gesturing Toward Reality: David Foster Wallace and Philosophy PDF Author: Robert K. Bolger
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1441164081
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Get Book

Book Description
Asked in 2006 about the philosophical nature of his fiction, the late American writer David Foster Wallace replied, "If some people read my fiction and see it as fundamentally about philosophical ideas, what it probably means is that these are pieces where the characters are not as alive and interesting as I meant them to be." Gesturing Toward Reality looks into this quality of Wallace's work-when the writer dons the philosopher's cap-and sees something else. With essays offering a careful perusal of Wallace's extensive and heavily annotated self-help library, re-considerations of Wittgenstein's influence on his fiction, and serious explorations into the moral and spiritual landscape where Wallace lived and wrote, this collection offers a perspective on Wallace that even he was not always ready to see. Since so much has been said in specifically literary circles about Wallace's philosophical acumen, it seems natural to have those with an interest in both philosophy and Wallace's writing address how these two areas come together.

The Fact of the Cage

The Fact of the Cage PDF Author: Karl A. Plank
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000338967
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 243

Get Book

Book Description
David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest raised expectations of what a novel might do. As he understood fiction to aim at what it means to be human, so he hoped his work might relieve the loneliness of human suffering. In that light, The Fact of the Cage shows how Wallace’s masterpiece dramatizes the condition of encagement and how it comes to be met by "Abiding" and through inter-relational acts of speaking and hearing, touching, and facing. Revealing Wallace’s theology of a "boneless Christ," The Fact of the Cage wagers that reading such a novel as Infinite Jest makes available to readers the redemption glimpsed in its pages, that reading fiction has ethical and religious significance—in short, that reading Infinite Jest makes one better. As such, Plank’s work takes steps to defend the ethics of fiction, the vital relation between religion and literature, and why one just might read at all.

The Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Fiction, 2 Volumes

The Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Fiction, 2 Volumes PDF Author: Patrick O'Donnell
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119431719
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 1607

Get Book

Book Description
Fresh perspectives and eye-opening discussions of contemporary American fiction In The Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Fiction: 1980-2020, a team of distinguished scholars delivers a focused and in-depth collection of essays on some of the most significant and influential authors and literary subjects of the last four decades. Cutting-edge entries from established and new voices discuss subjects as varied as multiculturalism, contemporary regionalisms, realism after poststructuralism, indigenous narratives, globalism, and big data in the context of American fiction from the last 40 years. The Encyclopedia provides an overview of American fiction at the turn of the millennium as well as a vision of what may come. It perfectly balances analysis, summary, and critique for an illuminating treatment of the subject matter. This collection also includes: An exciting mix of established and emerging contributors from around the world discussing central and cutting-edge topics in American fiction studies Focused, critical explorations of authors and subjects of critical importance to American fiction Topics that reflect the energies and tendencies of contemporary American fiction from the forty years between 1980 and 2020 The Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Fiction: 1980-2020 is a must-have resource for undergraduate and graduate students of American literature, English, creative writing, and fiction studies. It will also earn a place in the libraries of scholars seeking an authoritative array of contributions on both established and newer authors of contemporary fiction.

Last Works

Last Works PDF Author: Mark C. Taylor
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300231423
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 386

Get Book

Book Description
A powerful consideration of the lessons imparted in the final works of essential writers and philosophers For many today, retirement and the leisure said to accompany it have become vestiges of a slower, long-lost time. In a world where the sense of identity is tied to work and careers, to stop working often is to become nobody. In this deeply perceptive and personal exploration of last works, Mark C. Taylor poignantly explores the final reflections of writers and thinkers from Kierkegaard to David Foster Wallace. How did they either face or avoid ending and leaving? What do their lessons in ending teach us about living in the time that remains for us? Some leavings brought relief, even joy, while others brought pain and suffering. Whether the cause was infirmity, impending death, or simply exhaustion and ennui, the ways these influential voices fell silent offer poignant examples of people withdrawing from the world’s stage. Throughout this learned and moving book, Taylor probes how the art of living involves learning to leave gracefully.

The Gospel According to David Foster Wallace

The Gospel According to David Foster Wallace PDF Author: Adam S. Miller
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474236995
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 137

Get Book

Book Description
The Gospel According to David Foster Wallace is the first book to explore key religious themes - from boredom to addiction, and distraction – in the work of one of America's most celebrated contemporary novelists. In a series of short, topic-focussed chapters, the book joins a selection of key scenes from Wallace's novels Infinite Jest and The Pale King with clear explanations of how they contribute to his overall account of what it means to be a human being in the 21st century. Adam Miller explores how Wallace's work masterfully investigates the nature of first-world boredom and shows, in the process, how easy it is to get addicted to distraction (chemical, electronic, or otherwise). Implicitly critiquing, excising, and repurposing elements of AA's Twelve Step program, Wallace suggests that the practice of prayer (regardless of belief in God), the patient application of attention to things that seem ordinary and boring, and the internalization of clichés may be the antidote to much of what ails us in the 21st century.