THE PALE KING: Monologues From The Unfinished Novel By David Foster Wallace 

I love how a writer can bring people together.

"David Foster Wallace's writing lends itself to being said aloud." - Person pretending to have read Infinite Jest.

I'm reading the pale king and yes you should read it. Although, if the first about fifty pages frustrate you power through. They require very slow, deliberate reading without much narrative context but at the same time the reading is meaningful. Which is, in a way, the whole point of the book.

Saw Nick Offerman and was immediately incredibly pumped to hear him read some David Foster Wallace prose. then disappointed 2 minutes later. such a tease.

Currently reading ... just so awesome !!!! I did not think he could top Infinite JEst ....

Henry.

Definitely worth it!

didn't think it would, but this video made me choke up... we lost DFW way too soon but he left behind a wonderful body of work that will be analyzed for centuries, and the best compliment I can give him is that his writing makes me feel less alone inside.

amazing video. would love to see the whole thing! great background music, anyone know the music title? I would love to listen to this while reading david foster wallace's works. any music suggestions for accompanying his books are appreciated.

Is there somewhere I can see the full show?

Were these every recorded and released?

Interesting interpretation of a sliver of the book...reading the fucker was such an interior experience for me it's cool to see others visibly sharing the dude's work, and it's impact on them. Kudos.

The Books! Great tastes in literature always seem to go along with great tastes in music...

Yes: very definitely. It's not quite as monumental & messily perfect as Infinite Jest, but it's still beautiful & funny & scary & wonderful.

Is there a full recording of this event available anywhere?

What's the music in the beginning?

Hell. Yes.

Fascinating

the books

Sure, it may be difficult to read IJ aloud, but that doesn't meant it

All my favorite pseudo-intellectuals.

Heh, he does. And isn't that an aphex song?

Oh great, some more intellectual posturing by Baskin Rollins.

I disagree. There's something claustrophobic and jumbled about DFW that does lend itself to being read aloud. I read sections of IJ aloud to myself and it introduced me to a lot of what I wasn't getting from just reading silently. Wallace does possess a strong since of rhythm, rythym he embraces and constantly tweaks to throw off his reader. Like his frequent use of the word "like" in IJ. He throws it into these long jumbled sentences and it gives it all a more disjointed feel.

He obviously chose to navigate outside instead of staying home. That takes a lot of guts because of all the unknowns. If he was in a community or village he would be safe. But he is describing public situations from his POV and forgetting there are a lot of unknowns and he is guilty of not getting answers to his own episodes. My point is it is easier to stay in a room and not think what may or may not happen if you leave it. Just go. Take care of your business. Come back. He left.

Lemme just say, for one night, I'm really disappointed LA is not where I live. The show seemed like a one time, intimate, you-had-to-be-there experience. Damn.

Shouldn't be. There is merit in the complexity of rhythm and sound that them an acute joy when read aloud.

barf

And I enjoy all the people who read. Why would one like yourself condemn a gathering of DFW fans from all sort of artistic strata?

This is by far one of the most obnoxious things I have ever seen. Bunch of snobby and pretentious actors and comedians who fancy themselves geniuses. "DFW's writing lends itself to be said aloud." That guy can't possibly be serious. I literally cannot think of one writer whose work is less cooperative with spoken word. Also, Josh Radnor just lost tons of respect from me... it's almost embarrassing how smart he is trying to be.

Henry Rollins trying to wax intellectual and daring to comment on DW is like discussing Kobe beef with a vegan. 😖😖

NO! GOD NO!! KEEP THESE SITCOM ACTORS AND EDGELORDS AWAY!

Pretentious much?

This was a wank. His journalism was good, but his fiction was unreadable.