18.9.08

David Foster Wallace


"There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says "Morning, boys. How's the water?" And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes "What the hell is water?"......if you're worried that I plan to present myself here as the wise, older fish explaining what water is to you younger fish, please don't be. I am not the wise old fish. The point of the fish story is merely that the most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about."

Commencement speach at Kenyon College, May 21, 2005 http://www.marginalia.org/dfw_kenyon_commencement.html

Somebody mentioned this author and how sad it was that he was gone. I had no knowledge of him then. So I had to look him up and see who this was. I watched some videos of him in interviews. I read some reviews about his writing and then I came upon his speach to the students at Kenyon College and I read it. I fell in love and I cried. Please read this speach if you haven't already.