David Foster Wallace

The Profile

David Foster Wallace (1962–2008) was an American author and essayist best known for Infinite Jest. He wrote novels, short stories, and nonfiction, and taught in his later years at Pomona College.

Key themes include addiction, entertainment, language, and modern loneliness; signature use of footnotes and dense, ironic prose; died by suicide in 2008.

DeBaser’s readers praise Wallace’s audacious, ironic style and his obsession with addiction, media, and modern loneliness. Infinite Jest dominates the conversation—gripping, sprawling, footnote-heavy, and light on conventional plot. The Broom of the System and Girl with Curious Hair surface as sharp dissections of language and culture. Overall tone: challenging but rewarding.