Charlie Rose interviews David Foster Wallace, 2/4

Charlie Rose interviewed the late David Foster Wallace, a contemporary American author, on March 27, 1997.
DFW: It is a way-see, this is-
CR: This is what?
DFW: Well I'm just going to look pretentious talking about this. It's-
CR: Why're you-quit worrying about how you're gonna look and just be.
DFW: I have got news for you. Coming on a television show stimulates your what-am-I-gonna-look-like gland like no other experience.
www.charlierose.com/view/inter...

[@dkmagos]

my boy's wicked smat

[@sportsportsport]

Thanks for leaving that comment , I chuckled out loud.

[@gcannonp4016]

Can't deny Charlie Rose's brilliance as an interviewer. Provides comfort to a guy who needs a landscape to riff and is deeply self conscious of his own brain

[@37Dionysos]

Charlie is a master of just talking right over people, since the show is always about Charlie.

[@dandrechesterfield5411]

I love how when Charlie Rose asks about the footnotes DFW's explanation about why he chose to use them is interrupted by his own mental footnotes on explaining said footnotes. Super meta bro

[@OurLOVEwillTurnyouON]

This is one of the few interviews with Charlie Rose that feels like a conversation rather than an inquisition.

[@OisinMcCole]

"I'm not even a particularly experienced fiction writer" I don't think he's being modest here, I think he really believes he has a long way to go before he'll call himself experienced. Talk about having high standards. It seems he struggled under the weight of his craft, not for vanity's sake, self-preservation, or financial gain. He struggled for the sake of his art. And when you see him being interviewed here you get the sense that there were very few people who's criticism he could rely on. Rose is trying to place him in the culture by asking him about his contemporaries but DFW isn't open to this line of questioning and is bemused and possibly even offended. He's awkward on television and is at pains to say exactly what he means. Every artists walks a lonely road but when the signposts bear no relation to your own direction the shadows grow tails and the desert swallows the asphalt.

[@Demention94]

Oisín McCole If you wrote a book I might read it.

[@VideoMikael]

I love his honesty... especially when he talks about going on TV.

[@alwaystiredboy]

The way he stutters, you can really tell that he's having 100 different thoughts a second. Such a genius.

[@TheMarcymark]

Pedantic

[@dancinmad]

thank you so much. A truly wonderful interview.

[@SayItAintTso]

One time I took too much Adderall when I needed to cram for a paper. I wrote the best paper I had ever written, but then my brain just kept going and I couldn't make it stop, no matter how exhausted I was. But after that, I suddenly started connecting with and understanding Wallace's writing a lot more, because that's how I imagine he must've felt a lot of the time. His thoughts were driving him crazy.

[@dellmoney6369]

Now imagine having that same awareness without using drugs.

[@SayItAintTso]

Dell Money exactly

[@Handwine]

Well, DFW was constantly under the influence of the antidepressives "which helped him write and work productively". So there is that...

[@Benjabola]

I have to point out how the part where he says, "Why don't we talk this over supper," he is changing the adage from, "Over a drink," to, "Over supper," which I feel is a lot healthier. I think there is a lot about this interview that is intentional that people may not notice.

[@justice7788]

I'm pretty tired of almost everyone around me in life, but connect with this person so much more, even if he's not physically here anymore

[@mitchellobruntinian0]

You can see how hard on himself he is. It must be lonely to be that genius.

[@el6178]

He thinks fast he speaks even faster and he is totally fascinating.

[@gcannonp4016]

Rose: "Where do you want it (your brain) to go" DFW: "Not exploding is a head start"

[@WitStream1]

That footnotes were actually CUT from Infinite Jest amazes me.

[@danthropomorph]

"Quit worrying about what you're going to look like, and just BE!" (no pause whatsoever) "I've got news for you; going on TV stimulates your 'what am I going to look like' gland by 1000%." Good comeback.

[@dukerobinson5421]

...."Unforgiven" is the greatest western since ...(?) (Charlie interrupts dfw ...talks over him.) Maddening.

[@oo88oo]

That's Charlie Rose's forte.

[@Felion303]

Early Peckinpah

[@tomyu18]

I wish i could tell David, "you are perfect, never question yourself"

[@lavachebeadsman]

Love DFW and his work, but he was such a self-conscious guy. I literally laughed out loud when he said he didn't think Infinite Jest was "too postmodern".

[@GlowZoe]

well that wasn't a self-conscious thing, he was trying to create a critique of postmodernism with infinite jest

[@fc7alibi]

9:35 can break a heart. Wow.

[@music12videos]

Curious to learn more about him. for whatever reason, despite having read most of his contemporaries and admirers have not read him. Am intrigued. He seems like a truly sensitive, questing and fairly troubled soul. Yes, Rose is smarmy and fake interested. That's what he does - managing to find everyone from Henry Kissinger to DFW fascinating, and mainly a chance for him to show how clever he is...

[@michaelglantz4996]

the clearest example (along with John Nash) of the thin line between genius and insanity.

[@EsteemedBeansTV]

I agree...something sinking in more and more for me lately is how narrow a scope something like common culture arms us with.

[@AndrewRobinson-ee7um]

Love what he says about the footnotes. Question : How did we used to think before we invented words ?

[@BillyxRansom]

david was a hilarious man.

[@hnic623]

Though, very minute, I think it is very interesting when he talks about the fetish of a writing and doing something that is seemingly simple but very very complex to the extent that its almost misunderstood (reviews) and in the same breath murmuring Al Jolsen...good stuff man, good stuff..

[@fcinternetmarketing]

Really interesting.

[@BenignCentaur]

Don't ask a question if you're not gonna listen to or simply talk over the answer. Surely the first tenet of interviewing technique - which Rose completely ignores here.

[@mjcard]

Lots of us women love westerns. You are wrong.

[@goodvibesallround]

I think when you write in a stream of consciousness it's hard to re-evaluate a piece once it's been finished.

[@Demention94]

Wonder what he'd say about Fight Club

[@njrobinson95]

Smart dude, r.i.p.

[@TallFastLoud]

I can't remember if it's in this section or not but he says something that's pretty much a sideswipe at feminists for seeing his book (with its length and verbosity) as reinforcing White Male authority and he kind of chuckles about it. In one of his later essays, he actually pretty much directly refutes that and says it IS reinforcing cultural divides but that's just the way things are. Kudos to him (he's a great writer regardless of this issue) for humility and insight.

[@rafaeltorres4548]

I'd DIE to have supper with this man :(

[@BenignCentaur]

Foster Wallace is such a sweet smart guy and Rose, when he's not asking awful or shallow questions, keeps talking over him and interjecting his own - incredibly banal - opinions. Who does he think he is?

[@unclejunglebass]

"quit worrying what youre going to look like and just be!" hahahaha its like david walked right into his own short story "my appearances."

[@sarahzentexas]

Oh, if he only knew what Clint did at the RNC! Hope your beautiful soul is at peace, Dave. Wonder what you would have thought of us now.

[@LAMEHERC1]

he reminds me of the dude from american movie.

[@dalaimama212]

Can't believe he's dead. Years later, it's still a shock.

[@origins8978]

Charlie Rose interviewing David Foster Wallace is like giving a pig an ice-cream... What a waste.

[@TheMegaTushar]

and what made you say that ??? seriously. i wanna know

[@Chironex_Fleckeri]

I love DFW.

[@goodvibesallround]

Shine.......Great Australian Movie.....

[@charliepotter100]

Thank you! I could not understand what they were saying. Tchai? Tschai? Shy? Wut?

[@knowsmebyname]

Good thing Charlie Rose is there to finish the sentences of Foster Wallace. We all know that Foster Wallace needs help finishing his thoughts, and that we never get enough Charlie Rose, so a bit more is a bit better here. We need that extra Charlie talking over Foster Wallace.

[@Amalgafiend]

who was the essayist they mentioned Albert K....

[@StevenZB1]

He's not so surprisingly self-conscious.

[@jws234]

"footnotes" charlie rose? how many times does he have to correct you?

[@amfRankin]

They both talk as if they don't see why women wouldn't like "Unforgiven." Maybe our culture has grown that much over 16 years, but I feel like it's obvious.

[@isitsustainable820]

what's the word DFW says at the end of the interview? areodyte or something? (when he's describing how people feel about I.J. Thank you

[@chrisjones8829]

Erudite

[@iamkazaam]

How so?

[@eliotk1385]

I love how Rose has to coach him through the interview.

[@mhbackman]

Rose: "I hear a brain at work there. Where do you want it to go?" DFW: "I think not exploding would be a good start."

[@connsimons]

I love seeing Charlie Rose trying to desperately connect to DFW. Man's gotta try I guess.

[@davidscharf188]

in psychology dissociation is a disorder,if you will--a break from reality...DFW said he dissociates well...?

[@BenignCentaur]

Bloody hell. That was quick. We can't see the forest because Charlie Rose keeps on blocking the view!

[@whadawethink]

yep. comments are all right on. I'm a fan of DFW, but he was obviously very disturbed and I suspect that rather than anything psychological was @ the root, it was genetic. Care and wanting to be great is one thing but his over-the-top responses are - please get over yourself ! I recently saw a woody Allen documentary (the supposed quintessential neurotic) and my God, he was as humble and normal as can be. I think DFW suffered from some sort of physiological affliction and it's 2 bad he didn't

[@lewisfilms]

who was DFW's mystery writer friend?

[@kevinagee4364]

RL Stine if I'm not mistaken.

[@jarrodsmith8045]

Amazing that the only moment where the awkward wall that separates these two guys from actually connecting and speaking comfortably momentarily disappears is when they start talking about women. As soon as DFW says 'female' Charlie adopts a whole different tone. Some things are just universal.

[@pullingart]

@tomyu18 What a trite thing to say. Either it wouldn't have meant anything to him or he would have read a thousand things in it that you had no idea that you were suggesting.

[@BenignCentaur]

Wallace is not the easiest interview, is he?

[@Knightimehero]

hahahaha

[@kahlinshotorbani1464]

God this interviewer interrupts way too much

[@pullingart]

@tomyu18 well, then, i admire your post. when i was drunk and used youtube i got meaner.

[@mattisprettycool]

7:49 seems like a good example of the constant battle DFW had going on in his head.

[@funboy7979]

Not saying this interview was the reason for David Foster Wallace's suicide, but a world where people like Charlie Rose make a good living can cause an intelligent person to lose the will to live.

[@TheMarcymark]

The comment section under David Foster Wallace is always pure cancer. Do you actually believe that? Such an awkward messiah disciples dynamic of everyone who is interested in him.

[@theunpossiblefile]

Just finished "Dune". "The spice", the oil. I wonder what Muslims think of it?

[@LaughingHyena007]

DFW is so much smarter than this guy, it's painful to watch.

[@tomyu18]

@pullingart hah, have no recollection of writing that. I imagine I may have had a few, that explains the sentimentality that makes me cringe at re-reading. I agree with your point too, especially having just recently read 'Octet' from B.I.w.H.M.

[@thewindfactory1463]

It's like Stephen Hawking trying to talk to a gibbon

[@MLJohnsonian]

I object, on behalf of gibbons!

[@KeithOtisEdwards]

Why is his head bandaged?

[@user-ci8qs2oc1b]

Keith Otis Edwards he wears bandanas during interviews because he sweats a lot

[@davidcarlson2152]

+Keith Otis Edwards The question should be, _Why is he dressed like a (Monty Python) Gumby?_ I'm curious myself.

[@Ldale11]

You seem obsessed with the trivial. Jealous, petty or just bad a being funny?

[@KeithOtisEdwards]

Well, normal people don't wear a large head bandage such as that. I was wondering if he had a lobotomy. Asking one question is hardly what one could term "obsessed." Don't use big words if you don't know what they mean.

[@jonn-erikfarmen7069]

It was during his Axl Rose period

[@tomitstube]

i love it how he thinks most of the positive reviews with the book miss the point, a little like a musician who has to play his big hit night after night but it's one of his least favorite songs, or how i'll make 20 comments and the most popular one will be something i consider pedestrian while the more insightful stuff isn't understood. it's a constant struggle, movie, literary, and music execs want "cross over appeal", "don't be too clever", keep it simple so it sells more copies.

[@Stefanthenautilus]

>i'll make 20 comments and the most popular one will be something i consider pedestrian while the more insightful stuff isn't understood. In the era of internet comment threads, we are all misunderstood geniuses.

[@ordinarydevin]

Pro tip: always like your own comment first. Bonus: Reply “FIRST” in your own comment thread.

[@mdilla11]

based on your answer, I'd say if your not a pre-pubescent girl, there's something wrong. That was the corniest description of someone I've heard.

[@omnimario]

@fc7alibi :(

[@ilPitproductions]

erudite

[@alyxleviton1270]

Is English your mother tongue? Do you have a mother tongue?

[@reclaimedandrested]

Females? Try women dude!