In this episode, Marshall Boswell (author of Understanding David Foster Wallace) joins Sean Bugg to talk about Infinite Jest, its enduring place in American literature, Wallace’s position as an avatar of Gen X, and how students today respond to Wallace’s weirdly prophetic novel about American addictions, entertainments, loneliness, and tennis. Marshall is a professor of American Literature and Fiction Writing at Rhodes College in Memphis. He’s also the author of the short story collection Trouble with Girls and the novel Alternative Atlanta.
Understanding David Foster Wallace, by Marshall Boswell
This is part of my series at The Back Half on books that changed me as a writer and a person. Check out A Most Excellent Fancy: Infinite Jest and America's Addictions at seanbugg.substack.com.
