“I guess a bit part of serious fiction’s purpose is to give the reader, who like all of us is sort of marooned in her own skull, to give her imaginative access to other selves.”

American writer and professor

David Foster Wallace was an American writer and professor. He published novels, short stories, and essays, and is best known for his 1996 novel, Infinite Jest. His work spans fiction and nonfiction, and he became especially noted for the range and ambition of his writing. In 2008, David Ulin of the Los Angeles Times described Wallace as one of the most influential and innovative writers of the previous twenty years.