David Foster Wallace and Religion : Essays on Faith and Fiction

"In the years since his suicide, scholars have explored David Foster Wallace's writing in transdisciplinary ways. This is the first book of its kind to discuss how Wallace understood and wrote about religion. At present, the scholarly community is sharply divided on how best to read Wallace on religious questions. Some interpret him to be a Nietzschean nihilist, while others see in him a profoundly spiritual, even mystical thinker. Some read Wallace as a Buddhist thinker, and others as a Christian existentialist. Involved at every level of this discussion are Wallace's experiences in Twelve Step recovery programs, according to which only a higher power can help one remove unwanted defects of character. The multifarious essays in this volume by literature, religion, and philosophy scholars in the Wallace community delve into Wallace's life and writings to advance the conversation about Wallace and religion. While they may disagree with one another in substantial ways, the contributors argue that Wallace was not only deliberate in his writings on religious themes, but also displayed an impressive level of theological nuance"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Contents 6 Notes on Contributors 8 Preface 12 Acknowledgments 16 Abbreviations 17 Understanding Seeking Faith: An Introduction to Religion in David Foster Wallace’s Life Martin Brick 18 1 Came to Believe: The Religion of Alcoholics Anonymous in Infinite Jest Rob Short 30 2 A Less “Bullshitty” Way to Live: The Pragmatic Spirituality of David Foster Wallace Robert Bolger 42 3 “Not Another Word”: Nietzsche, Wallace, and the Death of God Michael McGowan 62 4 In G.O.D. We Trust: The Desert of the Religious in The Broom of the System Vernon W. Cisney 86 5 “Saying God with a Straight Face”: Towards an Understanding of Christian Soteriology in Infinite Jest Dave Laird 100 6 Infinite Jest, C.S. Lewis’s Tao, and Religious Community Peter Spaulding 116 7 “Somewhat Lost and Desolate Inside”: Overcoming Acedia in The Pale King Michael O’Connell 130 8 “The Moral Equivalent of War”: Fungible Transcendentals in The Pale King Robert Hamilton 142 9 A Spoon, Some Eskimos, and the Wise Old Fish: Religion and the Evolution of Wallace’s Kenyon Commencement Address Matt Bucher and Martin Brick 154 10 David Foster Wallace and Postsecularism Ryan Lackey 166 11 “There’s Always a Mormon Around When You Don’t Want One”: What Wallace Can Teach the Church Media Machine Jessica E. Sagers 180 12 Zen Buddhist Philosophy Lurking in the Work of David Foster Wallace Krzysztof Piekarski 192 Conclusion: The Religious Worlds of David Foster Wallace—Both Fiction and Not Michael McGowan 204 Index 219