The scrawlings in David Foster Wallace’s library

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Away note: The Mulcher is away for a week, unplugged, off grid and off piste, up in the bright tropics, beneath umbrella clouds and the burning sun. Back Friday 21 May. Aloha la vista.

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The late David Foster Wallace used to scrawl in (annotate)
his books. We know because his library and papers
washed up (were sold to) the University of Texas.
How he scrawled his books is just enchanting –
makes you want to shimmy your hands and shuffle your feet.

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His Don DeLillo:

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His Christina Stead:

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His Borges

More at UT site. The UT’s Harry Ransom Centre, which acquired the DFW achive, counts some 200 books from Wallace’s library. “Virtually all of the books are annotated, many are heavily annotated,” said the curator.

Here’s his famously marked up copy of the American Heritage Dictionary:

And finally, a treasure from the artist as a young poet. Note the two signatures, one tentatively trialling the famous middle name:

Viking poem

Vikings oh! they were so strong
Though there warriors won’t live so long.
For a long time they rode the stormy seas.
Whether there was a great big storm or a little breeze
There ships were made of real strong wood
as every good ship really should.
If you were to see a viking today
It’s best you go some other way,
because they’ld kill you very well
and all your gold they’ll certainly sells
For all these reasons stay away,
from a viking every day.