A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again
| Company type | Book |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Founder | David Foster Wallace |
| Products | Nonfiction anthology, essays |
A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments is a nonfiction anthology by David Foster Wallace, published in 1997.
The collection’s centerpiece essay, initially released in Harper's under the title "Shipping Out," details Wallace's experience during a week-long cruise in the Caribbean aboard the , which he renames the Nadir. In this piece, he offers a critical perspective on the contrived nature of amusement within the hospitality sector and reflects on how the cruise’s extravagant features lead to profound self-examination and emotional unease. Wallace supplements his narrative with numerous footnotes to provide additional insights.
Additional essays in the volume investigate various facets of American cultural excess, such as the coarseness found at the Illinois State Fair. Among these is Wallace's notable "E Unibus Pluram," which explores television’s impact on modern literature and examines the significance of irony within American society. In 2019, Slate included this work among the top 50 nonfiction titles published over the preceding quarter-century.
Essays
This compilation contains the following essays:
- "Derivative Sport in Tornado Alley" (originally "Tennis, Trigonometry, Tornadoes" in Harper's, 1991): A personal narrative reflecting on Wallace’s formative years in the Midwest, his involvement in competitive tennis, and his fascination with mathematics.
- "E Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction" (published in The Review of Contemporary Fiction, 1993)
- "Getting Away from Already Being Pretty Much Away from It All" (appearing as "Ticket to the Fair" in Harper's, 1994): An exploration of the 1993 Illinois State Fair, focusing on competitive baton twirling and aspects of Midwestern life.
- "Greatly Exaggerated" (featured in Harvard Book Review, 1992): A critique of Morte d'Author: An Autopsy by H. L. Hix, discussing the critic’s role in literary analysis.
- "David Lynch Keeps His Head" (from Premiere, 1996): Observations gathered during a visit to the set of Lost Highway alongside reflections on Lynch’s cinematic style.
- "Tennis Player Michael Joyce's Professional Artistry as a Paradigm of Certain Stuff about Choice, Freedom, Discipline, Joy, Grotesquerie, and Human Completeness" (published as "The String Theory" in Esquire, 1996): Coverage of qualifying matches at the 1995 Canadian Open, incorporating meditations on professional sportsmanship.
- "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" (originally "Shipping Out" in Harper's, 1996): Wallace’s detailed chronicle of a luxurious Caribbean cruise experience.
In popular culture
John Hodgman’s 2011 book That Is All includes a chapter on cruising titled "A Totally Fun Thing I Would Do Again as Soon as Possible," nodding to Wallace’s essay. The 2012 episode "A Totally Fun Thing That Bart Will Never Do Again" from The Simpsons also draws inspiration from this work. In her 2011 memoir Bossypants, Tina Fey dedicates a chapter recounting her own cruise experience under the title "My Honeymoon: Or, A Supposedly Fun Thing That I'll Never Do Again Either," humorously implying that readers familiar with Wallace’s book belong to a certain "cultural elite." Additionally, in Charlie Kaufman’s 2020 film I'm Thinking of Ending Things, the character Jake references this book and recites sections verbatim from its "Image-Fiction" passage.
References
- Wallace, D. F. (1997). A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again. Little, Brown.
- Wallace, D. F. (1996). "Shipping Out", Harper's Magazine, January 1996 (292:1748)
External links
- "Shipping Out: On the (nearly lethal) comforts of a luxury cruise", Harper's Magazine. Also referred to as "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again".
- "Ticket to the Fair", Harper's Magazine. Also known under the title "Getting Away from Already Being Pretty Much Away from It All".
- "The String Theory", Esquire. Also known as "Tennis Player Michael Joyce's Professional Artistry as a Paradigm of Certain Stuff about Choice, Freedom, Discipline, Joy, Grotesquerie, and Human Completeness".
- "David Lynch Keeps His Head", Premiere, 1996
- "Derivative Sport in Tornado Alley", Harper's Magazine. Originally published as "Tennis, Trigonometry, Tornadoes".