Blake Butler
January 8th, 2009 / 2:04 pm
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DFW Syllabus

dfw

You know a man is great when even his syllabus is a work of art.

syllabus-7_6_1

Also included in the other pages (of which there are many): a wonderful reading list. At the height of my obsession, I made it policy to read every book DFW blurbed, reviewed, or mentioned in passing during interviews (including things like Brautigan’s ‘In Watermelon Sugar’ and Renata Adler’s ‘Speedboat’). I can’t remember him being off even once. Said compilation forthcoming.

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13 Comments

  1. Justin Taylor

      I didn’t know DFW was a fan of “In Watermelon Sugar.” it’s one of my favorite novels.

      reply

  2. keith b

      ‘in watermelon sugar’ is a neat little package. i was just thinking about it the other day, and how it seems like a proto-text to some of the other types of texts i see emerging in the current scene.

      looking forward to said compilation.

      reply

  3. Shane Jones

      in watermelon sugar is in my top three of all time i think.

      reply

  4. Blake Butler

      yeah, he taught it in one of his advanced fiction classes, the whole reading list was really awesome

      reply

  5. pr

      I love how uptight he was about grammar. He would have been a very good teacher for me. Looking forward to his reading list-

      reply

  6. Ryan Call

      i really enjoyed this

      reply

  7. Michael

      And not just In Watermelon Sugar, there is a ton of genius through Brautigan. How about even just this title: The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster?

      reply

  8. DaveM

      Are you kidding me? I’ve give maybe three limbs or at least a set of toes to sit in on class the day they discussed Barth’s “Lost in the Funhouse.” I’d be the nerd in the back of the room with his hand raised the whole time.

      Really great find. I’m stealing probably all of it.

      reply

  9. Ken Baumann

      Look forward to the compilation.
      Brautigan: Great.

      reply

  10. james
  11. higgs

      I’m ashamed at the inferiority of my syllabuses (syllabi?). From now on I’m going to put more thought into the creation of my syllabuses (syllabi?).

      Also, to second Michael (there’s a lot of genius in Brautigan) – I would point to Dreaming of Babylon & Willard and his Bowling Trophies.

      reply

  12. Adam R

      I am surprised that he ended a sentence in a preposition.

      reply

  13. Pink new album

      Pink – One Foot Wrong- #4 Funhouse…

      Pink has stated that this album is her most out of date album. Much of the disc’s subject matter alludes to the fact that Pink recently divorced her husband Carey Hart….

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