Reliving a Masterpiece

EPISODE 142: On David Foster Wallace.

I have no idea if David Foster Wallace’s writing means something to you, as it does to me, but I’ve wanted to do this episode for a long time now.

I’ve wanted to tell the story behind “The String Theory,” one of the greatest essays I’ve ever read, as experienced by the subject, Michael Joyce: a pro tennis player in the nineties whose not-quite-greatness piqued the curiosity of an Esquire freelancer that The New York Times would posthumously declare “The Best Mind of His Generation.”

So this week, in the middle of the U.S. Open, where he’s been busy coaching, Joyce agreed to visit the PTFO studio and open up about his experience being profiled by Wallace. And about competing against the best players of his generation — while clearly not being one of them.

All of which meant that Michael Joyce could finally scrutinize David Foster Wallace, too.

DKN/YOUTUBE SPOILER ALERT:

Grotesquely,

Pablo