Herb: Is there no "ending" to "Infinite Book" because there couldn’t be? Or did you just get tired of writing it?

DFW: There is an ending as far as I’m concerned. Certain kind of parallel lines are supposed to start converging in such a way that an "end" can be projected by the reader somewhere beyond the right frame. If no such convergence or projection occurred to you, then the book’s failed for you.

I would be feeling a lot less regret right now if I dropped the post in here years ago. This is a very overdue beginning. Writing is such a solitary, personal practice. It's something that always intrigues me. After a year in isolation, now, I’m putting to my own timetable things that I wanted to but could not.

Last week, I turned the final page of "Infinite Jest" which I had been trying to finish for a long-running novel. I really have no idea when started this book. Why did I take David Foster Wallace's maybe dead-end book?

I remember, after a night exam in ITU Gümüşsuyu Campus I went to Leman Kültür with friends. Leman was one of the nicest cafe in Istiklal street for the early years of university. It contains a mini-scene where comedian Cem Yılmaz's made his first stand-up shows in the '90s. Inside is a cornucopia of peculiar cartoons, vintage seats, and dim lighting. In Leman, the playlists are always well prepared, and large space makes the spread of music better. I discovered Tame Impala, whom I have been listening to admiringly with these unhinged inspirational playlists.

While leaving the cafe, I received a phone call from Robinson Crusoe 389 Bookstore. I ordered a book to be brought from abroad and it was at the bookstore. I stopped by "Rob389" to get the Infinite Jest book. On the way back, after looking through the book a bit, honestly, I realized would be together with "Infinite Book" for a long time.

For Infinite Jest, the trouble was, especially the first half of the book, when I was reading pages that not including paragraphs, passing portrayals, and infamous footnotes made me give up.

Fortunately, the gripping second half helped me find the end of the book. I'm already looking for the right time for the second reading. I thought it's a good chance to update my website and publish the first article. Withal, tweet ^1 I came across months ago, revealed the untimely effects of writing. There are many fascinating points I want to write for Infinite Jest and I will talk about them later as a series of articles. Today I'll enjoy telling how I met DFW and had a chance to talk about him here.

I got to know David Foster Wallace at the TED Talks event in ITU Taşkışla campus. I came here to listen, dear Caner Eler, who I knew on the Tour de France broadcasts. On event, the main topic was the turning points. He talked about these points that changed his own life and the lives of some major athletes. He told Ervin Zabo and the famous blood in the water match, cyclist and liar Lance Armstrong, Ethiopian champion Abebe Bikila's unpretentious but passionate Olympic run. He appeared on the stage with a thin book in his hand but had not yet included the book in his speech. Then, he ran out of his time, asked a little more, opened the book, and quoted David Foster Wallace.

There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says "Morning, boys. How’s the water?" And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes "What the hell is water?"

I was nineteen when stumbling upon DFW's that speech at a graduation ceremony at his university, and for me, this was just the early years of college. I felt like "The ground is slipping off my feet". When I look back, feel that day could be a turning point for me, at least one of these points. Ever since I've known him, even years after his death, I have been able to relate to his writings and speeches. That connection pushes me into thoughts I will never find again.

Anyway, dropping this post here might mean I’ll start writing more next few days. Or maybe not. See you soon, hopefully.