“IDEAS: The Greek epigraph to ‘Everything and More’ — where’s it from?

WALLACE: It’s made up. ‘It is not what’s inside your head, it’s what your head’s inside.’ It’s a gag. I think the editor thought it was some really esoteric ancient Greek. I got a big kick out of it. It was a big deal to get him to get the diacriticals right.”

Wallace studied Greek.

Went to the library at lunch today to read bananafish, but felt no illumination. It was a long shot.

David Lipsky at NPR: “In stories and essays, Wallace was drawn to a conflict: How can you live well, and how do you do it without damaging other people, embarrassing yourself?” This isn’t the most poetic or fundamental assessment I’ve read, out of scores, in the last 28ish hours; but it resonates. Also resonant: some former student of his reports that his email address was ocapmycap@. Could that possibly be true?

rain or hail
sam done
the best he kin
till they digged his hole

:sam was a man

stout as a bridge
rugged as a bear
slickern a weazel
how be you

(sun or snow)

gone into what
like all them kings
you read about
and on him sings

a whippoorwill;

heart was big
as the world aint square
with room for the devil
and his angels too

yes,sir

what may be better
or what may be worse
and what may be clover
clover clover

(nobody’ll know)

sam was a man
grinned his grin
done his chores
laid him down.

Sleep well

–cummings

rip mr wallace, i cannot say how affected i am, i am utterly dismayed