This Is Water: The Original David Foster Wallace Recording

By: David Foster Wallace

Narrated by: David Foster Wallace

Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life

Only once did David Foster Wallace give a public talk on his views on life, during a commencement address given in 2005 at Kenyon College. This is the audio recording of David Foster Wallace delivering that very address. How does one keep from going through their comfortable, prosperous adult life unconsciously? How do we get ourselves out of the foreground of our thoughts and achieve compassion? The speech captures Wallace's electric intellect as well as his grace in attention to others. After his death, it became a treasured piece of writing reprinted in The Wall Street Journal and the London Times, commented on endlessly in blogs, and emailed from friend to friend.

Writing with his one-of-a-kind blend of causal humor, exacting intellect, and practical philosophy, David Foster Wallace probes the challenges of daily living and offers advice that renews us with every listen.

©2005 David Foster Wallace (P)2010 Hachette

taoism from the tortured modern American soul.

living with Conscientious awareness of our surroundings and the people in our daily lives and choosing how we respond to it all. The eternal capital T truth is that man must learn how to endure his own internal monolog if he ever wishes to find harmony.

Thought-provoking

A fascinating, thought-provoking commencement address--a must-listen for those in education. The insights from his talk have stayed with me since first hearing it years ago.

#thought-provoking #greatforeducators #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

He gets it

Or he got it. But in the end keeping the beauty and mystery at the forefront was too difficult a task. I wish there was a world where he could have lived

Review of This is Water. Amazing short story of consciousness awareness and open mindedness. I really enjoyed it

I loved this, great sense of awareness and metaphor! I loved this short read, so much covered in such a little time

Yes!

How often I've tried to articulate this, but not nearly so well. I should listen to this every week.

Be aware and pay attention

I've heard many graduation and commencement speeches in the academic careers of myself and my family. I would count only two as worthwhile, and this is one of them. It is simple, based in honesty, but without moral lecturing, and so truthful that it felt like David Foster Wallace was talking to me. I listened to this from Audible, and I think that hearing DFW give the speech made it even more powerful for me. But I also think that it's important enough to hear or read however you can, so google the pdf transcript or listen to it on youtube. Don't just revert to your default setting; choose to look differently, be aware, and pay attention. This one is staying on my ipod for multiple relistens, especially on those days when I'm lazy and have forgotten that "this is water".

24 Minutes of Brilliance

I was hesitant to spend a credit for a 24 minute speech but I am so glad I got it. I have heard lines quoted from this speech before and can see why. Its packed with many pearls that I have listened to it several times already and am blown away each time.

Powerful

This quiet, unassuming speech packs a lot of Truth in its 20-minute delivery by the author, David Foster Wallace. It is a meditation that I have come back to many times.

Wish dfw followed his own advice and observations

Great speech, great use of language, zooming between the mundane and the metaphysical . Worth relistening to this every now and again.

AMAZING AND POWERFUL. LISTEN, LEARN, REPEAT

I love this and I listen to it regularly. A simply amazing speech with an incredible point of view on life and our options of how and what to think about. I cannot recommend this speech enough. The world would be a better place if everyone took this speech to heart.