“The 20th century saw an onslaught of literary depictions of the nihilistic state.”

•

December 9, 2010

“… [some people] may feel the kind of ‘stomach level sadness’ that David Foster Wallace described, a sadness that drives them to distract themselves by any number of entertainments, addictions, competitions, or arbitrary goals, each of which leaves them feeling emptier than the last.”

Sean D. Kelly talks about “Navigating Past Nihilism” at The Stone, the New York Times‘ forum for contemporary philosophers. Also touched on? Franzen, Melville, T.S. Eliot, Beckett and more.

(via TheMillions)

BSKY

Isaac Fitzgerald

Isaac Fitzgerald has been a firefighter, worked on a boat, and was once given a sword by a king, thereby accomplishing three out of five of his childhood goals. Formerly of The Rumpus and McSweeneyâ€™s and most recently the founding editor of BuzzFeed Books, Isaac is now the co-host of BuzzFeed Newsâ€™ Twitter Morning Show, #AMtoDM. He also appears frequently on The Today Show to talk books, and is co-author of Pen & Ink: Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them and Knives & Ink: Chefs and the Stories Behind Their Tattoos (with Recipes) (winner of an IACP award), and the author of a YA novel and picture book forthcoming from Bloomsbury. He uses Twitter.