I don’t really know what to say, any more than anyone else does, but I think I’ve got to say something.

I was lucky enough to take a couple of classes with David Wallace at Pomona. I had already read Infinite Jest and a bunch of his non-fiction by then, and I fought for a place in his literature and writing classes. I’m glad I did, because he was as thoughtful, diligent, and smart as a teacher as he was as a writer. I learned a lot from him about writing (among other things, I learned that I should probably let other people handle the writing), but I learned at least as much about kindness, honesty, and humility. Writing is hard work, but so is literary criticism–and teaching a litter of undergrads either one is surely harder than both combined. I came out of that lucky year with at least as much admiration for Wallace the man as for Wallace the auteur.

In the wake of his death, I’ve been in touch with a few of my classmates from those courses, and we’re all simply shocked–by the death itself, and by the manner in which it occurred. Wallace seemed like a man whose darkest days were behind him; he had stared down many demons, and we all thought he had come out on top. But I guess he taught us better than to accept the superficial without probing deeper.

It’s a terrible loss for the literary world, of course, but for many people it’s much more than that. Through his writing, through his teaching, and through his character, Dave touched a lot of people in a way that belies his (ill-considered) reputation as an ironist. We’ll miss him very much.

After three years in New England, I’m back living in Washington, DC. And I will have lots of free time for a few weeks, at least. So who wants to go to a Nationals game sometime? Or to watch football at a bar? Or just go to a bar?

Also, does anyone want to buy my futon?

So, remember that earthquake I mentioned? It looks like there are some legal aftershocks–the California Bar might give all of the affected takers bonus hugs or something:

Grading of the examination will be conducted in accordance with the Committee of Bar Examiners (Committee) standard procedures. During the grading process, however, the Committee’s psychometric consultant has been asked to perform a psychometric study on whether the earthquake impacted applicants’ performance on the first session of the examination and to report his findings to the Committee prior to the release of results from the examination.

The Committee will consider its consultant’s findings and determine what action, if any, should be taken to ensure that all applicants are treated as fairly as possible. Any actions the Committee might take will be discussed in the information made available at the time results from the examination are released to the applicants, which is scheduled for November 21, 2008.

It’s not really clear what this means, but it looks like if scores are lower than average for that session, the Bar Examiners are going to apply an Act of God curve to even things out. I guess I’ll take it.