David Foster Wallace, one of the most influential postmodern writers of the 20th century, has been found dead at his home in Claremont, California.

According to the media reports, David Wallace had hanged himself Friday evening, and his wife, Karen Green, found him when she returned home.

Wallace, born in Ithaca, New York in 1962 is the author of several dozen short stories and two novels, as well as several non-fiction works in the form of essays.

His debut novel was “The Broom of the System” in 1987. Other works include “Girl With Curious Hair” from 1989 and “A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments” from 1997.

David Wallace, known for his witty and darkly ironic style, was often concerned with the negative effects of irony. Wallace considered it hinders and complicates authentic communication in fiction and culture as a whole.

He was an advocate for honest, authentic self-expression of the individual in a media-saturated consumer society. His 1000+ page novel “Infinite Jest” best exemplifies this, as the world that the book’s characters inhabit is a consumerism-based political dystopia.

His novels and short stories have marked a generation, and Time Magazine listed his 1996 novel “Infinite Jest” among their “TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005”.

Wallace was also a professor of English at the Pomona College in Claremont. He is missed by his students who greatly appreciated him. “I know a great novelist has left the scene, but we knew him as a great teacher who cared deeply about his students, who treasured him. That’s what we’re going to miss,” said Gary Kates, the dean of Pomona College.
Wallace is survived by his wife, his parents and a sister. Pomona College is planning a memorial service in his honor.