''A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments'' is a 1997 collection of nonfiction writing by David Foster Wallace. In the title essay, originally published in '' Harper's'' as "Shipping Out", Wallace describes the excesses of his one-week trip in the Caribbean aboard the

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours know ...

, which he rechristens the '' Nadir''. He is uncomfortable with the professional hospitality industry and the "fun" he should be having, and explains how the indulgences of the cruise cause introspection, leading to overwhelming internal despair. Wallace uses footnotes extensively for various asides. Another essay in the same volume takes up the vulgarities and excesses of the

Illinois State Fair The Illinois State Fair is an annual festival, centering on the theme of agriculture, hosted by the U.S. state of Illinois in the state capital, Springfield. The state fair has been celebrated almost every year since 1853. Currently, the fa ...

. This collection also includes Wallace's influential essay "E Unibus Pluram" on

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

's impact on contemporary literature and the use of

irony Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into ...

in American culture. In 2019, the collection was ranked in ''Slate'' as one of the 50 greatest nonfiction works of the past 25 years.

Essays

Essays collected in the book: *"Derivative Sport in Tornado Alley" ('' Harper's'', December 1991, under the title "Tennis, Trigonometry, Tornadoes"): An autobiographical essay about Wallace's youth in the Midwest, his involvement in competitive tennis, and his interest in mathematics. *"E Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction" (''The Review of Contemporary Fiction'', 1993) *"Getting Away from Already Being Pretty Much Away from It All" (''Harper's'', 1994, under the title "Ticket to the Fair"): Wallace's experiences and opinions on the 1993

, ranging from a report on competitive baton twirling to speculation on how the Illinois State Fair is representative of Midwestern culture and its subsets. *"Greatly Exaggerated" (''Harvard Book Review'', 1992): A review of ''Morte d'Author: An Autopsy'' by H. L. Hix, including Wallace's personal opinions on the role of the author in literary critical theory. *" David Lynch Keeps His Head" (''

Premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

'', 1996): Wallace's experiences and opinions from visiting the set for '' Lost Highway'' and his thoughts about Lynch's oeuvre. *"Tennis Player Michael Joyce's Professional Artistry as a Paradigm of Certain Stuff about Choice, Freedom, Discipline, Joy, Grotesquerie, and Human Completeness" ('' Esquire'', 1996, under the title "The String Theory"): Wallace's reporting of the qualifying rounds for 1995 Canadian Open and the Open itself, with the author's thoughts on the nature of tennis and professional athletics. *"A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" (''Harper's'', 1996, under the title "Shipping Out"): Wallace's experiences and opinions on a seven-night luxury Caribbean cruise.

In popular culture

In his 2011 book '' That Is All'', John Hodgman titles a chapter about taking a cruise "A Totally Fun Thing I Would Do Again as Soon as Possible". The name of the 2012 ''

Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, an ...

'' episode "

A Totally Fun Thing That Bart Will Never Do Again "A Totally Fun Thing That Bart Will Never Do Again" is the nineteenth episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 29, 2012. I ...

" also references the title essay. Tina Fey's 2011 memoir ''

Bossypants ''Bossypants'' is an autobiographical comedy book written by the American comedian Tina Fey. The book topped ''The New York Times Best Seller list'', and stayed there for five weeks upon its release. As of November 2014, the book has sold over 2.5 ...

'' includes a chapter on her own cruise experience, titled "My Honeymoon: Or, A Supposedly Fun Thing That I'll Never Do Again Either", in which she jokingly suggests that those who've heard of Wallace's book should consider themselves members of the "cultural elite." In Charlie Kaufman's 2020 film '' I'm Thinking of Ending Things,'' the character Jake mentions the book, refers to ''E Unibus Pluram'', then recites a portion of the essay from the section "Image-Fiction" verbatim.

References

* Wallace, D. F. (1997). ''A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again''. Little, Brown. * Wallace, D. F. (1996). "Shipping Out", ''Harper's Magazine'', January 1996 (292:1748)

External links

"Shipping Out: On the (nearly lethal) comforts of a luxury cruise"
Harpers Magazine. Also known as "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again".
"Ticket to the Fair"
Harper's Magazine. Also known as "Getting Away from Already Being Pretty Much Away from It All".
"The String Theory"
Esquire. Also known as "Tennis Player Michael Joyce's Professional Artistry as a Paradigm of Certain Stuff about Choice, Freedom, Discipline, Joy, Grotesquerie, and Human Completeness".

Premiere, 1996

Harper's Magazine. Originally under the title "Tennis, Trigonometry, Tornadoes" {{DEFAULTSORT:Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, A Books by David Foster Wallace American essay collections 1997 non-fiction books Little, Brown and Company books Illinois State Fair