The essay was also published in the best american nonrequired. And i ve read and reread through the transcript and i cant see what the big deal is. David foster wallaces famous commencement speech this is. However, the resulting speech didnt become widely known until 3 years later, after his tragic death. Special operations command, delivered a memorable speech at the universitywide commencement on may 17. David foster wallaces commencement speech this is water posted on march 15, 2016 march 15, 2016 by zerophilmister david foster wallace is well known for his 1996 novel infinite jest which, according to time magazine, is one of the 100 best englishlanguage novels from 1923 to 2005. May 17, 2016 this is water is often praised as being the best commencement speech of all time. It was not a typical commencement speech a person would except to hear at a college graduation.
Mcraven urges graduates to find courage to change the. This is water by david foster wallace 17 translations. That was alarming walking along and full transcript. Below is the prepared text of the commencement address delivered by actor and filmmaker matt damon for the institutes 2016 commencement, held june 3, 2016. This is water there are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, morning, boys, hows the water. Following is the text of the edge and the core by marianoflorentino cuellar, associate. As one of the most iconic graduation speeches of all time, it contains simple, yet timeless nuggets of wisdom that all of us can benefit from. This transcript has been edited for near 100% denzel washington. Below is the full transcript edited version of the commencement address this is water delivered by david foster wallace at 2005 commencement ceremony. It was written by david foster wallace, one of my favorite writers, and delivered as a commencement speech in 2005 to kenyon college. Check out our handpicked selection of commencement addresses, going back to 1774.
This is water is often praised as being the best commencement speech of all time. David foster wallaces remarkable 2005 commencement speech, this is water, is a timeless trove of wisdom for living a meaningful life. Read the full transcript of mcravens may 19, 2014 speech right here at. There were more women up there, and most of the guys were sciencemath types. Mark zuckerbergs speech as written for harvards class of.
In their interpretation, foster wallaces speech takes on the kind of middleclass neurosis of david finchers realization of chuck palahniuks fight club. Commencement speech to kenyon college class of 2005 written by david foster wallace. Jun 07, 2007 bill gates addresses the harvard alumni association in tecentenary theater at harvard universitys 2007 commencement afternoon exercises. This is water by david foster wallace full transcript and audio david foster wallace s 2005 commencement speech to the graduating class at kenyon college, is a timeless trove of wisdom right up there with hunter thompson on finding your purpose and living a meaningful life. David foster wallace, this is water commencement speech at. Three years later, wallace tragically died, and only then did the speech become widely known. This is the world we were born into, and we are responsible for it. Below is the full text edited version of washingtons famous and inspiring speech titled put god first delivered during a commencement address at dillard university in 2015. This is water by david foster wallace full speech duration. This speech was delivered as the commencement address to the graduates of the university of texas at austin on may 17, 2014. Ive studied and written about the most viewed commencement speeches in the past, but this one is special. This is water video and transcript david foster wallace is one of my all time favourite authors. I saw how the speech related directly to me, and how this was my same mindset.
In 2005, author david foster wallace was asked to give the commencement address to the 2005 graduating class of kenyon college. May 17, 2014 the greatest commencement speech ever was the one that has long been attributed to kurt vonnegut, but that was really a column written by mary schmich for the chicago tribune about a speech she. It is, without a doubt, some of the best life advice weve ever come across, and perhaps the most simple and elegant explanation of the real value of. And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, what the hell is water. Jun 03, 2016 below is the prepared text of the commencement address delivered by actor and filmmaker matt damon for the institutes 2016 commencement, held june 3, 2016. What is the rhetorical value of using the water metaphor at the beginning of the speech and at the end this technique is called framing.
Wallace use the term default setting throughout the speech. First of all, it is beyond a pleasure and an honor to be here to celebrate the city college of new york class of 2016. David foster wallaces famous commencement speech almost didn. Admiral mcraven commencement speech here we have provided you with a transcript of naval admiral mcravens commencement speech at the university of texas at austin on may 17. Rev blog transcripts classic speech transcripts bill gates ted talk transcript from 2015. Its had a massive influence on my own life and for me, it sets both the standard and the tone of all of the work i try to do on this site. Text of the 2017 stanford commencement address by mariano. Full transcript of president obamas commencement address at west point. The glossary recently turned wallaces commencement address into a stimulating video with hopes of reaching a much larger audience as graduation. Speech given by david foster wallace to kenyon colleges 2005 graduating class. It was a lowpaying job, in very tough living circumstances, no telephones or clean drinking water very far from the wall street job i once aspired to.
President bok, former president rudenstine, incoming president faust, members of the harvard corporation and the board of overseers, members of the. In 2005 novelist david foster wallace gave the commencement address to the 2005 graduating class of kenyon college in gambier, ohio. In just over 20 minutes, he covers the unsexy yet very real realities of daytoday adult life. You all, i mean, this has been the most fun i think ive had at a commencement ever. Its considered one of the best and more inspirational commencement speeches. Matt damon mit commencement speech june 3 2016 matt damon actor all right. In 2005, david foster wallace delivered the this is water commencement speech at kenyon college.
Text of the 2014 commencement address by bill and melinda. Jun 18, 2017 june 18, 2017 prepared text of the 2017 stanford commencement address by marianoflorentino cuellar. June 6, 2007 remarks by bill gates, cochair and trustee. The greatest commencement speech ever washington post. Admiral william mcraven make your bed commencement speech. There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, morning, boys, hows the water. The immediate point of the fish story is that the most obvious, ubiquitous, important realities are often the ones that are the hardest to see and talk about. The advice within it is simple but poignant and beautiful. This is water by david foster wallace full transcript and audio. Thank you, president reif and thank you, class of 2016. This is a standard requirement of us commencement speeches, the deployment of didactic little parableish stories. Some thoughts, delivered on a significant occasion, about living a compassionate life. This is water commencement speech from david foster wallace the most important things in life require us to learn them again and again. Denzel washington is an american actor, director, and producer.
This is the world we were born into, and we are responsible for it ian mcewan to grads. David foster wallaces famous commencement speech almost. Commencement speeches are one of the great collegiate traditions and the last lesson students get before entering the real world. Click the links below to jump to a specific speech.
In the video above, this is water, the glossaryfine purveyors of stimulating videogramstake an abridged version of the original audio recording and set it to a series of provocative images. This is water by david foster wallace full speech youtube. This is water commencement speech by david foster wallace in 2005 novelist david foster wallace gave the commencement address to the 2005 graduating class of kenyon college in gambier, ohio. Admiral william mcraven make your bed commencement.
The challenge for our generation is creating a world where everyone has a sense of purpose, said mark zuckerberg, who was the principal speaker at harvards 366th commencement on may 25. Chimamanda ngozi adichie, the danger of a single story. Commencement speeches have become outlets for sharing some of the most important life lessons ever. This is water commencement speech by david foster wallace. In 2005, david foster wallace delivered the this is water commencement. Heres bernie sanders full commencement speech at brooklyn college.
This is water by david foster wallace full transcript and audio reading time. The text originates from a commencement speech given by wallace at kenyon college on may 21, 2005. David foster wallaces 2005 commencement speech to the graduating class at kenyon college, is a timeless trove of wisdom right up there with hunter thompson on finding your purpose and living a meaningful life the speech was made into a thin book titled this is water. In fact, many would claim that this is water is the best commencement speech ever given. May 30, 2015 rhode island convention center providence, rhode island. David foster wallace, this is water commencement speech. John waters commencement speech at risd, 2015 transcript an incongruously dressed john waters equally incongruously delivered the commencement address for the rhode island school of designs graduating class of 2015 video. Warns of pandemics, epidemics in a ted talk from 2015, bill gates warned that the world is not prepared for an epidemic, pandemic, or outbreak. Text of the 2014 commencement address by bill and melinda gates. Top 3 lessons from this is water by david foster wallace.
Stated as an english sentence, of course, this is just a banal platitudebut the fact is that, in the daytoday trenches of adult existence. May 24, 2016 commencement speeches are usually forgotten as soon as theyre delivered. Microsofts most famous couple, bill and melinda gates. John waters gave this commencement speech at rhode island school of design. David foster wallaces famous commencement speech this is water visualized in a short film in graduation speech, life, literature may 8th, 20 leave a comment 5. George marshall came to this commencement and announced a plan to assist the nations of postwar europe. Jan 22, 2019 denzel washington is an american actor, director, and producer. It was a unique message wallace sent to the graduating class of 2005 at kenyon college. May 06, 2014 here are the seven best commencement speeches from the past 100 years. Matt damon mit commencement speech june 3 2016 read more.
This is water by david foster wallace full transcript and. I think one difficulty is that the problem is one of such enormous complexity that the very mass of facts presented to the public by press and radio make it exceedingly difficult for the man. The greatest commencement speech ever was the one that has long been attributed to kurt vonnegut, but that was really a column written by mary schmich for the chicago tribune about a speech she. From the hilarious and varied essays of a supposedly fun thing ill never do again to the incredible genius of infinite jest, he is likely to go down as one of the worlds greatest authors. What is less plausible is that the best commencement speech of all time, and so the best entry in a necessarily humiliating category, has been consecrated as actual wisdom by wallaces casual and diehard readers alike. Some thoughts, delivered on a significant occasion, about living a compassionate life is an essay by david foster wallace, first published in book form by little, brown and company in 2009.
John waters commencement speech at risd, 2015 transcript. This is water by david foster wallace full transcript. This is water full versiondavid foster wallace commencement. John waters commencement address risd 2015 on vimeo.
He has received three golden globe awards, one tony award, and two academy awards. This is water t he following post was not written by me. Jun 16, 2015 john waters gave this commencement speech at rhode island school of design. This speech was originally delivered by david foster wallace as the 2005 commencement address at kenyon college. When the law and conscience intersected view all of commencement 2017.
Top 3 lessons from this is water by david foster wallace sloww. David foster wallaces 2005 commencement speech to kenyon. Commencement 2017 speech transcripts and video suny. President powers, provost fenves, deans, members of the faculty, family and friends and most importantly, the class of 2014. Full transcript of president obamas commencement address at. After listening to steve jobs stanford commencement speech, i was inspired to round up the best graduation speeches of all time, so all of you can enjoy the rich insights of the speakers youll probably recognize most of the speakers, who are prominent people in their. When i saw the video for this is water by david foster wallace, it opened my eyes. How the best commencement speech of all time was bad for. May 25, 2017 mark zuckerbergs commencement address at harvard im here to tell you finding your purpose isnt enough. Commencement address by first lady michelle obama the city. This list is organized by presenter name and then speech topic. On each page, youll find a full transcript of the speech as well as some additional background information.
This is water commencement speech from david foster wallace. Transcription of the 2005 kenyon commencement address may 21. American writer david foster wallace delivered an incredible and incredibly moving commencement speech on may 21, 2005. Forget the kerfuffles over president obamas talks at arizona state and notre dame. Search over 350 speeches by name, school, date or theme and find out what they have in common with pop songs on our blog. Create a sense of purpose for all, zuckerberg urges. After his untimely death by suicide three years later, the speech was printed in the wall street journal and republished as a book. My youngest child graduates from high school next month, and o n the most remarkable field trip ive ever heard of, his school along with 10,000 other people went to see his holiness the dalai.
Some thoughts, delivered on a significant occasion. Full transcript of president obamas commencement address. Commencement speeches are usually forgotten as soon as theyre delivered. But wallaces 2005 speech, this is water delivered 11 years ago on may 21 has endured. Sep 05, 20 i saw how the speech related directly to me, and how this was my same mindset. Mcraven gave a commencement speech at the university of texas often referred to as the make your bed speech.
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