Girl with Curious Hair is a collection of short stories by David Foster Wallace, first published in 1990. Though they are not related, many of the stories share the theme of society's fascination with celebrity, some using real celebrities, including Alex Trebek, David Letterman and Lyndon Johnson, as fictional characters. Several stories also mock or criticise what Wallace saw as negative trends in the literary scene, including the cynical, amoral realism of 1980s "Brat Pack" writers such as Bret Easton Ellis, as well as postmodern literary criticism and metafiction. A novella, "Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way", draws heavily on John Barth's metafictional short story "Lost in the Funhouse". David Foster Wallace is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. ... Celebrities often have a symbiotic relationship with photographers. ... Alex Trebek hosting a 1986 episode of Jeopardy! A shaved Alex Trebek in a 2005 episode of Jeopardy! George Alexander Trebek (born as Giorgi Suka-Alex Trebek [1] on July 22, 1940) is a Canadian-American television personality, best known as the host of the game show Jeopardy! for the... David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American late night talk show host, comedian, television producer, Indy Racing League car owner (Rahal Letterman Racing), and philanthropist. ... Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908–January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was an American politician. ... The Brat Pack was the name given to novelists Bret Easton Ellis, Jay McInerney and Tama Janowitz as a media epiphet borrowed from the Brat Pack actors of the era. ... Bret Easton Ellis Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964 in Los Angeles, California) is an American author. ... Postmodernity (also called post-modernity or the postmodern condition) is a term used by philosophers, social scientists, art critics and social critics to refer to aspects of contemporary art, culture, economics and social conditions that are the result of the unique features of late 20th century and early 21st century... Literary criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. ... Metafiction is a type of fiction which self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction. ... John Barth John Simmons Barth (born May 27, 1930) is an American novelist and short-story writer, known for the postmodernist and metafictive quality of his work. ... Lost in the Funhouse is a collection of loosely connected short stories that was originally published by John Barth in 1968. ...