Jonathan Franzen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jonathan Franzen
Franzen at the 2011 Time 100 gala
Born	Jonathan Earl Franzen (1959-08-17) August 17, 1959 (age 66) Western Springs, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Novelist, essayist
Education	Swarthmore College (BA)
Genre	Literary fiction
Literary movement	Social realism, New Sincerity
Notable works	The Corrections (2001) Freedom (2010) Crossroads (2021)
Notable awards	National Book Award 2001 James Tait Black Memorial Prize 2002
Spouse	Valerie Cornell ​ (divorced)​
Partner	Kathy Chetkovich

Jonathan Earl Franzen (born August 17, 1959) is a well-known American writer. He writes both novels and essays. His book The Corrections (published in 2001) was very popular. It won a National Book Award and a James Tait Black Memorial Prize. It was also considered for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

His novel Freedom (2010) also received great reviews. It even led to him being featured on the cover of Time magazine. The headline called him a "Great American Novelist." Franzen's most recent novel, Crossroads, came out in 2021. It is the first book in a planned series of three.

Franzen has written for The New Yorker magazine since 1994. In 2001, his book The Corrections was chosen for Oprah Winfrey's book club. This led to some public discussion between him and the TV host.

Early Life and Education

Franzen was born in Western Springs, Illinois. His parents were Irene and Earl T. Franzen. His father's family came from Sweden, and his mother's family was from Eastern Europe. Jonathan grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri, a nice area near St. Louis.

He went to Swarthmore College and graduated with high honors in 1981. He studied German there. During college, he spent a year studying in Germany. He also studied in Berlin on a Fulbright Scholarship. He can speak German very well.

In 1982, Franzen got married. He and his wife moved to Somerville, Massachusetts. He wanted to become a novelist. While writing his first novel, The Twenty-Seventh City, he worked at Harvard University. He helped with research in the Earth and Planetary Sciences department. In 1987, he sold his first novel.

Writing Career

First Novels

Franzen in 1988

The Twenty-Seventh City was published in 1988. It is set in Franzen's hometown of St. Louis. The book talks about the city's past importance. Critics liked this long novel, and it showed Franzen was a writer to watch. He said he was a "skinny, scared kid trying to write a big novel."

His next book, Strong Motion (1992), is about a family with problems, the Hollands. It uses earthquakes on the East Coast as a way to show the problems within the family. Franzen said he imagined "static lives being disrupted from without—literally shaken." This book did not sell very well at first.

Franzen also taught writing classes at Swarthmore College in 1992 and 1994. He told his students that the goals of fiction were "truth" and "beauty." His students said he was serious but also loved words and writing. He would carefully read their stories and help them improve.

The Corrections and Public Attention

Franzen's novel The Corrections received a lot of praise. It won the 2001 National Book Award for Fiction. It also won the 2002 James Tait Black Memorial Prize. The book was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

In September 2001, The Corrections was chosen for Oprah Winfrey's book club. Franzen first agreed to be part of it. He did an interview with Oprah. However, he later said he was worried that the "Oprah pick" label might make men not want to read his book. He said some male readers told him they would avoid books with the Oprah logo.

Because of his comments, Oprah Winfrey decided to cancel his appearance on her show. She said she did not want to make anyone uncomfortable. This event brought a lot of media attention to Franzen and his novel. The Corrections then became one of the best-selling literary books of that time. Franzen later thanked Oprah Winfrey at the National Book Award ceremony.

After this success, Franzen continued to write. He published two short stories in The New Yorker. In 2011, there were plans to make The Corrections into a TV series for HBO. However, HBO decided not to go forward with it. They said the book's story was too complex to adapt into a series.

In 2019, The Corrections was ranked sixteenth on a list of the 100 best books of the 21st century by The Guardian newspaper.

Freedom and More Recognition

Franzen at the 2008 Brooklyn Book Festival

In 2009 and 2010, Franzen published parts of his next novel, Freedom, in The New Yorker. The first part was called "Good Neighbors." It was about a couple in St. Paul, Minnesota.

When Freedom was released, Franzen talked about it on the radio show Fresh Air. He also discussed his friendship with fellow writer David Foster Wallace. Wallace's death had an impact on Franzen's writing.

In the United Kingdom, there was a small issue with Freedom. An earlier version of the book was accidentally published. The publisher, HarperCollins, offered to exchange the books for the correct version.

While promoting Freedom, Franzen became the first American author to appear on the cover of Time magazine since 2000. The magazine called him a "Great American Novelist."

On September 17, 2010, Oprah Winfrey announced that Freedom would be an Oprah book club selection. This was for the last season of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Franzen appeared on the show in December 2010. They talked about the book and the earlier discussion about The Corrections.

Purity and Crossroads

In 2012, Franzen mentioned he was working on a new novel. He said it would likely be a long book. In 2014, The New York Times announced the novel would be called Purity and would be released in September 2015.

Purity is a story that covers many years and places. It follows a young woman named Purity Tyler, or Pip. She wants to find out who her father is. The story goes from modern America to South America and East Germany before the Berlin Wall fell. It focuses on the mystery of Pip's family and her connection with a hacker.

There were plans to turn Purity into a TV series for Showtime. Daniel Craig was set to star in it. However, the high cost of the show made it unlikely to be made. Purity did not sell as many copies as Franzen's previous two novels.

On November 13, 2020, Franzen's publisher announced his new novel, Crossroads. This book is the first in a series called A Key to All Mythologies. Crossroads was published on October 5, 2021.

Critics praised Crossroads. Bookforum called it Franzen's "finest novel yet." The New York Times said it was "warmer than anything he's yet written." The novel is about a pastor, his wife, and their four children.

Other Writings

Franzen in 2010

In 1996, Franzen wrote an essay called "Perchance to Dream" for Harper's Magazine. In it, he thought about the role of novelists in a world with so much media. He decided that writers should focus on the inner lives and feelings of their characters.

In 2002, he wrote an essay called "Mr. Difficult" for The New Yorker. He talked about how some readers found his book The Corrections too complex. He discussed his own thoughts on reading difficult fiction.

In 2004, Franzen published "The Discomfort Zone." This was a personal essay about his childhood in Missouri. It also talked about his love for Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts.

Since The Corrections, Franzen has published collections of essays. These include How to Be Alone (2002) and The Discomfort Zone (2006). How to Be Alone talks about why reading is important. The Discomfort Zone explores how his childhood affected his writing.

In 2007, Franzen's translation of the play Spring Awakening was published. He had translated it for a college theater department years earlier.

In 2012, he published Farther Away, another essay collection. It includes topics like his love for birds, his friendship with David Foster Wallace, and his thoughts on technology.

In November 2018, Franzen released his third essay collection, The End of the End of the Earth: Essays. These essays cover topics like his family and the global seabird crisis. They show his thoughts on literature and important issues today.

In 2019, Franzen wrote an essay on climate change for The New Yorker. It caused some discussion because of its serious tone.

Writing Philosophy

Franzen at the 2010 National Book Critics Circle awards

In 2010, The Guardian newspaper asked Franzen and other writers for their top ten rules for aspiring writers. Franzen's rules included treating the reader like a friend and avoiding the Internet while writing.

Personal Life

In 1982, Jonathan Franzen married Valerie Cornell, who was also a writer. They lived in New York City for 14 years before they divorced. He mentions his marriage in some of his essays.

Franzen now lives in Santa Cruz, California. He lives with Kathy Chetkovich, who is also a writer.

Franzen is known for being a serious birdwatcher. He has appeared on TV to talk about his love for birds. He also served on the board of the American Bird Conservancy for nine years. A documentary based on his essay "Emptying the Skies" was released in 2013.

Franzen is a big fan of the punk-rock band The Mekons. He appeared in a 2014 documentary about the group.

Awards and Honors

Honors

• 1981 Fulbright Scholarship to Germany
• 1988 Whiting Award
• 1996 Guggenheim Fellowship
• 2000 Berlin Prize (American Academy in Berlin)
• 2012 Carlos Fuentes Medal (First award ever)
• 2015 Budapest Grand Prize
• 2015 Euronatur Award for helping nature in Europe
• 2017 Frank Schirrmacher Preis
• 2022 Thomas Mann Prize

Literary Awards

• 2010 Galaxy National Book Awards, International Author of the Year, Freedom
• 2010 Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Fiction) finalist (for Freedom)
• 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award finalist (for Freedom)
• 2010 Salon Book Award (Fiction) for Freedom
• 2011 Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Freedom
• 2011 John Gardner Award (Fiction) for Freedom
• 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award (Criticism) shortlist for The Kraus Project

Other Recognition

• 1996 Granta's Best of Young American Novelists
• 2001 Oprah's Book Club Selection (for The Corrections)
• 2001 The New York Times Best Books of the Year for The Corrections
• 2009 Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Visitor American Academy in Berlin
• 2010 Oprah's Book Club selection (for Freedom)
• 2010 The New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2010 list (for Freedom)
• 2010 Elected to the Akademie der Kunste, Berlin
• 2011 Named one of Time's Time 100
• 2012 Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters
• 2012 Elected to the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
• In January 2011, The Observer named him as one of "20 activists, filmmakers, writers, politicians and celebrities who will be setting the global environmental agenda in the coming year."
• On May 21, 2011, Franzen gave the commencement address at Kenyon College.
• On June 16, 2012, Franzen gave the commencement address at Cowell College, UC Santa Cruz.
• 2013 Welt-Literaturpreis

Television Appearances

• In 1996, Franzen appeared on Charlie Rose with fellow author David Foster Wallace. They discussed "The Future of American Fiction."
• In 2001, Franzen appeared on Charlie Rose twice to talk about The Corrections.
• In 2002, Franzen appeared on Charlie Rose to discuss his essay collection How to Be Alone.
• In 2006, Franzen was a guest star on The Simpsons episode "Moe'N'a Lisa". He was shown arguing about books with another writer.
• In 2010, Franzen appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to promote Freedom.
• In 2015, Franzen appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and CBS This Morning to promote Purity.
• In 2016, Franzen appeared on Jeopardy! for Power Players Week. He played for the American Bird Conservancy. He also appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers.
• In 2018, Franzen appeared on CBS This Morning – Saturday to talk about his love for birds.

See also

In Spanish: Jonathan Franzen para niños