Recorded on Thursday,
March 8, 2007
at 6:30pm
Time: 53 minutes 43 seconds
43.1 MB
What you will hear:
A unique series
for sophisticated writers, readers, and eaters,
Eat, Drink & Be Literary continues
the momentum of the past two sell-out series,
bringing major contemporary authors to BAMcafé
for intimate dinners, readings, and discussions
that are always entertaining and engaging.
There is a brief introduction
by Harold Augenbraum, executive director of the
National Book Foundation, presenter of the National
Book Awards. Jonathan Franzen then reads from his
autobiography The Discomfort Zone: A Personal
History, an interview follows by moderator
Brigid Hughes. Franzen talks candidly about his
life as a writer, the difficulty of writing fiction
post-9/11 and the difference between being a Hollywood
celebrity and a "famous" writer. And yes,
during the audience Q&A Franzen talks about
what happened when The Corrections
was chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her book club.
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| Photo:
Greg Martin |
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| Photo:
Tobias Everke |
The featured author and moderator is:
Jonathan Franzen
"Franzen is a writer with old-fashioned virtues:
he loves witty wordplay; his command of detail in
an enormous range of interests is unassailable;
he has a painter's eye for depth and contrast; and
he creates characters whose emotions reach us even
when they are hidden from the people feeling them."
—THE NEW YORK TIMES
"I think of art in general, and certainly
of a novel, as being about various familiar forms
and rituals. There's nothing really new to say about
the human condition, and so every novel is kind
of a ritual reenactment, or retelling, of familiar
stories, which proceed along expected but somehow
satisfying lines."
—JONATHAN FRANZEN
Jonathan Franzen is the author of three novels,
including The Corrections, which won the
National Book Award; a collection of essays (How
to Be Alone); and an autobiography (The
Discomfort Zone: A Personal History). Franzen
lives in New York City and Boulder Creek, California.
Brigid Hughes,
moderator
Brigid Hughes is the
founding editor of A Public Space, a journal
of literature and culture based in Brooklyn.
She worked at The Paris Review for many years,
succeeding George Plimpton as editor in 2003;
she left the magazine in 2005. The debut issue
of A Public Space was published in March 2006.
Books discussed
during the event include:
Two reading suggestions
for what Franzen calls
“life-changing, good books.”
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Independent
People,
by Halldor Laxness |
A Personal Matter,
by Kenzaburo Oe |
Recently overlooked books
Franzen thinks you should read:
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| Theft, by Peter
Carey |
The City is a Rising
Tide,
by Rebecca Lee |
In Persuasion Nation,
by George Saunders |
Eat, Drink & Be Literary
is sponsored by Bloomberg.
