Inside the Writing Mind of Jonathan Franzen

Photo credit: Greg Martin

Jonathan Franzen is having a momentous year. Perhaps even more so than 2001, the year he became a household name with The Corrections and, of course, his spurning of Oprah's book club.

The hefty tale of a most dysfunctional family won a National Book Award and was a finalist for a Pulitizer. Since then, Franzen has cemented his literary force with a memoir some short stories and a volume of essays.

These days people are bandying around terms like "great American novelist" and his fourth novel, Freedom, was released last week. On August 13 he appeared on the cover of Time magazine--a rare feat for living American authors. The last such appearance was by Stephen King a decade ago.

Franzen is speaking in Seattle next Tuesday, kicking off the Seattle Arts & Lectures series' 2010-2011 season. Seats are still available at all levels, with some great single-ticket seats remaining up front. As the New York Times review of Freedom noted, Franzen's got an impressive literary toolkit and will be discussing the gritty details of his writing process and the meshing of autobiography and fiction.

The night will likely be inspirational for those of us seeking inspiration for our own writing endeavors, but you don't have to be a wordsmith to marvel at this glimpse into a most impressive writing mind.

September 14, 7:30 p.m. // Benaroya Hall // Tickets $15 and up

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