Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Friday 29 October
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Location
wheelercentre.com
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‘My despair about the American novel began in the winter of 1991, when I fled to Yaddo, the artists’ colony in upstate New York, to write the last two chapters of my second book […] I began to think the most reasonable thing for a citizen to do might be to enter a monastery and pray for humanity.’
It’s been 25 years since Jonathan Franzen published his landmark essay ‘Why Bother?’ in Harper’s Magazine. It detailed his ‘despair about the American novel’ as it then faced down the looming distractions of the technological age and the out-of-touch, military-obsessed politicians of the 1990s. Sound familiar?
In the years since, Franzen has continued to write and release best-selling, critically-acclaimed novels – including The Corrections, Freedom and Purity – exploring politics, families, and the social dynamics that ensnare our lives.
Franzen’s latest novel, Crossroads, is a sweeping investigation of human mythologies as the Hildebrandt family navigates the political, intellectual, and social crosscurrents of the past 50 years. This epic family saga spans three generations and traces the inner life of our culture through to the present day.
In his first Australian event celebrating the release of this highly-anticipated new work, the singular Jonathan Franzen will discuss family, America, and where the modern novel must go from here with ABC Radio National’s Sarah Kanowski.
The online bookseller for this event is Hill of Content
Presented in partnership with Byron Writers Festival and Newcastle Writers Festival
Featuring
Jonathan Franzen
Jonathan Franzen is the author of six novels including Crossroads, Freedom and The Corrections, and five works of nonfiction and translation, including The Kraus Project and Farther Away. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the German Akademie der Kunste and the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He is recognised as one of the best American writers of our age and has won many awards. He lives in New York City and Santa Cruz, California.
Sarah Kanowski
Sarah co-presents Conversations on ABC Radio and podcast. She previously presented Books and Arts on ABC RN and joined the ABC as a producer with Late Night Live.
Sarah won a Commonwealth Scholarship to study English at the University of Oxford, where she wrote a thesis on the Mosley family. She then spent a year in South America before settling back in Australia. In Hobart she edited the literary magazine Island, until sun and mangoes lured her back to Queensland where she lives with her husband and three children.