If you dedicate your existence to being likable, however, and if you adopt whatever cool persona is necessary to make it happen, it suggests that youve despaired of being loved for who you really are. Farther away, by jonathan franzen the globe and mail. Of particular note is the first essay, which was originally a commencement speech at kenyon college. Commencement speech to kenyon college class of 2005 written by david foster wallace. Exploring great works books, film, and tv from the u. Liking is for cowards, go for what hurts metafilter. Heres a breakdown of what franzen didnt include i have not included throat clearing or minor linking words. Acclaimed author jonathan franzen, whose books the corrections. Essay on jonathan franzen s liking is for cowards, go for what hurts liking is for cowards, go for what hurts is an essay written by jonathan franzen who is an american novelist and writer of essays. David foster wallace february 21, 1962 september 12, 2008 was an american writer and university professor in the disciplines of english and creative writing. Franzen has written his most deeply felt novel yeta novel that turns out to be both a compelling biography of a dysfunctional family and an indelible portrait of our times. Farther away, essays by jonathan franzen the new york. According to jonathan franzen this is not the case. Earlier this year, jonathan franzen delivered a commencement speech to the newly minted graduates of kenyon college, a small liberal arts school in gambier, ohio.
Modern life has become extremely distracting the author on the meaningless noise that pours through the internet, the writing of his fourth novel, freedom, and the. Dfws best friend, jonathan franzen, is visible more than ever and in fact recently delivered a commencement address at kenyon college where dfw famously delivered his 2005 speech. You can hear the entire speech from the kenyon college site. Go for what hurts, based on a commencement speech jonathan franzen held at kenyon college, ohio, he argues that a much more serious and potentially dangerous reason lies behind this. But more than an address of live your life, empower your dreams, embolden the reality you want to live, like seemingly every other commencement speech i think its because nobody. Franzen s commencement address at kenyon college in 2011. Get book recommendations, fiction, poetry, and dispatches from the. Throughout the book, franzen suggests that storytelling is a way to interpret and relieve our collective. Celeste ng, ann patchett, min jin lee and others on the books that bring them comfort.
Jonathan franzen spoke to the class of 2011 at kenyon college on may 21st, delivering a speech, that was later excerpted in the new york times, which franzen introduced this way. So forgive my excitement for reading this new york times abbreviated version of franzen s commencement speech to the graduating class of kenyon college last week. Was franzen up to the task of giving a graduation speech at the college. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The piece contained a link to an audio version of the piece. His 2001 novel the corrections, a sprawling, satirical family drama, drew widespread critical acclaim, earned franzen a national book award, was a pulitzer prize for fiction finalist, earned a james tait black memorial prize and was shortlisted for the international dublin literary award. Franzen purposes that technology and our ability to like articles and opinions en masse keeps us from opening ourselves up and truly loving things.
Jonathan franzen is the author of the corrections, winner of the 2001 national book award for fiction. In presenting the opening segmentthe text of his commencement speech at kenyon college in 2011 franzen evokes the air of a. Transcription of the 2005 kenyon commencement address may 21, 2005. Liking is for cowards, go for what hurts may 30, 2011 4. Home books, arts and culture books the best of david foster wallace. Jonathan earl franzen born august 17, 1959 is an american novelist and essayist. Kenyon college announced wednesday that john green, megaselling author of youngadult favorites including the fault in our stars, paper towns and looking for alaska, will speak at. This commencement season has featured speeches from all corners.
His last novel, the pale king 2011, was a finalist for the pulitzer prize for fiction in 2012. Similar themes echo in the two speeches the assault of technoconsumerism on the pliable mind, for example, and the necessity of putting yourself. Farther away opens with franzen s 2011 commencement speech at kenyon college pain wont kill you, where wallace delivered his own address later released as this is water in 2005. The topic was a hot one among wallace and his ilk, as much was being written about whether or not there is a unique value in reading literature as opposed to, say having a conversation or watching a movie. Thoughtprovoking and inspiring to countless readers, this book reproduces the text of wallaces commencement address to the kenyon class of 2005. It is no accident that the graduation speech was presented at kenyon college, the very same venue where david foster wallace had given his. The novelist, jonathan franzen, gave a commencement address at kenyon college this year and it was such powerful stuff that it was picked up by the new. My speech to the graduates by woody allen 1979 aphelis. This book consists of 2 lengthy essays by kraus, 2 shorter pieces associated with one of the essays, and a short poem. In the masterpiece novel, the tale of the whiskery old fish appears on page 445. How the best commencement speech of all time was bad for. The end of the tour shows how much david foster wallaces. In 20, under head coach jess book, the mens team won the national title and the womens team took second.
Jonathan franzens need to be liked is so palpable that it undermines. Well, there are two different big things going on now. Wallace had been working on a third novel, the long thing, as he called it, which, like the kenyon college speech, he hoped would illustrate the value of mindfulness. Finding truth and authenticity in an age of irony if franzen is our genius realist, and dfw our genius postmodernist. Jonathan franzen is the author, most recently, of freedom. People who had never read his fiction, or had never even heard of him, read his kenyon college commencement address in the wall street journal and mourned the loss of a great and gentle soul. It surely would not have been published if it hadnt had franzen s name on the cover.
When jonathan franzen came to kenyon college, i was hoping wed be the latter. How the best commencement speech of all time was bad for literature. The speech lives on in popular consciousness, in social media, and in print, years after its delivery and the suicide of its author. The best of david foster wallace the american prospect. Fault in our stars author john green to give kenyon. This is water david foster wallaces complete audio kenyon graduation speech 2005 david foster wallace 2005 kenyon college commencement speech i wish you way more than luck did wallaces speech resonate on the hot ohio morning when he delivered it to the assembled student, or did it get lost amid the hurrah of a graduation weekend. The simple fact of the matter is that trying to be perfectly likable is incompatible with loving relationships. If franzen is our genius realist, and dfw our genius postmodernist how. The significant occasion in question was the 2005 commencement address at kenyon college, which you used to be able to.
Then there was a treacly commencement speech at kenyon college in 2005 that became a viral sensation and later, a few months after his death, a cute, onesentenceperpage inspirational pamphlet. This book consists of 2 lengthy essays by kraus, 2 shorter pieces associated with one of. Despite these renunciations, however, franzen s prose is alive with intelligence, and on the first page of his new novel, purity, a reader can see his mind at work on a task at which he excels. This is water, commencement speech at kenyon college. Celebrated author jonathan franzen to deliver cowell college. On may 28, 2011, the new york times published a jonathan franzen oped adapted from a commencement speech he delivered on may 21 at kenyon college. The speech lives on in popular consciousness, in social media, and in print, years after its delivery and the suicide of. Sooner or later, for example, youre going to find yourself in a hideous.
His novel infinite jest 1996 was listed by time magazine as one of the 100 best englishlanguage novels published between 1923 and 2005. As a college student franzen got interested in the viennese essayist karl kraus 18741936. Arranged in reverse chronology, it starts with his commencement speech to 2011s. Wallaces speech, which was later adapted into a short book, this is water, attempts to defend the value of a liberal arts education. Go for what hurts by jonathan franzen, may 28, 2001 the essay is adapted from a commencement address franzen delivered on may 21 at kenyon college. Finding truth and authenticity in an age of irony if franzen is our genius realist, and dfw our genius postmodernist how. Kenyon college is a private liberal arts college in gambier, ohio. Literary celebrity touching the hem of mr franzens garment.
The denizens of a small liberal arts college have a twitchy, uneasy relationship to fame. However, it was originally included in his 1996 novel, infinite jest. The pocketsized book breaks up the nearly 4,000word speech into digestible pieces on the page, some. The speech is about the quality of relationships we maintain with people and technological artifacts. Transcription of the 2005 kenyon commencement address. Jonathan franzens new novel, purity, takes on social. Since 2009, that speech has been available in a book titled. Jonathan franzen spoke to the class of 2011 at kenyon college on may 21st. Opinion technology provides an alternative to love. Jonathan franzen on why we want to be loved, not liked the novelist, jonathan franzen, gave a commencement address at kenyon college this year and it was such powerful stuff that it was picked up by the new york times and subsequently created waves through the internet as he basically called everyones number. Franzen had agreed to return to kenyon to give the commencement speech for his nephews graduation. One is the state of race relations, and the other, which really is independent of thatalthough there are points of. A literary establishment that had never so much as shortlisted one of his books for a national. John green 00 makes an alma mater pilgrimage back to kenyon college and relives the memories and musings of life on the hill.
Jonathan franzencommencement speech, kenyon college, may. Founded in 1824 in gambier, ohio, kenyon college is a highly selective liberal arts college offering 1,600 students an academically challenging curriculum in a closeknit community. This essay is based on the speech he gave at kenyon college in the state of ohio in usa. While the writings of kraus are exceedingly dense, franzen s annotationsreflecting also about progress, war, propaganda, and the need. Was franzen up to the task of giving a graduation speech at the. And in may 2011 it was published in the new york times. Jonathan franzen on why we want to be loved, not liked. Literary celebrity touching the hem of mr franzens. Kill you, franzens commencement address at kenyon college in 2011. In a commencement speech from 2011, jonathan franzen spoke the graduating class of kenyon college about the problem of being likable. Christina steads the man who loved children remains the most fabulous book that hardly anyone i know has read jonathan franzen. Here she describes her experience hosting mr franzen at kenyon college.
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