SOUNDTRACK: JONATHAN FRANZEN-Commencement Speech (audio) (2011).
You can hear the entire speech from the Kenyon College site.
[READ: May 28, 2011] Commencement Speech
On May 21, Jonathan Franzen gave a commencement speech to the students of Kenyon College. When I think about my commencement speech (from Judy Woodruff of CNN), all I can remember is that I had never heard of her (and when I typed her name just now I got it almost entirely incorrect–the only thing right was the “wood” part). I don’t recall a single thing that she said. [It’s also fascinating that I can’t find any record of this speech anywhere online–what a different world it was twenty years ago]. I rather expect that most people feel this way about commencement speakers. I have to wonder, if Jonathan Franzen had spoken at my college, would I have cared? Is there even a chance that I would have read any of his novels (had they been published of course) when I was in college? Would I be treating this any differently than my whatever speech in 1991?
But I like Jonathan Franzen and I wanted to read what he had to say.
His speech is about love. Love is kind of an odd topic for a commencement speech, isn’t it? I mean, aren’t they supposed to talk about the Future and Jobs or something? Or maybe even sunscreen? But really, what is more useful for a 21-year-old to think about than Love. Franzen hits the nail right on the head about Love, how it is a dangerous, risky proposition to put yourself out there, to take off your veneer and reveal all of your flaws–and hope someone will love you. Not new or novel, but still true.
The way that Franzen gets into this subject is through technology. It seems weird and artificial at first, but it’s a wonderful way to get into a young audience’s state of mind. They were probably all looking at their iPhones while he was extolling the virtues of his new Blackberry (the old person’s phone, right?). And when he segues into Facebook (who even knows if he has an account–but he seems to be well-versed with it, so maybe he does) you can imagine students raising their head in familiarity (maybe even updating their status) and wondering (as he puts it) if this 51-year-old guy is going to dis Facebook. (more…)
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I can still remember going into Ralph’s Record City (R.I.P.) in Scranton and buying a used copy of Transient Random Noise Bursts with Announcements based on a friend’s recommendation. I remember thinking that the title made it sound a lot like a stereo test record. I also remember not understanding the image on the cover as a phonograph needle for quite a while.
I Just Read About That... 