Editing Jonathan Franzen (section)

==Personal life==
In 1982, when in his early twenties, Franzen married fellow writer Valerie Cornell.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brockes |first=Emma |date=August 21, 2015 |title=Jonathan Franzen interview: 'There is no way to make myself not male' |language=en-US |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global/2015/aug/21/jonathan-franzen-purity-interview |url-status=live |access-date=November 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191113185855/https://www.theguardian.com/global/2015/aug/21/jonathan-franzen-purity-interview |archive-date=November 13, 2019}}</ref> They lived in New York City and were married for fourteen years. His marriage and divorce are mentioned in some of his essays in the collection [[Farther Away (book)|''Farther Away'']].

Franzen lives in [[Santa Cruz, California]], with his "spouse-equivalent",<ref>{{Cite news |last=Barney |first=Chuck |date=April 20, 2016 |title=Acclaimed author Jonathan Franzen embraces television |language=en-US |work=[[The Mercury News]] |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/04/20/acclaimed-author-jonathan-franzen-embraces-television/ |url-status=live |access-date=July 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710071315/https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/04/20/acclaimed-author-jonathan-franzen-embraces-television/ |archive-date=July 10, 2018}}</ref> writer Kathy Chetkovich.<ref>{{cite web |last=Chotiner |first=Isaac |date=July 31, 2016 |title=Jonathan Franzen on Fame, Fascism, and Why He Won't Write a Book About Race |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/interrogation/2016/07/a_conversation_with_novelist_jonathan_franzen.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626221107/http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/interrogation/2016/07/a_conversation_with_novelist_jonathan_franzen.html |archive-date=June 26, 2018 |access-date=June 3, 2015 |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]}}</ref>

As first reported in his essay "My Bird Problem,"<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Franzen |first=Jonathan |date=August 8, 2005 |title=My Bird Problem |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/08/08/my-bird-problem |url-status=live |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |language=en-US |page=52 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710102001/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/08/08/my-bird-problem |archive-date=July 10, 2018 |access-date=July 10, 2018}}</ref> Franzen is well known as a serious birdwatcher.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hartigan |first=Rachel |date=June 17, 2013 |title=Why Novelist Jonathan Franzen Loves Birds |work=[[National Geographic]] |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/130617-jonathan-franzen-bird-watching-conservation |url-status=dead |access-date=July 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710101941/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/130617-jonathan-franzen-bird-watching-conservation/ |archive-date=July 10, 2018}}</ref> He appeared on CBS Sunday Morning in March 2018 to discuss his love of birds and [[birdwatching]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 March 2018 |title=How Jonathan Franzen fell in love with birds |work=[[CBS News]] |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-author-jonathan-franzen-fell-in-love-with-birds-and-protecting-them/ |url-status=live |access-date=July 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710110610/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-author-jonathan-franzen-fell-in-love-with-birds-and-protecting-them/ |archive-date=July 10, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Dana |first=Rebecca |date=July 13, 2012 |title='The Central Park Effect' Explores the Magical Power of Birding |language=en |work=[[The Daily Beast]] |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/13/the-central-park-effect-explores-the-magical-power-of-birding |url-status=live |access-date=July 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305153553/https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-central-park-effect-explores-the-magical-power-of-birding |archive-date=March 5, 2023}}</ref> Franzen served for nine years on the board of the [[American Bird Conservancy]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 30, 2017 |title=Farewell to ABC's George and Rita Fenwick {{!}} American Bird Conservancy |language=en-US |work=[[American Bird Conservancy]] |url=https://abcbirds.org/farewell-fenwicks/ |url-status=live |access-date=July 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930061018/https://abcbirds.org/farewell-fenwicks/ |archive-date=September 30, 2020}}</ref> A feature-length documentary based on Franzen's essay "Emptying the Skies" was released in 2013.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Franzen |first=Jonathan |date=July 19, 2010 |title=Emptying the Skies |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/07/26/emptying-the-skies |url-status=live |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710102004/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/07/26/emptying-the-skies |archive-date=July 10, 2018 |access-date=July 10, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Emptying the Skies |url=https://www.musicboxfilms.com/emptying-the-skies-movies-114.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624070920/https://www.musicboxfilms.com/emptying-the-skies-movies-114.php |archive-date=June 24, 2018 |access-date=July 10, 2018 |website=[[Music Box Films]]}}</ref>

Franzen is a longtime fan of the punk-rock collective [[The Mekons]]; he appeared in the 2014 documentary ''Revenge of the Mekons'' to discuss the group's importance to him.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Kenigsberg |first1=Ben |date=October 28, 2014 |title=Far-Flung, Long-Lasting and Still Punk at the Core |language=en |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/29/movies/revenge-of-the-mekons-tells-the-story-of-a-rock-band.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627102634/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/29/movies/revenge-of-the-mekons-tells-the-story-of-a-rock-band.html |archive-date=June 27, 2018}}</ref>

In 2010, at an event at the [[Serpentine Galleries|Serpentine Pavilion]] in London celebrating the launch of ''Freedom'', Franzen's glasses were stolen from his face by a gate-crasher, who jokingly attempted to ransom them for $100,000 before being apprehended by police elsewhere in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Neill |first=Graeme |date=October 5, 2010 |title=Franzen's glasses stolen at launch |work=[[The Bookseller]] |url=http://www.thebookseller.com/news/130183-franzens-glasses-stolen-at-launch.html.rss |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101010124120/http://www.thebookseller.com/news/130183-franzens-glasses-stolen-at-launch.html.rss |archive-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Armitstead |first=Claire |date=October 5, 2010 |title=Who stole Jonathan Franzen's glasses? |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/oct/05/who-stole-jonathan-franzens-glasses |url-status=live |access-date=December 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118081016/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/oct/05/who-stole-jonathan-franzens-glasses |archive-date=January 18, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fletcher |first=James |date=29 March 2012 |title=Why I stole Franzen's glasses |work=[[GQ]] |url=http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/comment/articles/2010-10/06/gq-books-jonathan-franzen-glasses-thief-interview |url-status=live |access-date=October 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101010042151/http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/comment/articles/2010-10/06/gq-books-jonathan-franzen-glasses-thief-interview |archive-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref>