If you haven’t gotten tickets yet you’re probably SOL (to put it bluntly), but ArtsCriticATL.com gives us a good idea of the rarity of a Jonathan Franzen appearance.  Not just at the Decatur Book Festival, but ANYWHERE.

Franzen, author of the acclaimed “The Corrections” and the new “Freedom,” arguably the most anticipated literary novel of 2010, is not quite in Thomas Pynchon’s neighborhood of reclusiveness, but he’s clearly someone who doesn’t relish the modern publicity machine. (His official publicity photo looks like it was taken by a stalker without his knowledge or consent.)

To publicize “Freedom,” his first novel in nine years, he agreed to a recent Time magazine cover story … and the DBF… and not much else. (The Oprah reference, if you don’t recall, goes back to 2001, when she wanted “The Corrections” for her Book Club, he made some mildly ambivalent comments, and the media fanned it into a feud.)

“I have a sneaking feeling there’s not going to be many more chances to see Jonathan Franzen on a book tour,” says DBF mogul Daren Wang. “It’s fair to say he doesn’t really enjoy the limelight. I think he’s going to step back from these kinds of public appearances. We’re really lucky. It moves the book festival forward one more step in terms of national importance.”

I really hope that Franzen gets a chance to check out the Festival, though I imagine that may be difficult without attracting a mob – something he obviously avoids like the rest of us would a giant, slobbering book monster.

After the jump, you can view a recent Franzen video where he describes his “profound discomfort at having to make videos like this”.

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From the Georgia Council for the Arts via ArtsCriticATL.com…

“We have no documentation yet, but were told that the House Appropriations Committee voted yesterday to cut our budget for FY 2011 to less than $250,000. Most importantly, these funds are to be transferred to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA). We don’t know if this means that Georgia Council for the Arts 1) will no longer exist, 2) we will become part of DCA, or 3) the funds will be used to close out the FY 2010 Final Reports and end GCA. Whichever, Georgia will be the only state and territory in the nation that will have no state arts agency.

It is urgent that GCA hear from you today, no later than 5 PM. There are only six days remaining in this legislative session.

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