Whoever said that endorsements don’t matter in politics never asked the favorite literary son of Webster Groves to weigh in on a local library matter.
Jonathan Franzen, the National Book Award winner for The Corrections has officially endorsed Proposition L, a proposed tax that would raise funds for the Webster Groves Public Library. It will be on the ballot for voters in Webster Groves on August 4.
Get a fresh take on the day’s top news
Subscribe to the St. Louis Daily newsletter for a smart, succinct guide to local news from award-winning journalists Sarah Fenske and Ryan Krull.
Before he penned the award-winning The Corrections, the even better Freedom, and the under-appreciated Purity, Franzen was a graduate of Webster Groves High School. Before that, he was a denizen of the Webster Groves library on East Lockwood. “The library was the center of my world when I was growing up, a priceless public resource, and we need to ensure that it’s there to inspire new generations of readers,” he said in a statement.
Franzen has not lived in the St. Louis area for many decades. The unusual endorsement came by way of Debra Knox Deiermann, a member of the Friends of the Webster Groves Public Library. She reached out to the author to see if he would speak in favor of Prop L. Deiermann said she was delighted when she heard back.
Perhaps Franzen felt he owed Deiermann a favor.
She was the lone person at his 1988 book signing at the B. Dalton bookstore in One City Center downtown (neither of which exist any more). He was there promoting his debut, The 27th City, and a long way away from the cover of Time Magazine. His own family still in St. Louis, apparently, did not want to make the trip downtown.
Deiermann, who was only there because she worked at the bookstore, had a nice chat with Franzen and bought a copy of his book. He inscribed her copy, “I don’t think you’ll be sorry.” Presumably he meant that he hoped she didn’t regret buying the book; Deiermann says it was so long ago she doesn’t remember the exact context. Whatever the case, she’s very much glad she made the purchase, having treasured the copy ever since. She’s enjoyed following his career both as a reader and later as a bookseller at Left Bank Books.
This year, working on the Prop L campaign, she thought to herself, Why not reach out to Franzen? “It’s only in Webster, it’s benefiting the library, and I thought, ‘You know, it’s worth a try.’”
The Franzen-endorsed Prop L would raise the city’s property tax levy by 12 cents, with the money going toward the library’s operating expenses including maintenance of the 75-year-old building. The last time property taxes were increased for the library was in 2009.
