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Vonnegut Bibliography |
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Kurt
Vonnegut
His Life Is an Open Book
There's nothing I can tell you about the work of Kurt Vonnegut which you
couldn't learn better yourself by reading his books. This to me has long
been his appeal--that he is so straightforward, that he says what he means,
that he explains his allusions rather than make the "uninformed" reader
feel bad or lost for not getting the literary or historical reference. It
was a revelation to me when at 14 I read these words: "There are two symbols
in this book..." What!? Symbols were what we were being taught to dutifully
flush out of hiding in my high school English classes. Reading was about
interpretation, all texts were obscure codes needing keen analytical skill
to decipher. |
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| Vonnegut subverts that assumption, often repeating that reading
is hard enough as it is, so it's the writer's job to 1) have something to
say and 2) say it clearly. Maybe this is why he wasn't taught at his
billion-dollar alma mater
Cornell
when I was a student there in the late 1980's-- he makes professors feel
obsolete. That, to me, is a good thing. After all, one of the myths about
American life which Vonnegut lays bare is that of the importance of higher
education-- it's not so much about learning as it is about making connections. |
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| Not that connections are bad per se, but one must be able to
distinguish meaningful associations based on common goals and interests
(karasses) from trumped-up distinctions devised to create an
us-vs.-them mentality (granfalloons). Vonnegut introduces the
terms karass and granfalloon in
Cat's Cradle, a satiric novel whose observation of
social structures was so keen it fulfilled Vonnegut's anthropology dissertation
requirement long after the author had abandoned his studies at the University
of Chicago. Instead of going off to study "primitive" cultures, Vonnegut
brings his curiosity and talent to bear on the society in which he lives
--America in the latter half of the 20th century-- and exposes its flaws,
foibles, and frailties with a wit and insight which is inevitably compared
to his hero's,
Mark Twain.
Criticized by his own father for never having created a villain, Vonnegut's
characters are motivated by either lonesomeness, boredom ("What are people
for?"), or biological and environmental factors beyond their control. But
an at least partial corrective for all three conditions exists--artificial
extended families analogous to the tribal cultures of his anthropolgy studies
and the real-life extended family of Vonnegut's idyllic Indiana boyhood.
The theme gains prominence with each subsequent book, most overtly explained
in the flawed
Slapstick and most eloquently summarized in
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater: "We're here to help
each other get through this thing, whatever it is."
Vonnegut's ideas are so humane, his words so compassionate, his advice
so sensible, that his readers feel a strong connection to the man,
and, by extension, to one another. Perhaps his greatest contribution has
been the unwitting creation of a global family of admirers who share and
recognize in one another the desire to exhibit that most uncommon of human
traits--common decency. |
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| In His Own
Words |
| Vonnegut calls these collections of letters, essays, speeches,
and autobiographical sketches blivits, a word he defines
as "two pounds of shit in a one-pound bag." |
| This is where you can find numerous commencement speeches, book reviews,
and meditations on the creative process and the importance of family, not
to mention the lyrics to his favorite country song. |
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| The most revealing of the batch is
Conversations..., a compilation of 20 years' worth of interviews
from various sources. |
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Back to
Vonnegut Bibliography
For a truly comprehensive site,
visit
http://www.duke.edu/~crh4/vonnegut/ |
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