Kurt Vonnegut

A few days ago I was saddened to hear that one of my favorite authors, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., died at the age of 84 in Manhattan. Known as one of the greatest American novelists of the 20th century, his works were made of black comedy, satire, and science fiction, describing issues and anxieties of the post World War II era.

The first book I had ever read by him was Slaughterhouse-Five, and influenced me so much that I even went as far as naming one of my first bands after his fictitious aliens: the Tralfmadorians. He had a certain genius to his words in general, that left me hypnotized and fascinated. Knowing that Kurt Vonnegut is no longer around to create works that both make me laugh all the while astounding and inspiring me, has created a great void in my life.


Here are a few of my favorite quotes to give a taste of the intellect mixed with humor that defined Vonnegut and the world he spoke about:

“Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.”

“Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand.”

“One of the few good things about modern times: If you die horribly on television, you will not have died in vain. You will have entertained us.”

“Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. Al they do is show you’ve been to college.” A Man Without a Country

“All time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is. Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, as I’ve said before, bugs in amber.” Slaughterhouse Five

“How nice – to feel nothing, and still get full credit for being alive.” Slaughterhouse Five


To learn more about Vonnegut, check out his official page: www.vonnegut.com.


Goals: To pay respect to the late Kurt Vonnegut and inspire other people to read his works.
Audience: People who enjoy Vonnegut's works, people who may like his works, my English 220 class, Professor Brandon, myself.
How these goals are met: By giving a brief summary of who he is/was so people understand who he was is important for people to care. It is important for people to know the impact that he made on the literary world with his novels, essays, and his words in general. I included information of the impact he left on me and used some of my favorite quotes to give a taste of his writing style and humor.