Kurt Vonnegut dies at 84

Oh no!

I loved Kurt.

He was my hero for years & years.

Me too.

And, 'So it goes' has long been one of my throwaway lines.

I learned things in the article about hiim that I didn't know before..

I really liked him. A lot.

I like the photograph shown above... what a face.

I admired his work. Sorry that he's gone.

Kurt Voonegut; He always looked like a testament to the effects of smoking; In his honor; I will herein begin peppering my posts with semicolons;

And though I likely won't, I shall want to pepper mine, where appropriate, with these:

*

A salute of sorts.

Oh no. I was one of those who read him way back when. I hadn't thought of him in years -- but we were just talking to our 22 year old about how *He* should read Vonnegut's books.

Two of his most amazing ideas: the Chronosynclastic Infindibulum and Ice-Nine. (Ice-nine still gives me the creeps to think about.)

I went to his website to look for the most recent photo of him. It is closed except for his name & dates and a great image (sigh):

Love that.

Kurt once quipped that he was suiciding by cigarette. I guess because he felt it was one way it could be done. He said he was too much of a coward to take a quicker way. 84 wasn't at all a bad innings, all things considered.
I love his ravaged face. Every bit of his life journey shows.
His life wasn't easy. A lot of illness & depression & sadness in his family. He suffered from depression himself for much of his life. "Bad chemicals", he said.
Those earlier "cult" novels were written to support the his own family & the off-spring of his sister (I think) when she died. "Airport" novels, he called them. Pulp to read on your flight, then discarded. Little did he know ....

An A2K Kurt V thread from a few years back:

Any Vonnegut-arians out there?:
http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5928&highlight=

Playboy Interview by Kurt Vonnegut:

PLAYBOY: Beyond the fact that it's become a profitable way to make a living, why do you write?
VONNEGUT: My motives are political. I agree with Stalin and Hitler and Mussolini that the writer should serve his society. I differ with dictators as to how writers should serve. Mainly, I think they should be - and bio-logically have to be - agents of change. For the better, we hope. ..... <cont>

http://www.thinking-approach.org/index.php?id=410

Kilgore Trout
Billy Pilgrim
granfalloons
Tralfamadorians

All have helped shape my life today.

Here's a challenge:

Does anyone remember Diana Moon Glampers?

Sad news

I prefer not to talk much about my writing on this site, but Vonnegut is a huge influence. And I will continue to read his books again and again.

Please enjoy some wise words from an "apprentice" of his, author George Saunders. This tribute to Vonnegut is some of the best writing advice I've ever taken seriously.

Read it.

God Bless You, Mr. Vonnegut.

Kurt Vonnegut is time tripping again.

I shall pepper my sentences with...

Listen:

That New York Times link has, I noticed later, links to a photo slide show, and all the reviews published in the NYT, over the years, of his books, plus all his own articles published there. Loved the slide show myself, haven't read all the rest yet.