Kurt Vonnegut Dead

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Comments

  • Abuskedti
    Abuskedti Posts: 1,917
    vonnegutnaked2 wrote:
    Kurt was an inspiration...to me, and my screen name.

    "A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved"
    KV

    and, as always,

    So it goes

    so it goes
  • gue_barium
    gue_barium Posts: 5,515
    A writer for his time.
    Welcome to the Monkey House, a collection of short stories, has always been my favorite.
    all posts by ©gue_barium are protected under US copyright law and are not to be reproduced, exchanged or sold
    except by express written permission of ©gue_barium, the author.
  • CaterinaA
    CaterinaA Posts: 572
    Kurt querido

    ¡¡¡Descansa en paz!!! Man, he'll have the best conversations ever with Julio Cortazar...
  • baraka
    baraka Posts: 1,268
    gue_barium wrote:
    A writer for his time.
    Welcome to the Monkey House, a collection of short stories, has always been my favorite.

    I own a rare copy of "Canary in a Cathouse". All but one of the stories that appeared in "Welcome to the Monkeyhouse" originated in "Canary in a Cathouse". Good stuff, indeed!
    The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance,
    but the illusion of knowledge.
    ~Daniel Boorstin

    Only a life lived for others is worth living.
    ~Albert Einstein
  • Abuskedti
    Abuskedti Posts: 1,917
    gue_barium wrote:
    A writer for his time.
    Welcome to the Monkey House, a collection of short stories, has always been my favorite.

    A favorite? Ok, let me try. "Sirens of Titan" will always have a special place because it was my first. It was the first book I ever read voluntarily.

    I think my fondest memory is probably of Slapstick... (that was the "autobiography" right?) That may have been the most fun to read.
  • hippiemom
    hippiemom Posts: 3,326
    RIP Mr. Vonnegut. A great loss to the world, but I hope he's having a blast.

    This thread is making me want to re-read a bunch of his stuff. It's been quite a while since I've read anything of his other than interviews. Have Visa, will travel .... Amazon here I come!
    "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." ~ MLK, 1963
  • Abuskedti
    Abuskedti Posts: 1,917
    Abuskedti wrote:
    A favorite? Ok, let me try. "Sirens of Titan" will always have a special place because it was my first. It was the first book I ever read voluntarily.

    I think my fondest memory is probably of Slapstick... (that was the "autobiography" right?) That may have been the most fun to read.

    Oh wait, that was Palm Sunday... Slapstick had the micorscopic Chinese..

    nah, I don't have a favorite.. They all blend into one for me
  • baraka
    baraka Posts: 1,268
    hippiemom wrote:
    RIP Mr. Vonnegut. A great loss to the world, but I hope he's having a blast.

    This thread is making me want to re-read a bunch of his stuff. It's been quite a while since I've read anything of his other than interviews. Have Visa, will travel .... Amazon here I come!


    Me too! I'm frantically trying to locate my treasured copy of "Canary in a Cathouse" I was obsessed with the book, "Slaughterhouse-Five" as a kid!
    The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance,
    but the illusion of knowledge.
    ~Daniel Boorstin

    Only a life lived for others is worth living.
    ~Albert Einstein
  • farfromglorified
    farfromglorified Posts: 5,700
    farfromglorified wrote:
    Vonnegut once detailed a number of rules for writing short fiction.....

    Collin and I dug up the rest of the eight rules. Here they are:

    1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
    2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
    3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
    4. Every sentence must do one of two things -- reveal character or advance the action.
    5. Start as close to the end as possible.
    6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them -- in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
    7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
    8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
  • baraka
    baraka Posts: 1,268
    farfromglorified wrote:
    Collin and I dug up the rest of the eight rules. Here they are:

    1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
    2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
    3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
    4. Every sentence must do one of two things -- reveal character or advance the action.
    5. Start as close to the end as possible.
    6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them -- in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
    7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
    8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.


    So strange, I just read these not 10 minutes ago.........I particularly liked the step you highlighted in bold print.
    The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance,
    but the illusion of knowledge.
    ~Daniel Boorstin

    Only a life lived for others is worth living.
    ~Albert Einstein
  • Rats of Multa
    Rats of Multa Posts: 250
    "It is a very mixed blessing to be brought back from the dead."

    he is a true immortal. still, im having trouble forcing myself to smile over this event.
    we don’t know just where our bones will rest,
    to dust i guess,
    forgotten and absorbed into the earth below,..
  • Collin
    Collin Posts: 4,931
    farfromglorified wrote:
    Collin and I dug up the rest of the eight rules. Here they are:

    You did all the digging, I just received the treasure... and don't you deny it ;)
    THANK YOU, LOSTDAWG!


    naděje umírá poslední
  • farfromglorified
    farfromglorified Posts: 5,700
    Collin wrote:
    You did all the digging, I just received the treasure... and don't you deny it ;)

    If you hadn't asked, I wouldn't have dug them up :)
  • Abookamongstthemany
    Abookamongstthemany Posts: 8,209
    http://www.socialistworker.org/Featured/Stories/382_08_VonnegutFull.shtml
    If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.

    Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
    -Oscar Wilde
  • bookmuse
    bookmuse Posts: 277
    farfromglorified wrote:
    Collin and I dug up the rest of the eight rules. Here they are:

    1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
    2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
    3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
    4. Every sentence must do one of two things -- reveal character or advance the action.
    5. Start as close to the end as possible.
    6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them -- in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
    7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
    8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.


    I particularly liked 7 as well. Applies to music too!

    RIP to one of the bests.
    "Speak your mind even if your voice shakes" ~ M Kuhn
  • Spunkie
    Spunkie i come from downtown. Posts: 7,095
    I hope the great humainist is enjoying heaven.
    I was swimming in the Great Barrier Reef 
    Animals were hiding behind the Coral 
    Except for little Turtle
    I could swear he's trying to talk to me 
    Gurgle Gurgle
  • gue_barium
    gue_barium Posts: 5,515
    Abookamongstthemany wrote:
    http://www.socialistworker.org/Featured/Stories/382_08_VonnegutFull.shtml

    Brilliant.

    Hooray for our team. :)
    all posts by ©gue_barium are protected under US copyright law and are not to be reproduced, exchanged or sold
    except by express written permission of ©gue_barium, the author.
  • lennybenny
    lennybenny Posts: 37
    Kurt was a genius and I loved all of his books, especially 'Breakfast of Champions'.

    Another of his good books 'Mothernight' was made into an amazing film staring Nick Nolte, with a cameo appearance by Vonnegut himself. It is where the quote:

    'We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.'

    comes from. It's about an American playwright living in Nazi Germany who is asked by the government to become a spy. I won't go into any more details, but if it gets shown on tv soon as a part of a tribute to Vonnegut then I would recommend anyone watch it.

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