Kurt Vonnegut

Introduction

Kurt Vonnegut

What do you get if you cross satire, dark humor, science fiction, and pessimism? You get Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., a man who wrote about tragically horrible moments but made them so funny that he became one of the twentieth century’s foremost American authors. Certainly Vonnegut was allowed to write about tragedy: his mother committed suicide on Mother’s Day while he was home on leave during WWII; he was one of only seven American POW survivors during the firebombing of Dresden; his sister, Alice, died of cancer just days after her husband died in a train accident; and Vonnegut himself attempted suicide on at least one occasion. He managed, however, to blend his bleak view of the world with a dry, sharp sense of humor that continues to entertain and engage reading audiences today.

Essential Facts

1. In addition to being one of the top-selling American authors of the twentieth century, Vonnegut is an accomplished graphic artist. He has produced illustrated editions of Slaughterhouse Five and Breakfast of Champions, and he even created an album cover for the progressive rock band Phish.
2. In his book Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction, Vonnegut listed eight rules for writing a short story. The first and presumably most important is this: “Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.”
3. He majored in biochemistry, mechanical engineering, and anthropology at various colleges but never completed a degree in any of them.
4. A contemporary classic, Slaughterhouse Five was named after his holding cell as a POW during WWII.
5. He has an asteroid named in his honor—asteroid 25399 vonnegut.