Kurt Vonnegut Interview
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, to third-generation German-American parents, Kurt Vonnegut, Sr., and Edith Lieber.[3] Both his father and his grandfather attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology and were architects in the Indianapolis firm of Vonnegut & Bohn. His great-grandfather was the founder of the Vonnegut Hardware Company, an Indianapolis institution.[4] Vonnegut graduated from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis in May 1940 and matriculated to Cornell University that fall. Though majoring in Chemistry, he was Assistant Managing Editor and Associate Editor of The Cornell Daily Sun.[5] He was a member of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity, as was his father. While at Cornell, Vonnegut enlisted in the U.S. Army.[6] The Army transferred him to the Carnegie Institute of Technology and the University of Tennessee to study Mechanical Engineering.[2] On Mothers’ Day in 1944, his mother committed suicide with sleeping pills.
My favorite writer by far. Interesting interview. Very good points about ‘writer atmosphere’ and practice…and education in general. It’s true what he says concerning the rise of anti-intellectualism (and i’m sure this interview may be dated, even), and i laughed about the whole jocks and faeries comment. Much can be learned from sports but yeah, there are many pitfalls to a society elevating sports to too high an estimation. Every once in a while i’d like to see a frontpage paper showcasing a high school chess team–especially if they win. All around this small Texas town i live, businesses have the logo of the state champ high school football team from by-gone-days. Is there anything else besides football? How about taking first in state for One-Act Play or UIL competition…and fuck anybody who says differently. We do need to value intellectualism and its pursuits.
Anyways, i love so many Vonnegut novels: “Cat’s Cradle”, “Slaughterhouse Five”, “Mother Night”, “Breakfast of Champions”, and “Timequake” which is part autobiographical. I think my favorite is “Hocus Pocus”, though.
Thx for posting!