Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (born November 11, 1922) is an American novelist, satirist, and most recently, graphic artist.

Biography

Kurt Vonnegut was born to fourth-generation German-American parents in Indianapolis, the setting for many of his novels. He attended Cornell University from 1941 to 1943, where he served as an opinions section editor for the student newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun. Vonnegut trained as a chemist and worked as a journalist before joining the U.S. Army and serving in World War II. He is a combat infantry veteran and holds a Purple Heart. His experiences as an advance scout with the U.S. 106th Infantry Division during the Battle of the Bulge, and in particular his witnessing of the bombing of Dresden, Germany, while a prisoner of war, would inform much of his work. This event would also form the core of his most famous work, Slaughterhouse-Five.

Related Topics:
German - American - Indianapolis - Cornell University - 1941 - 1943 - Cornell Daily Sun - U.S. Army - World War II - Purple Heart - U.S. 106th Infantry Division - Battle of the Bulge - Bombing of Dresden - Germany - Prisoner of war - Slaughterhouse-Five

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After the war, he attended the University of Chicago as a graduate student in anthropology and also worked as a police reporter at the City News Bureau of Chicago. He left Chicago to work in Schenectady, New York, in public relations for General Electric. He attributed his unadorned writing style to his reporting work.

Related Topics:
University of Chicago - Anthropology - City News Bureau of Chicago - Chicago - Schenectady, New York - Public relations - General Electric

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From 1970 to 2000, Vonnegut lived in an East Side Manhattan brownstone, with his wife, the renowned photographer Jill Krementz. On January 31, 2000, a fire destroyed the top story of his home. Vonnegut suffered smoke inhalation and was hospitalized in critical condition for four days. He survived, but his personal archives were destroyed, and after leaving the hospital he retired to Northampton, Massachusetts. He taught an advanced writing class at Smith College for a period in 2000, and he was recognized as New York State Author for 2001-2003.

Related Topics:
Manhattan - Brownstone - Jill Krementz - Northampton - Massachusetts - Smith College - 2000 - New York - 2001 - 2003

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Vonnegut is a humanist; he currently serves as Honorary President of the American Humanist Association, having replaced Isaac Asimov in what Vonnegut calls "that totally functionless capacity". He was deeply influenced by early socialist labor leaders, especially Indiana natives Powers Hapgood and Eugene V. Debs, and he frequently quotes them in his work. He is a lifetime member of the American Civil Liberties Union, and recently did a print advertisement for them.

Related Topics:
Humanist - American Humanist Association - Isaac Asimov - Socialist - Powers Hapgood - Eugene V. Debs - American Civil Liberties Union

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He currently writes for the magazine In These Times, focusing on subjects ranging from contemptuous criticism of the George W. Bush administration to simple observational pieces on topics like a trip to the post office. In 2005, many of his essays were collected in a new book entitled A Man Without A Country. Spurred in part by appearances on TV talk shows including Real Time with Bill Maher and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the book became a bestseller. Vonnegut referred to the book's success as "a nice glass of champagne at the end of a life," although the emotionally-charged essays belied no diminished energy on the author's part.

Related Topics:
In These Times - George W. Bush - Real Time with Bill Maher - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - Bestseller

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