So it goes
posted by Richard Stanislaw at
6:58 AM
Thursday, April 12, 2007
About Me
- Name: Richard Stanislaw
- Location: Kent, Ohio, United States
Richard professes Political Theory at Kent State University in the Department of Political Science.
Previous Posts
- more bong hits
- Bong Hits 4 Jesus
- pardon me
- Jean Baudrillard dies
- An Inconvenient Truth
- Apology and Crito
- Record Trade Deficit
- SOTU answers Iraq questions
- Teaching Evolution
- Swearing
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32 Comments:
"Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt."
"I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can't see from the center. " --Kurt Vonnegut
Here's to all those that are brave enough to stray from the safety of the center- and make the world a more beautiful place by doing so.
What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.
"So it goes"
When I heard this news I remembered reading slaughterhouse five and loving it. And always imagining an old man teaching me how to make a cat's cradle from a piece of string...
Everything is supposed to be very quiet after a massacre, and it always is, except for the birds. And what do the birds say? All there is to say about a massacre, things like ‘Poo-tee-weet?”
I loved Kurt Vonnegut. Slaughterhouse-Five was one of the first books to really grab my attention and show me how powerful and moving a great book can be. Now he is dead, So it goes
I have not read any of his stuff, so his death doesn't really affect me..
-Tom Banyas
I haven't read any of Kurt Vonnegut's works, but from what I understand it was from the Allied firebombing of Dresden that inspired him to write 'Slaughterhouse 5'. A lot people aren't aware that Dresden was leveled during the war, but many have learned of it by way of the novel. It's important to show that atrocities are committed by both sides during warfare, and that's what I most respected about him.
-Jarvis Russell
Human beings will be happier - not when they cure cancer or get to Mars or eliminate racial prejudice or flush Lake Erie but when they find ways to inhabit primitive communities again. That's my utopia.
1492. As children we were taught to memorize this year with pride and joy as the year people began living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America. Actually, people had been living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America for hundreds of years before that. 1492 was simply the year sea pirates began to rob, cheat, and kill them.
~Kurt Vonnegut Breakfast of Champions
The defining novel of my high school career
I am really encouraged by the statement "To Mr. Vonnegut, the only possible redemption for the madness and apparent meaninglessness of existence was human kindness."
Maybe he was an optimist at times? That statement certainly makes me think so.
It also aligns him with Nietzche a bit, who wanted people to just live in the moment and enjoy things. You might as well if there's no point and you're on a raft in the ocean.
PS. It’s nice to see a liberal like Vonnegut working in PR & Advertising.
testing
i really didnt know to much about this person but it seems to me that he affected many people in different ways..It doesnt really effect me, but it seems like he will be missed by many..
-David Turkovic
Kurt Vonnegut shared an abundance of talent within the American literary world and should be considered one of America’s most prolific writers. Vonnegut’s approach to life and the purpose of living on this planet represented his signature style with a hint of humor along the way.
In many cases, Vonnegut’s life was defined by his most personal experiences. He survived the fire bombings of Dresden which he vividly recalled and his writings of “The Slaughterhouse Five” remains his most popular work. The fog of war apparently brought out Vonnegut’s best writings which lead him to embrace the notion of human kindness in the face of madness.
Vonnegut’s unique writing style enabled him to reach a new level of writing in America which attracted many positive reviews. His personal life reflected a key source of his work including troubled parents who were mentally insecure.
Vonnegut had a life full of ups and downs, and he expressed his feelings, experiences and set backs in a remarkable fashion that we will never forget.
I haven't read any of his works, but from what I understand he was mostly a fictional writer, which I don't really like. Regardless, I have heard many good things about him and I'm sure many are sorry to see him go.
-Mike Rudolph
The only book I ever read by Kurt Vonnegut was Slaughterhouse- Five. It was a great book, unfortunately I don't know much about his life he seems to have inspired many people.
Kurt Vonnegut was truly a unique writer and person. His satire and black comedy is unmatched. He will be truly missed. I have many friends that were not interested in reading, but after they were assigned readings by Vonnegut for school they became more interested in reading. This should be the ultimate goal of a writer. These people have been given the best gift possible, and only a few writers have the ability to do so. My brother, whom gets very frustrated reading, fell in love with Vonnegut's reading and now is more willing to try readings by other authors which people have suggested. What a sad occurrence, the world needs more writers/men like Kurt Vonnegut. RIP
John Fellabaum
I have not read any of his work and was unfamilar with him before his death, but it seems his writing affected many. He was able to reach various groups with some seemingly powerful writings.
-Sam Kerns-
"If you can do a half-assed job of anything, you're a one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind."
He was a genius. May his soul rest in peace.
I'm sure that many will agree that Kurt Vonnegut demonstrated a unique approach to postmodern philosophy. I can appreciate many of Vonnegut's passages, an interestingly true tidbit from a Vonnegut site: "One of the few good things about modern times: If you die horribly on television, you will not have died in vain. You will have entertained us."
-khenry
It's strange that it can take something like a death to make me want to know who the person was and what he or she did during life. I think I may have to read Slaughterhouse Five.
- Elise Franco
I've read a couple of his less famous works. Anyone heard of Mother Night or Player Piano? I know I started Timequake but I can't remember finishing it. Found them on the shelf. I was angry with myself because I didn't find out immediately when he died. I think facebook alerted me several days later. Quite a few of my "friends" are Vonnegut fans. I really ought to read more.
-Kiera Manion-Fischer
I have never read Mother Night but I did Player Piano and Timequake and I did not find out about his death as sooon as it happened. He made things interesting with his sayings and descriptions of the way things ought to be; commmunity life, not off by yourself and the realities of life should be realized by all.
I have not read any of Vonnegut's works. Therefore, I do not want to comment on somethign which I cannot reason with.
I have only read Slaughterhouse five, but it is always tragic when someone as influential as him dies.
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It was a sad day for an English major.
I believe anyone whom seriously attempts to make sense of the afterlife is thinking at an advanced level. The work of this man was intriging and hopefully now, he has found some of the answers he was looking for. RIP.
I wish I knew who he was, but I personally never read any of his works. However, judging by how much attention it got in the news he must have been pretty popular.
RIP
-Vince Slomsky
I think this is great!!!!
Mr. Smith
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I have never heard of Kurt Vonnegut before reading this article but I would not mind giving some of his books a try. Slaughterhouse-Five sounded very interesting because of the fact that it based partially on his experience in Dresden. Reading some of his quotes posted by others on this blog heightens my desire to read some of his work.
- Heartless Romantic -
I have no clue who this is?? but at least he left with some kind of legacy
At least he lived a long life.
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