Breaking Down Vonnegut E-Book

Julia A. Whitehead

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Serie: The Breaking Down Series
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 137

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

A practical guide to Vonnegut's works for young adults, secondary, and college students Kurt Vonnegut was a prolific American writer whose career spanned more than 50 years. Vonnegut's world is a complex web. His books, short stories, and essays are among the gems of American literature, exploring themes of historical events and human limitations. Written for young adults through adulthood, the goal of Breaking Down Vonnegut is to relate essential facts about Kurt Vonnegut's life and to address the themes underlying his imaginary worlds. Breaking Down Vonnegut features an overview of Vonnegut's life and an investigation of the midwestern values that were challenged by his imprisonment by the Nazis during his wartime military service. Those themes, often cloaked in science fiction, historical parallels, and social science conundrums, address the major questions of life: the values by which we choose to live. Author Julia Whitehead is the founder and CEO of the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library in Indianapolis. Her ten years of experience leading the organization and learning about Vonnegut impelled her to share her knowledge and insight with fans and those new to Vonnegut's life and work. Breaking Down Vonnegut * Showcases the multiple genres in Vonnegut's world * Provides a brief thematic tour through two of Vonnegut's books and one short story * Offers three chapters of biographical information * Explains why Kurt Vonnegut will remain one of the great American voices heard around the world This is the first book of its kind for middle and secondary students, and it will also delight educators, parents, and anyone interested in or studying Vonnegut's life and work.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

About the Author

About the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library

Acknowledgments

Introduction

PART I

Chapter One: There Was Always Someone to Talk with, to Play with, to Learn From

Notes

PART II

Chapter Two: I Look Sort of Starved

Notes

PART III

Chapter Three:

Player Piano

and a Trustworthy Prophet or Sharp-Eyed Satirist

Notes

Chapter Four: “Harrison Bergeron”: A Twist on David and Goliath for the Civil Rights Era

Notes

Chapter Five:

Slaughterhouse-Five

and a New Kind of Patriot

Notes

PART IV

Chapter Six: The True Measure of a Man

Notes

Chapter Seven: Why Study Vonnegut?

Notes

Index

End User License Agreement

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

About the Author

About the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Begin Reading

Index

End User License Agreement

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Praise for Breaking Down Vonnegut

“Reading Kurt Vonnegut's books in high school English classes helped spark my love of reading.”

—John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars and The Anthropocene Reviewed

“Julia Whitehead's daily commitment to raising awareness about Kurt Vonnegut – the man, the thinker, the writer – shines through as she connects his literary legacy to the social and political issues we confront today. She helps us see how Vonnegut's deeply rooted Midwestern values inform his vision for a more just and equal society.”

—A'Lelia Bundles, author of On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker

“Vonnegut remains the most fascinating human I have ever interviewed. Whitehead's account is a useful and accessible introduction to the life of a cultural giant.”

—David Brancaccio, public radio and TV journalist

“What a breath of fresh air is Julia Whitehead's Breaking Down Vonnegut—erudite yet unassuming, free of nonsense. This is a book on Kurt Vonnegut that Kurt Vonnegut himself would have loved.”

—Dan Simon, editor of Kurt Vonnegut's A Man without a Country and co-author ofRun Run Run: The Lives of Abbie Hoffman

“This is a wonderfully clear, humane, and witty introduction to Vonnegut's life and work. If you didn't already love and appreciate this particular human, Whitehead will make you a believer.”

—Dave Eggers, author of The Every

“Of Julia Whitehead's many insights into Kurt and his work, this meant the most to me: that his greatest achievement was serving as a propagandist for peace.”

—James Thorn

BREAKING DOWN VONNEGUT

JULIA A. WHITEHEAD

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Whitehead, Julia A., author.

Title: Breaking down Vonnegut / Julia A. Whitehead.

Description: Hoboken, NJ : Jossey-Bass, 2022. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021055854 (print) | LCCN 2021055855 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119746096 (paperback) | ISBN 9781119746195 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119746157 (epub)

Subjects: LCGFT: Literary criticism.

Classification: LCC PS3572.O5 Z95 2022 (print) | LCC PS3572.O5 (ebook) | DDC 813/.54 [B]—dc23/eng/20211221

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021055854

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021055855

Cover Art & Design: Paul McCarthy

To my children, Daniel and Joseph

About the Author

Julia A. Whitehead, an award-winning entrepreneur, is the founder and CEO of the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library in Indianapolis, celebrating its tenth anniversary. Whitehead is a recognized expert and lecturer on the life and works of Kurt Vonnegut. Her writing has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Biography.com, So It Goes, and Finding the Words: Stories and Poems by Women Veterans. She has held writing and editing positions with Random House, Inc., Military Officers Association of America, and the state legislatures of South Carolina and Indiana. Whitehead taught English in Thailand in 2000 and worked as a medical writer for Eli Lilly and Co. In this capacity, Whitehead also represented Lilly as an adjunct professor of Medical Writing and Editing at Florida A&M University. Whitehead holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of South Carolina and a master's degree in International Relations from University of Indianapolis. She is a member of the Indianapolis Consortium of Arts Administrators and the Affiliate Steering Committee for Chicago's American Writers Museum. Whitehead led the creation of the So It Goes literary journal, the inclusion of the Vonnegut Library as an official national location of Literary Landmarks of the American Library Association, and the development of the Vonnegut Youth Writing Program serving Indianapolis youth in partnership with the International Alliance of Youth Writing Centers. She served as an officer in the US Marine Corps. A documentary film she wrote, produced, and directed titled My Friend Mickey was featured in the 2018 Heartland Film Festival and was a finalist for best documentary in the Los Angeles Love International Film Festival. She is the proud mother of sons Daniel and Joseph.

About the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library

The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library (KVML) is a public-benefit, nonprofit organization located at 543 Indiana Ave., in Indianapolis. Its mission is to champion the legacy of Kurt Vonnegut and the principles of free expression and common decency. The flat-iron style building (so-called because of its triangular shape) was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. Built on land once belonging to Native Americans, the structure was erected in 1882 in a neighborhood occupied at that time mostly by German Americans, Irish Americans, Eastern Europeans, and African Americans. During the first half of the twentieth century, it achieved historic significance as part of African American culture in the Historic Indiana Avenue Cultural District. In 2022, a year celebrating Vonnegut's 100th birthday, this building was selected to receive the first designation for a Literary Landmark in the State of Indiana on the National Register administered by the American Library Association.

The 10,400-square-foot building serves as a community arts center featuring a Youth Writing Program for local high school students, artist and author events, freedom of expression events, musical and comedy performances, virtual programming for a global audience, and a gift shop that can be found online at vonnegutlibrary.org. The building houses a library and museum filled with artifacts, books, and artwork that the late Kurt Vonnegut acquired or created throughout his life. For more information or to support the organization with a donation, visit www.vonnegutlibrary.org or write to [email protected].

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my publisher, Jossey-Bass, a division of Wiley, and especially Riley Harding and Christine O'Connor, for choosing me for this project. I have always wanted to write this book. Thanks to Cheryl Ferguson, Mary Beth Rosswurm, and Ashante Thomas for your careful and thoughtful work.

Mark Vonnegut took a call from me more than ten years ago. I rambled on about how I had an idea for a museum and library. Mark gave me a chance. He introduced me to Don and Annie Farber. Don was Vonnegut's long-time attorney and remained in that capacity after Vonnegut's death. Had Mark and Don not believed in our mission and our intentions, there would be no Vonnegut Library. I've had the privilege of reading Mark's books and serving on panel discussions with Mark. His support for our work is greatly appreciated.

A hearty thanks to Vonnegut's daughters Lily, Edith (Edie), and Nanette (Nanny, or as Vonnegut wrote in a letter, “Dearest of all possible Nans”). The memories and thoughts that you share enrich the study of Vonnegut. I appreciate your details that show Vonnegut as a real person – imperfect and wonderful. I treasure you.

My colleague Tom Roston, a journalist and author of the book The Writer's Crusade: Kurt Vonnegut and the Many Lives of Slaughterhouse-Five, wrote to me after reviewing some of my chapters: “Welcome to the club.” I assume he was referring to those who are fascinated with Vonnegut, obsessed with research about him, write about him, and share their writing with the world. I am grateful to Tom and also to Rodney Allen, James Alexander Thom, and Brian Welke for carefully reviewing chapters of my book. I am also thankful for members of “the club” with whom I have befriended, commiserated, quoted, sought advice, and celebrated, including Marc Leeds, A'Lelia Bundles, Drew DeSimone, Lewis Black, Robert Basler, Christina Jarvis, Ginger Strand, David Brancaccio, John Green, David Hoppe, Dave Eggers, Steve Groner Ellerhoff, Dan Wakefield, Dan Simon, Scott Vonnegut, Suzanne McConnell, Tom Marvin, Terrian Barnes, Kevin Finch, Sophie Maurer, Susan Farrell, Joe Petro, Greg Sumner, John Krull, and Hugh Vandivier.

I owe a debt of gratitude to the staff of the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library, and especially Chris Lafave. The board of directors also deserve acknowledgment – not only for what they do to carry on Vonnegut's legacy but also for recognizing that I have creative energy to complete projects outside of my workday.

Thanks to Kurt Vonnegut, whom I never met, for being an inspiration, a survivor, a messenger – and a funny one at that.

Those whose lives were impacted while I've been distracted with writing include my mom and my children, Joseph and Daniel Whitehead. I'm grateful for your encouragement and for giving me the time to write. Thanks for being extraordinary souls who believe we can do anything we set our minds to create.

This book could not have been created without the support of Janie and Mickey Maurer. Janie was there when it counted the most, and Mickey, a most careful editor, made this book readable from one draft to another. He listened to my squeaking about this concern or that. Sometimes I think he unwittingly willed it into existence, because two days after he asked if I had ever thought of writing a book about Vonnegut, I received a call from my publisher describing the project. That's deep magic.

Introduction

Kurt Vonnegut fanatics from around the world cut the ribbon on donated storefront space to dedicate the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library (KVML) in Indianapolis in 2011. I am the founder of this organization. As this book goes to print, we are celebrating 10 years at KVML. I was a medical writer for the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co., an officer in the United States Marine Corps, an editor for Random House Publishing, and a teacher of English to 100 second graders in Bangkok, Thailand. My interest in biography was sparked in childhood after reading about Eleanor Roosevelt. In the Marine Corps, I was assigned to the Marine Corps Research Center and worked with the biographies and archival collections of Marines. When I worked at Eli Lilly, I volunteered as a “corporate ambassador” conducting guests tours of the replica of Col. Eli Lilly's original post–Civil War building and teaching visitors about the drug-making process and materials used at the time. I became an expert on Col. Eli Lilly, and as a former Marine I became fascinated with stories of his military experience, including his time as a prisoner of war held by the Confederate army.

Col. Lilly held my interest, but the death of another prisoner of war captured my thoughts in 2007. That was the World War II veteran, writer, artist, humorist, car salesman, journalist, corporate public relations writer, and dilettante gambler at the horse track – Kurt Vonnegut. I never met Vonnegut. He was supposed to visit Indianapolis in 2007 during the city's Year of Vonnegut, but he passed away on April 11 after getting tangled up in his dog's leash and falling from the steps of his New York City brownstone.

When I established KVML as a grassroots “club” in 2008 and then a full-blown nonprofit in 2011, I imagined that I would spend days poring over documents, presenting to schools and libraries, and facilitating book clubs' discussions. While I occasionally do that, it became clear within the first month on the job that these tasks that I considered to be most rewarding were not how I would spend most of my time. I had to lead the organization, manage the staff and work with the board, build a strong foundation, mount programs and exhibitions that visitors would enjoy, and figure out how to raise the money to keep all of this going, while also raising funds to someday buy a building, a home – “Kurt's Forever Home.” We had big dreams and minimal cash.