I grew up in Indianapolis where there were several Vonnegut's Hardware Stores. It was a big name in Indy.
When I was in my 20s I was introduced to the writer, Kurt Vonnegut. It was years before I connected Kurt to the hardware stores. He, too, was a Hoosier and the stores were owned by his uncle.
Vonnegut became my favorite writer for a time. At one point I thought that I had read everything he'd ever written for publication, including some advertisements.
His novels were weird and revolutionary and hysterically funny - in an extremely disrespectful way. Lots of people, including my Real Husband who was one of the smartest people I've ever known, couldn't understand a word he wrote.
What would you write if you had strong feelings about gun control? His novel "Deadeye Dick" was about a man who was playing with a gun and accidentally shot a child in the next apartment.
Last summer I read his final, slim book which he wrote at age 82, A Man Without a Country. I laughed out loud - a lot. (Despite the title he loved his country.)
How's this for making us think? In chapter 11 he says,
...the Martians have landed n New York City and are staying at the Waldorf Astoria. ...the good news is that they only eat homeless men, women, and children...and they pee gasoline.
(Don't you know some people that you suspect would be happy if this were the case?)
Each chapter began with a little "saying" in his own hand. Kind of a poster.
Do you think Arabs are dumb? They gave us our numbers. Try doing long division with Roman Numerals.
I'm grateful Kurt Vonnegut didn't decide to have a career at the hardware store.
When I was in my 20s I was introduced to the writer, Kurt Vonnegut. It was years before I connected Kurt to the hardware stores. He, too, was a Hoosier and the stores were owned by his uncle.
Vonnegut became my favorite writer for a time. At one point I thought that I had read everything he'd ever written for publication, including some advertisements.
His novels were weird and revolutionary and hysterically funny - in an extremely disrespectful way. Lots of people, including my Real Husband who was one of the smartest people I've ever known, couldn't understand a word he wrote.
What would you write if you had strong feelings about gun control? His novel "Deadeye Dick" was about a man who was playing with a gun and accidentally shot a child in the next apartment.
Last summer I read his final, slim book which he wrote at age 82, A Man Without a Country. I laughed out loud - a lot. (Despite the title he loved his country.)
How's this for making us think? In chapter 11 he says,
...the Martians have landed n New York City and are staying at the Waldorf Astoria. ...the good news is that they only eat homeless men, women, and children...and they pee gasoline.
(Don't you know some people that you suspect would be happy if this were the case?)
Each chapter began with a little "saying" in his own hand. Kind of a poster.
Do you think Arabs are dumb? They gave us our numbers. Try doing long division with Roman Numerals.
I'm grateful Kurt Vonnegut didn't decide to have a career at the hardware store.
