Kurt Vonnegut

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Biographer: Vonnegut Still as Relevant as Ever

Author would have turned 100 Friday

(Newser) - Kurt Vonnegut, whose satirical novels condemned the senselessness of war and hypocrisy of government, would have been 100 years old Friday, and biographer Charles J. Shields says his work is as relevant as ever. He says Vonnegut's questioning of the motives of institutions resonate with young people now as...

4 'Bystanders' Who Changed History Forever

 4 'Bystanders' 
 Who Changed 
 History Forever 
in case you missed it
Sep 26, 2015 4:00 PM CDT

4 'Bystanders' Who Changed History Forever

Sometimes you're just in the right place at a significant time

(Newser) - The people who were actively involved in historical events are important, of course—but in many cases, so are the bystanders, the witnesses, the people who just so happened to be in the right place at the right, or at least a significant, time. Ozy looks at six such people...

Unpublished Vonnegut Novella Goes to Kindle

'Basic Training' is a long-forgotten work by late author

(Newser) - A treat for fans of the late Kurt Vonnegut: When he was working in the PR department of GE in the 1940s, Vonnegut tried to pitch a novella called Basic Training to two of the big magazines of the day. The Saturday Evening Post and McCalls passed on it. The...

Vonnegut Protégé Will Share His Wisdom

Ex-lover plans volume of late writer's letters

(Newser) - Aspiring novelists, Kurt Vonnegut has some advice for you: “Write a play.” It’s easier. That, and other nuggets of wisdom, will be available for the first time when Vonnegut’s private correspondence with one of his students is published in April, the New York Post reports. Loree...

Critic John Leonard Dead at 69
 Critic John Leonard Dead at 69 
Nov 6, 2008 4:15 PM CST

Critic John Leonard Dead at 69

Lung cancer claims Vonnegut's 'smartest man who ever lived'

(Newser) - Critic and author John Leonard died last night after a long battle with cancer. Leonard, whom Kurt Vonnegut once called "the smartest man who ever lived," was 69. A brilliant but not flashy stylist, an unapologetic liberal, and a mentor to countless younger writers, Leonard worked at various...

Kurt Vonnegut Dies at 84
Kurt Vonnegut Dies at 84
Apr 12, 2007 9:09 AM CDT

Kurt Vonnegut Dies at 84

Genre-defying novelist was voice of more than one generation

(Newser) - Kurt Vonnegut, one of the most popular novelists of the 20th century, died yesterday at 84 in Manhattan. Defying genres, he wrote on everything from the firebombing of Dresden to alien abduction—and that was just Slaughterhouse-Five.

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