Gothamist: Kurt Vonnegut, 1922-2007

Zak

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 13:38:44 -0500

I am reminded of a story and acquaintance who lived, for a while, in Northampton, MA, once told me of meeting Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. At the time Vonnegut was a guest lecturer at Smith College for a time and was often found strolling around Northampton. This acquaintance of mine was attempting to mount his bicycle and had pedaled twice before his right foot slipped off the pedal. He crashed in a tangle with his bicycle skinning his knee and derailing his bike chain in the process. As he was attempting to untangle himself from his bicyle and dust himself off, he looked up and noticed a tall older man with wily hair, glasses, and a moustache. As he picked gravel from the wound in his knee, he immediately recognized who it was: Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut looked down at him, pathetic and slightly bleeding, and said, "Well. Aren't YOU the tragic hero?" Vonnegut then smiled and wheezed with laughter at his own wit and ambled off.

Jen

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:27:10 -0500

I was in tears when I first read the news at work. Such a brilliant, conscious man; I'd hoped he'd be immortal. I always wanted to stalk him around the UN and adopt him as my grandpa.

Hal2814

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 18:10:16 -0500

I got to shake the man's hand when he came into B&N Union Square back in the mid 90's to film a credit card commerical for tv in the cafe. An amazing writer and a very kind gentleman. His work will challenge, amuse & inspire generations yet unborn. R.I.P.

Storey

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:42:53 -0500

You might find the video tribute to Kurt Vonnegut very moving: Search for "So It Goes" on YouTube.

Stephen

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:32:52 -0500

... Um... Jen? Aren't you going to attribute the bulk of your post to the NY Times obituary? I think it's only appropriate.

it goes

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:22:38 -0500

yup, so.....

mm

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:52:07 -0500

so it goes...

anon

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:41:27 -0500

i think "god bless you dr. kevorkian" is such a touching book, in a truly absurd way.

Jolene

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:27:25 -0500

::: “Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — ‘God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.’ ” Farewell, Kurt. :::

human

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:42:24 -0500

Thanks ben alt, I needed that laugh.

Tim N.

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:30:34 -0500

Breakfast of Champions is just wonderful. If you're not up on your Kurt, go out and get that today. Great place to start.

ben alt

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:16:59 -0500

Kurt's up in heaven now.

Ace

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:15:48 -0500

from Hocus Pocus: He was reading a cheap-looking booklet. Since he was literate, I thought he might be one of the people I was being hired to divert with knowledge. I was right. His name was Abdullah Akbahr. With my encouragement, he would write several interesting short stories. One, I remember, was supposedly the autobiography of a talking deer in the National Forest who has a terrible time finding anything to eat in winter and gets tangled in barbed wire during the summer months, trying to get at the delicious food on farms. He is shot by a hunter. As he dies he wonders why he was born in the first place. The final sentence of the story was the last thing the deer said on Earth. The hunter was close enough to hear it and was amazed. This was it: “What the blankety-blank was that supposed to be all about?”

Poster Nutbag

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:02:56 -0500

while you are not incorrect that he made an album cover for phish, that design was ultimately not used for the live disc that became "slip, stitch, and pass"

hr

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:57:51 -0500

Hey. It's that guy from Back to School.

rip

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:55:56 -0500

Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt.

Liza T

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:43:57 -0500

There are so many appropriate Vonnegut quotes, that it is impossible to even know where to begin, but yes, his old words "everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt" seem prescient. Supposedly he wanted this as his epitaph: THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD WAS MUSIC I think the prohibition of semicolons would be a fitting tribute for Kurt today.

K. Trout

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:42:42 -0500

RIP