By Deanna Gorzynski
It with sadness that comes the news of Kurt Vonnegut’s death on April 11,
2007. He died from irreversible brain injuries caused as a result of a fall a
few weeks ago.
Kurt Vonnegut’s accomplishments are many, but he is best known as an author
of novels that spoke to a generation. In the 60’s and 70’s he became a literary
idol and there were even college courses devoted to his works alone. Such was
the complicated nature of his books.
The defining moment of Vonnegut’s life was the fire bombing of Dresden, Germany
by Allied forces in 1945. He witnessed it firsthand as a young prisoner of war.
The firebombing was described by Mr. Vonnegut as “a work of art”a tower of
smoke and flame to commemorate the rage and heartbreak of so many who had their
lives warped or ruined by the indescribable greed and vanity and cruelty of
Germany”.
These painful experiences were the foundation of his most well know book,”Slaughterhouse-Five published in 1969. With
the back drop of the war in Viet
Nam, racial unrest, cultural and social
upheaval, it became what could be called a cult classic.
I recommend everyone take a chance to
read one of his works. There is no way to describe the social, psychological,
mysterious and science fiction mix he brought to paper. Reading one of his
books is a little like trying to hold a helium filled balloon in the wind or
following a toddler thru a toy store”or being a patient in a mental ward.
Kurt Vonnegut, to his credit, saw the only redemption for the madness and
cruelty of existence in love. The title character in his novel, God Bless you, Mr. Rosewater summed up his
philosophy;
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 I know of babies- “God damn
it, you”ve got to be kind.”
I feel privileged and somber being able to write an obituary to such a
complex, unique and impactful writer. Aside from the ever famous Slaughterhouse
5, he wrote Player Piano, The Sirens Of Titan, and Cat’s
Cradle to name just a few. I have read most of his books and while not for
everyone, I always thought readers should give at least one a try.
In 1969, before the Teaneck
Peace Center
would open in the morning I would wait patiently with Kurt Vonnegut, getting
ready to lick envelopes, answer the phone and help the draft counselors, etc.
Being only 15, I did not have a key, so I sat on a picnic table in a nearby park
under an Oak tree reading Slaughterhouse Five.
Aside from being an amazing book, it helped heat the hatred for war deep in
my heart that has lasted a lifetime. I know I was not the only one.
In his last novel, A Man Without A Country,
a bestseller, he concludes with a poem called “Requiem”. I”d like to share the
closing lines:
When the last living thing
Has died on account of us,
How poetical it would be
If the Earth could say,
In a voice floating up
Perhaps from the Grand Canyon,
“It is done.”
People did not like it here.
Good bye Kurt Vonnegut”rest in peace, author, philosopher, motivator. Oh,
and Kurt, thank you for signing the Call to Drive Out the Bush Regime!