Doug's Darkworld

War, Science, and Philosophy in a Fractured World.

Kurt Vonnegut, RIP

with 2 comments

sirens.jpg

Kurt Vonnegut passed over a few hours ago, he was 84, a good run. He died of complications from a fall a few weeks back, damn shame.

He wrote “Slaughterhouse Five,” one of the seminal antiwar novels of all time. It was about his experiences during the fire bombing of Dresden during ww2, Kurt was an American POW in Nazi captivity at the time. The experience changed his life, and he took the experience to heart and changed countless other lives.

He also wrote “Cat’s Cradle,” a staple of high school literature classes for a generation at least. “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater” is another work that achieved widespread acclaim.

For me of course it will always be “The Sirens of Titan.” A book that changed my life…hard to even describe. “Turn the spaceship upside down” is the line I still quote.

I’m not yet fifty, but the heroes of my youth are all passing over now. It’s a strange feeling. Beats dying young I guess, but still.

God bless you Kurt, you will never be forgotten. If there’s another side, I’m sure you are in good hands. If not, like all great writers and even some not so great ones, you will live forever as long as your works exist and people exist to read them.

I’m sure many tears are being shed tonight, I know I’m crying.

(The above image is claimed as Fair Use under US copyright law. It is not being used for profit and is central to illustrating the post.)

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Written by unitedcats

April 11, 2007 at 10:12 pm

Posted in History, Peace, Philosophy, War

2 Responses

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  1. Mr. Vonnegut died while I was reading Sirens of Titan. I had just finished reading Mother Night and Slaughterhouse Five, and was only in the second chapter of Sirens. I was unable to read further at that point, and haven’t picked up the book since. Few celebrity deaths sadden me–his was on a very short list.

    I’m beginning to know the feeling of heroes passing. Since Ronnie James Dio died this past spring, there’s been a lot of talk in the metal community about the genre’s forefathers entering their twilight years. Most of them are still around, but the horizon’s in sight. From a distance it looks black and foreboding, but if you listen closely, you can hear the joyous chants of vikings and the clanking sound of beer mugs toasting the arrivals of those who made a real difference in a world of mostly do-nothings.

    Geoffrey Rose

    August 17, 2010 at 8:30 pm


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