Poo-tee-weet
I just heard that Kurt Vonnegut Jr., one of my favorite authors has passed away. He was 84.Though his output had slowed considerably in the last decade or so, he was one of the most prolific and respected modern American authors. I won't say I'm necessarily surprised to hear the news, due to his recent inactivity and age, but I am saddened nonetheless.
After the deaths of Faulkner, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald in the middle of last century, Vonnegut picked up the reigns as the foremost American writer. His incredible imagination in a generation that was known for its literary realism was perhaps his greatest strength. He incorporated kitschy science fiction elements into nearly every one of his novels, inspired by the pulp novels and b-movies of the fifties and sixties. And like the best of science fiction, he made incredible social commentary with the complex metaphors. By incorporating such a sharp sense of humor into his writing, he exposed a vast audience to this genre who would normally not be open to science fiction.
The world of literature should mark this as a very sad day.
After the deaths of Faulkner, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald in the middle of last century, Vonnegut picked up the reigns as the foremost American writer. His incredible imagination in a generation that was known for its literary realism was perhaps his greatest strength. He incorporated kitschy science fiction elements into nearly every one of his novels, inspired by the pulp novels and b-movies of the fifties and sixties. And like the best of science fiction, he made incredible social commentary with the complex metaphors. By incorporating such a sharp sense of humor into his writing, he exposed a vast audience to this genre who would normally not be open to science fiction.
The world of literature should mark this as a very sad day.