Editor | Dan Wakefield |
---|---|
Author | Kurt Vonnegut |
Language | English |
Genre | Non-fiction, Letters |
Publisher | Delacorte Press |
Publication date | October 30, 2012 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback), E-book, Audiobook |
Pages | 464 |
OCLC | 796759767 |
818/.5409 | |
LC Class | PS3572.O5 A6 2012 |
Kurt Vonnegut: Letters is a collection of letters written by American author Kurt Vonnegut, edited by his friend and fellow writer Dan Wakefield. Published by Delacorte Press on October 30, 2012, the book compiles a wide range of Vonnegut's correspondence spanning his entire life, offering insight into his personal thoughts, relationships, and the development of his literary career. [1]
Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) was a renowned American author known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels, including Slaughterhouse-Five , Cat's Cradle , and Breakfast of Champions . [2] Over his lifetime, he wrote numerous letters to friends, family, editors, and fellow writers. [1] This collection was meticulously compiled and edited by Dan Wakefield, who was a close friend of Vonnegut. [3] Wakefield provides context and annotations throughout the book, enriching the reader's understanding of the letters' significance. [1]
The letters in the collection cover a wide range of topics, including Vonnegut's experiences during World War II, his views on politics and society, his struggles and triumphs as a writer, and his personal relationships. [4] The book is divided into sections that correspond to different periods in Vonnegut's life, offering a chronological perspective on his development as an individual and an author. [4]
Kurt Vonnegut: Letters received positive reviews from critics and readers alike. [5] Reviewers praised the book for its candid and intimate portrayal of Vonnegut, as well as the insightful annotations by Wakefield. [6] The collection has been lauded as a valuable resource for fans of Vonnegut's work and scholars studying his contributions to American literature. [7]
Some of the notable letters included in the collection are:
Kurt Vonnegut was an American author known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. He published 14 novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfiction works over fifty-plus years; further collections have been published since his death.
Breakfast of Champions, or Goodbye Blue Monday is a 1973 novel by the American author Kurt Vonnegut. His seventh novel, it is set predominantly in the fictional town of Midland City, Ohio, and focuses on two characters: Dwayne Hoover, a Midland resident, Pontiac dealer and affluent figure in the city, and Kilgore Trout, a widely published but mostly unknown science fiction author. Breakfast of Champions deals with themes of free will, suicide, and race relations, among others. The novel is full of drawings by the author, substituting descriptive language with depictions requiring no translation.
Jailbird is a novel by American author Kurt Vonnegut, published in 1979 by Delacorte Press. The novel is often described as Vonnegut's "Watergate novel," as it explores themes related to the Watergate scandal, the American labor movement, and the political landscape of the United States during the mid-20th century.
Mark Vonnegut is an American pediatrician and author. He is the son of writer Kurt Vonnegut. He is the brother of Edith Vonnegut and Nanette Vonnegut. He described himself in the preface to his 1975 book as "a hippie, son of a counterculture hero, BA in religion, genetic disposition to schizophrenia."
Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons (Opinions) is a collection of essays, reviews, short travel accounts, and human interest stories written by Kurt Vonnegut from c. 1966–1974.
Paul Hamilton Engle, was an American poet, editor, teacher, literary critic, novelist, and playwright. He is remembered as the long-time director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and as co-founder of the International Writing Program (IWP), both at the University of Iowa.
Palm Sunday is a 1981 collection of short stories, speeches, essays, letters, and other previously unpublished works by Kurt Vonnegut. The collection provides insight into Vonnegut's thoughts on various subjects, including writing, war, and his own literary career. The book is known for its eclectic mix of genres and personal reflections.
Dan Wakefield was an American novelist, journalist, and screenwriter.
Ginger Strand is an American author of nonfiction and fiction. Her 2005 debut novel Flight was adapted from several of her short stories. Her published books of non-fiction include Inventing Niagara: Beauty, Power, and Lies in May 2008, Killer on the Road: Violence and the American Interstate in 2012, and The Brothers Vonnegut: Science and Fiction in the House of Magic in 2015. She has published articles in The New Yorker, The New York Times,Pacific Standard,Tin House, and The Believer, among others. She was a 2009 New York Foundation for the Arts fellow in nonfiction.
Benjamin Taylor is an American writer whose work has appeared in a number of publications including The Atlantic, Harper's, Esquire, Bookforum, BOMB, the Los Angeles Times, Le Monde, The Georgia Review, Raritan Quarterly Review, Threepenny Review, Salmagundi, Provincetown Arts and The Reading Room. He is a founding member of the Graduate Writing Program faculty of The New School in New York City, and has also taught at Washington University in St. Louis, the Poetry Center of the 92nd Street Y, Bennington College and Columbia University. He has served as Secretary of the Board of Trustees of PEN American Center, has been a fellow of the MacDowell Colony and was awarded the Iphigene Ochs Sulzberger Residency at Yaddo. A Trustee of the Edward F. Albee Foundation, Inc., he is also a Fellow of the New York Institute for the Humanities at New York University and a Guggenheim Fellow for 2012 - 2013. Taylor's biography of Marcel Proust, Proust: The Search, was published in October 2015 by Yale University Press as part of its newly launched Yale Jewish Lives series.
Charles J. Shields is an American biographer of mid-century American novelists and writers.
The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library is dedicated to championing the literary, artistic, and cultural contributions of the late writer, artist, and Indianapolis native Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. It opened in January 2011 and was located in The Emelie, a structure on the National Register of Historic Places at 340 North Senate Avenue in Indianapolis, Indiana, until January 2019. Funding for a new building at 543 Indiana Avenue was secured, and the library reopened to the public on November 9, 2019.
Lynne Kelly is an American author of books for children and young adults. Her first novel, Chained, was published in May 2012 by Farrar, Straus, & Giroux/Margaret Ferguson Books.
If This Isn't Nice, What Is?: Advice to the Young is a 2013 collection of nine commencement speeches from Kurt Vonnegut, selected and introduced by longtime friend and author Dan Wakefield.
Sidney Offit is an American writer best known for his children's books and participation in nightly debates with Martin Abend on WNEW-TV during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Offit was also a major contributor to civic and literary life in New York, serving at different times as President of the Authors Guild Foundation, President of the Century Association, board member of PEN American Center, and curator of the George Polk Awards in Journalism. At the same time, he was a celebrated writing teacher at The New School, New York University and Hunter College, whose students included Marita Golden and Ann Jones.
Hanif Abdurraqib is an American poet, essayist, and cultural critic. His first essay collection, They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us, was published in 2017. His 2021 essay collection A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance received the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence. Abdurraqib was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2021.
Karen M. McManus is an American author of young adult fiction. She is most known for her first novel, One of Us Is Lying, which spent more than five years on The New York Times Best Seller list, as well as its sequels One of Us Is Next and One of Us Is Back, and the stand-alone novel Two Can Keep a Secret.
No Middle Name is an anthology book from the Jack Reacher series by British writer Lee Child. It is a collection of two novellas and ten short stories.
Ashley Woodfolk is an American writer. She is the author of the young adult books The Beauty That Remains (2018) and When You Were Everything (2020).
Jaleigh Johnson is an American fantasy writer.