SUMMARY: Kurt Vonnegut (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) American novelist
Kurt Vonnegut Quotes
Kurt Vonnegut Books

Kurt Vonnegut’s roller-coaster life has lead to some of the best American novels of the 20th Century. Kurt Vonnegut was known mostly for his unusual writing style, with his humanist point of view. Kurt began his life on November 11, 1922. Kurt always had a niche for writing and began writing for the nation’s first high school newspaper, The Daily Echo. He later enrolled in Cornell University and worked on their newspaper, The Cornell Daily Sun. As a student at Cornell, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was sent by the army to what is now called, Carnegie Mellon University in which he studied engineering.

Time in War
Many of Kurt’s writings come from his own life experiences. Kurt Vonnegut returned home on leave from the army and on Mother’s Day 1945, his mother committed suicide overdosing on pain pills. Kurt’s life experiences taught him to write fictional tragedies with a comedic disparity. While serving in the army, Kurt became a prisoner of war after being captured in the Battle of the Buldge. He witnessed the fire-bombing of Dresden in 1945, which completely demolished the city. Vonnegut survived by taking shelter in an underground meat locker.

As a prisoner of war, Kurt also had to serve the Natzi’s in collecting bodies for burial. Since there were so many bodies to dispose of, the Natzi’s sent in soldiers to use flamethrowers and burn the bodies. These brutal experiences lead Kurt to write one of his greatest accomplishments, Slaughterhouse Five. Upon being released by the Natzi’s, the United States awarded him the Purple Heart. He never felt he deserved the medal as he said it was for a simple wound of “frost-bite”.

Upon returning from the army, he worked several jobs before his writing career took off. After working as a writer and reporter, he began working for GE as a publicist. In 1950, he quit work for GE and moved to Cape Cod to focus on writing. Kurt attended the University of Chicago and studied anthropology, according to Vonnegut, his thesis was rejected by the university.

In 1971, the University of Chicago awarded him his M.A. degree for Cat’s Cradle. Upon his writings, Kurt learned he also enjoyed painting and pencil sketching. Some of his most famous drawings include “One Eyed Jack”, which is a derivation from his self portrait. In 1971, one of his most famous novels was published, Breakfast of Champions. Kurt also did many illustrations for Breakfast of Champions.

Some of Kurt Vonnegut’s accomplishments include: The Eden Express, Time and Timbuktu, Lonesome No More, Jailbird, Sun Moon Star, Palm Sunday, Deadeye Dick, Bluebeard, Hocus Pocus, and Timequake.

Personal Life
Kurt Vonnegut’s personal life was also filled with comedic disparities. Kurt struggled with depression for four years and at one point attempted to take his life. Even with all his struggles, Kurt still evolved as a literary icon and had a devoted following. Kurt married his high school girlfriend, Jane Marie Cox. They had three children and divorced in 1979. Kurt’s sister died of cancer and he adopted her three children. The death of his sister, Alice inspired him to write, Slapstick, No More. This book recounts the death of Alice’s husband who died two days before she did.

In 1979 he married his second wife, Jill Krementz and they adopted Vonnegut’s seventh child. Kurt was also a heavy smoker and he dubbed it, “a classy way to commit suicide.” Kurt died on April 11, 2007, from irreversible brain damage suffered from a fall at his home. Kurt often said that short stories were like a “catnap for the brain”. He lived his life writing telling his readers to fire up your brain and then relax it for 10 minutes while being whisked away in a story. Kurt Vonnegut will forever be known as one of 20th century’s great American pacifists.