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Kurt VonnegutAmerican satirist writer.
Date of Birth: 11.11.1922
Country:  USA |
Content:
- American writer-satirist Kurt Vonnegut
- An Interview with Kurt Vonnegut
- The Meaning of Life
- The Role of Death in Your Books
- Your Personal Experience with Death
- An Interview with the Spirits
- Preferred Age in the Afterlife
- Bombing of Dresden and September 11
- The Influence of Evolution and the Future
- The Epitaph
- Fears and Regrets
- The Most Influential Book
- The Book You Wish You Had Written
- A Message for the Future
American writer-satirist Kurt Vonnegut
American writer-satirist Kurt Vonnegut, author of famous novels such as "The Sirens of Titan," "Cat's Cradle," "Slaughterhouse-Five," "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater," "Breakfast of Champions," "Player Piano," "Mother Night," turned 80 years old. Today, his works, a unique blend of science fiction, philosophy, dark humor, and emotional journalism, have become undisputed classics. And their influence on the formation of the worldview of post-war generations is difficult to overestimate.
An Interview with Kurt Vonnegut
English writer Christopher Kemp interviewed Vonnegut shortly after the tragedy of September 11 (the original version was published in Salon magazine).
The Meaning of Life
"What is the meaning of life?"
"Hmm. My son is a very good writer. He wrote a book called 'The Garden Express.' I'm talking about my son Mark, a pediatrician, who once went crazy and enrolled in Harvard Medical School, where they cured him to such an extent that he managed to graduate. Yes, so. I really liked one of his thoughts, and I quoted it in several of my own works. And the thought is this: 'We are born to help each other overcome whatever is sent our way.' Not bad, huh?"
The Role of Death in Your Books
"Death is the main theme of many of your books. Why do you give it such a significant role?"
"Well, it's terribly fascinating to everyone. People love to watch two things - how people have sex and how people get killed. (Laughs.) That's what really captivates. And we don't see it very often. One girl, my student, once complained that she had never seen a dead person in her life. And I told her, 'Just wait - it will happen.'"
Your Personal Experience with Death
"Your mother committed suicide in 1944, on the eve of Mother's Day. During World War II, you were a soldier. How do you think the events that happened to you in your youth influenced your attitude towards death?"
"I don't think they did, because they were quite clearly predetermined. You see, if I had been raised in the Catholic faith, for example, then I - as a good boy - would have believed or tried to believe in what Catholics believe. But my ancestors, who came to America before the Civil War, were atheists and believed in science. Educated people, they believed that priests or preachers had no idea what they were talking about. They believed that there was nothing in the Book of Genesis other than nonsense, and Jonah and the whale... well, and so on. In short, they were rationalists - that's what I think it was called. They carried their religion as atheist freethinkers. If I'm not mistaken, in one of my essays, there was this thought that we try to do our best without expecting any reward and without fearing punishment in the afterlife. Nietzsche, whom they unwarrantedly attacked but who had nothing to do with Nazism, said literally the following (in German, of course): 'Only a deeply believing person can afford to be a skeptic.' I know that something terribly important is happening. I mean, Lord, everything is so unsettling, and I... yes, I have that deep faith. So skepticism is not a luxury at all. Death appears in my books because I love eternal sleep. Damn, I got confused. Probably not eternal, but sleep."
An Interview with the Spirits
"In your book 'God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian,' you make several trips to heaven as a reporter. Your goal is to interview the spirits you met between the Blue Tunnel and the Pearly Gates. The book is remarkable. But do you really believe in the existence of the afterlife?"
"It's amusing to think about it. I have often imagined the afterlife because it's interesting. There are problems with hospitality and not many entertainments, so living there is simply impossible. (Laughs.) In one book (I don't remember which one exactly), I invented a heaven where after death you would have to exist all the time at the age when you were happiest on Earth. And for me, it turned into real chaos because my father was 10 years old..."
Preferred Age in the Afterlife
"And what age would you prefer, if you were in such a heaven?"
"The best age for a man is 44. How old are you?"
"28."
"Well, when you turn 44, people will finally start taking you seriously."
Bombing of Dresden and September 11
"In December 1944, you found yourself in a German prison camp. In 'Slaughterhouse-Five,' you write that you barely escaped death during the bombing of Dresden..."
"With your permission, it was your fellow countrymen, the English, who almost killed me. After such a long good neighborliness, you guys burned the city to the ground, turned it into a pillar of fire. More people died and suffocated in that hell than in Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined."
"I insist on my innocence in the bombing of Dresden..."
"In some situations, you English behave incomparably. I was thinking about Marshal Harris, Bomber Harris, the one who led the Royal Air Force and believed that air strikes on civilians would make the Germans surrender, although the opposite happened in Britain itself. The guys from the Royal Air Force - every single one of them! - opposed the construction of a monument to Harris. But, it seems to me, the monument was still installed. And the disgrace for what Harris made them do fell on everyone, absolutely everyone from the Air Force. And all because of sporting interest. September 11 was also a real hell. And, of course, the shock of what we saw on TV. After all, we live based on what they show us. And we react exactly to what is happening in the box. But, my God, those clever guys who carried out these attacks! It never occurred to me that buildings were so fragile."
The Influence of Evolution and the Future
"In many of your works, the characters travel through time. In 'Timequake,' this leads to everyone reliving the last decade of the 20th century, repeating everything that happened the first time. Do you believe that our future is predetermined?"
"The future may have as much influence on us as the present, if not more. Life is a complicated thing. And it really seems to me that the future has a much stronger impact on the present than we imagine. And there's nothing we can do about it."
The Epitaph
"Have you come up with an epitaph for yourself?"
"Yes. It goes like this: 'Everything was wonderful, and not a bit painful.'"
Fears and Regrets
"What do you fear the most?"
"That something will happen to my children and grandchildren."
"Is there anything you regret?"
"A lot of things."
The Most Influential Book
"Which book has had the greatest influence on you?"
"I think it's 'Candide' by Voltaire."
The Book You Wish You Had Written
"Which book by someone else would you like to have written?"
"I would like to be the author of 'Romeo and Juliet.'"
A Message for the Future
"Is there anything you would like to say to future generations?"
"Good luck!"
