Tag Archives: Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut Goes Shopping

Posted on November 18, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

 

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We’re dancing animals

Posted on January 30, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

It’s just Kurt Vonnegut talking to his wife about going out to get an envelope (we’re here on earth to fart around):  

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General Headquarters

Posted on October 14, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

When I first read about a lost board game called “General Headquarters” that was created by Kurt Vonnegut, I was certain that it was an elaborate internet hoax. But, apparently I was wrong. Vonnegut’s life was not without its ironies. … Continue reading →

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Rules for Writing

Posted on June 19, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Kurt Vonnegut’s eight rules of writing: Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root … Continue reading →

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How could they leave it out

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Last week, the Atlantic magazine published a list of great American novels — 136 of them. I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve only read 60 or so novels on the list. However, when I took a closer look at the … Continue reading →

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Utopia 14

Posted on August 26, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I was today years old when I learned that Kurt Vonnegut’s 1952 novel Player Piano was re-released in a paperback edition as Utopia 14 in 1954. Player Piano is the first novel by  Vonnegut, in it he depicts a dystopia of automation partly inspired by the author’s time … Continue reading →

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“What is the purpose of all this?”

Posted on May 29, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

In the beginning, God created the earth, and he looked upon it in His cosmic loneliness. And God said, “Let Us make living creatures out of mud, so the mud can see what We have done.” And God created every … Continue reading →

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Some Good Advice

Posted on April 25, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

In 2006, Ms. Lockwood, an English teacher at Xavier High School in New York City, gave her students an assignment to write persuasive letters inviting their favorite authors to the school. Five students chose Kurt Vonnegut. Though 84-year-old Vonnegut couldn’t … Continue reading →

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Vonnegut Centennial

Posted on November 13, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

This week marked the 100th anniversary of Kurt Vonnegut’s birth. To celebrate the occasion graphic designer Alicia Raitt has re-imagined 14 of Vonnegut’s book covers. Inspired by 1960s bookcover design, Raitt utilizes the Marber grid, leaving the illustrations to set … Continue reading →

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You’re Not Alone

Posted on July 27, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

When I saw this street art mural I was reminded of a comforting quote from the great writer Kurt Vonnegut: Nothing I can say can have any effect, except to say to somebody else, “You’re not alone.” That’s as far … Continue reading →

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