Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne
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Monday, September 26, 2011
And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut Biography Will Be Out in November
I became acquainted with biographer Charles J Shields a few years ago when he contacted me to say he was writing about author Kurt Vonnegut. My Dad and Vonnegut were grunts during WWII, where they were captured together and survived the firebombing of Dresden.
They stayed in touch until my Dad passed away. After that, Vonnegut would call my Mom regularly. And when she left us, he even called me a few times, encouraging me to "give 'em Hell" with absolutely no idea what the Hell I was doing.
My brother, the family packrat, had quite a bit of stuff to share with Shields, which I sent. I posted some of it here, too.
Shields' final product, "And So It Goes," comes out in November.
He also has a very entertaining and informative blog, Writing Kurt Vonnegut.
4 comments:
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Bernie,
ReplyDeleteYou've been a great help with explaining, and adding to the importance of your dad in Kurt's life. Thanks very much.
Charles
The 3 best lectures I've ever been to were a few decades ago at Lehigh University. In order, they are:
ReplyDeleteKurt Vonnegut
Lee Iacocca
Mel Blanc
I'll be buying Shield's book. Thanks for alerting us.
brush with fame
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to this Bio as much as I looked forward to Vonnegut's next book. Thanks for the update
ReplyDelete