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- From: geocool@blarg.net (George Cooley)
- Newsgroups: alt.books.kurt-vonnegut,alt.answers,news.answers
- Subject: Alt.books.kurt-vonnegut FAQ
- Followup-To: alt.books.kurt-vonnegut
- Date: 31 Aug 1996 22:01:43 GMT
- Organization: that would be nice.
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- Summary: This is the official FAQ for the usenet newsgroup
- alt.books.kurt-vonnegut.
- X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2]
- Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu alt.books.kurt-vonnegut:3446 alt.answers:20164 news.answers:80614
-
- Archive-name: books/kurt-vonnegut-faq
- Posting-Frequency: monthly (Every 4th Sunday, maybe more frequently on
- alt.books.kurt-vonnegut only.)
- Last-modified: 1996/06/30
- Version: 2.21
- URL: http://www.blarg.net/~geocool/Vonnegut/abkvFAQ.html
-
-
- Alt.books.kurt-vonnegut Frequently Asked Questions
- --------------------------------------------------
-
- This is the official FAQ for the usenet newsgroup alt.books.kurt-vonnegut.
-
- Maintained by George A Cooley (geocool@blarg.net, geocool@mit.edu)
-
- Version 2.21 (6/30/96)
-
- Copyright (c) 1995 by George A. Cooley and Glenn Kurtzrock, 1996 by George
- A. Cooley. All rights reserved. This document may be freely distributed in
- its entirety provided this copyright notice is not removed. It may not be
- sold for profit or incorporated in commercial products without the authors'
- written permission.
-
-
- Availability:
-
- This FAQ is available in text form:
- - For anonymous ftp at ftp.blarg.net as /users/geocool/abkvFAQ
- Login as anonymous, and send your email address as a password.
- - For http transfer at http://www.blarg.net/~geocool/Vonnegut/abkvFAQ
- - Posted every fourth Sunday on the newsgroups alt.books.kurt-vonnegut,
- alt.answers, and news.answers.
-
- Also please visit the HTML version at:
- - http://www.blarg.net/~geocool/Vonnegut/abkvFAQ.html
-
- Translation:
-
- Yotsui Shirou has made a Japanese translation of this FAQ, it can be
- found at http://osf1.kuec.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~lzg2236. Thanks, Shirou!
-
- Credits:
-
- Thanks to everyone who contributed big chunks of information that appears
- here. They are:
-
- John Dinsmore (dinsmorej@uky.campus.mci.net),
- William J. Herbst (wjh3578@is2.nyu.edu),
- Chris A. Hall (chall@sutro.SFSU.EDU),
- Jeff Rhodes (ir002222@interramp.com),
- Mic Platt (mic@darkwing.uoregon.edu),
- Ben Colmery (barb.colmery@umich.edu),
- Peter Wieriks (peterwie@knoware.nl),
- Kevin Brophy (kevinb@drk.com),
- Bob Weide,
- The Yello Jacket (yellojkt@ix.netcom.com),
- Corddry (corddry@aol.com) :-) ,
- but especially thanks to Glenn, who had the motivation and skill needed
- to make this FAQ a reality.
-
- History:
-
- Version 2.2 (6/9/96)
- -Added two new questions (#12 and #18,) and updated the info on bands,
- movies, and web sites. Also some address changes and many other misc.
- corrections.
-
- Version 2.1 (11/20/95)
- -Added Vonnegut feedback and FAQ availability notes.
-
- Version 2.0 (10/19/95)
- -Added two mail addresses, and some more movie, band, and book info.
- Also one new Vonnegut web page!
-
- Version 1.5 (10/08/95) updated by George A Cooley (geocool@blarg.net,
- geocool@mit.edu)
- -Added a few more links in "Other web sites," minor additions, changed
- the format and style.
-
- Version 1.0 (7/13/95) written by Glenn Kurtzrock (glennk@pegasus.rutgers.edu)
-
-
- *----------------------------------------------------------------------*
- | Quick Index to Frequently Asked Questions |
- *----------------------------------------------------------------------*
-
-
- 1. Who is Kurt Vonnegut?
- 2. What has he written?
- 3. How can I write to Him?
- 4. Is he on the net? Does he read this newsgroup?
- 5. What about his uncollected short stories?
- 6. All right then, so who wrote "Venus on the Half-Shell"?
- 7. Can someone tell me where to find "Canary in a Cathouse"?
- 8. Where can I find "Hal Irwin's Magic Lamp"?
- 9. Who is Kilgore Trout?
- 10. Can you name any resources for finding rare and used Vonnegut books?
- 11. Didn't Vonnegut write a book using the name "Kilgore Trout" as a
- pseudonym?
- 12. What is "Timequake"?
- 13. What is "The Eden Express"?
- 14. What books have been written about Vonnegut?
- 15. Have any bands been influenced by Vonnegut's writing?
- 16. Where's the "flying fuck" quote from?
- 17. What movies been made from his books?
- 18. Isn't there a new movie coming out based on "Mother Night"?
- 19. Has Vonnegut been in any movies?
- 20. Are there any World Wide Web sites about Vonnegut?
- 21. What has been the funniest post to a.b.k-v to date?
-
-
- *----------------------------------------------------------------------*
- | And Now: The Answers! |
- *----------------------------------------------------------------------*
-
-
- 1. Who is Kurt Vonnegut?
-
- Kurt Vonnegut was born on Armistice Day (November 11, 1922 - or
- Veterans Day, as we call it now [read "Mother Night" by KV for more on
- Armistice Day]) in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is, among other things, a
- writer of science fiction and satire (and the occasional dictionary
- review). A true master of contemporary American literature, he is the
- author of eighteen highly acclaimed books, and dozens of short stories and
- essays. Among his most known works are "The Sirens of Titan" (1959,)
- "Cat's Cradle" (1963,) and "Slaughterhouse-Five" (1969).
-
-
- 2. What has he written?
-
- Here, in chronological order, is a complete bibliography of Vonnegut's
- books published in the U.S. and England (not counting foreign language
- editions, or uncollected short stories). This list is as posted
- by John Dinsmore (dinsmorej@uky.campus.mci.net):
-
-
- All codes (e.g. AA1) refer to entires in the authoritative Pieratt &
- Klinkowitz author bibliography (Archon, 1987).
-
- Untermeyer, Louis, & Ralph E. Shikes, eds. The Best Humor Annual. Holt,
- 1951. 1st ed.
- KV's first published appearance in book format. "$3.50" front flap.
- Yellow cloth boards / printed dj. KV's story "Epicac," reprinted from
- Collier's, an early computer-related piece. Other authors in anthology:
- John Lardner, H. Allen Smith, Roger Price, Red Smith, James Thurber, Ogden
- Nash, Russell Lynes, Roger Angell, Peter deVries, Robert Ruark, S.J.
- Perelman.
-
- Player Piano.
- 1st trade ed. Scribner's, 1952. 1st print: 7,600cc. AA1
- "A" and Scribner's seal at copyright page. Advance Review Copies:
- 25-30cc (est.)
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Macmillan, 1953. 2,000 to 3,000cc printed (1,000
- pulped) AA10
- Bantam pap. edition, 1954. retitled: Utopia 14. 248,000cc. AA3
- reedition. Holt, Rinehart, & Winston. 1966. single print: 4,000cc. AA4
-
- The Sirens of Titan.
- 1st trade ed. Dell, 1959. (pap. orig.) single print: 177,500cc. AB1
- Reedition of 1st ed. Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1961. 2,500cc. cloth/dj
- AB2
- Reprint ed. of 1st ed. Dell, 1966. 201,703cc. wraps. AB3
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Gollancz, 1962. 3 impressions, 1962. AB7
-
- Canary In A Cathouse.
- 1st trade ed. Fawcett, 1961. Original Gold Medal Collection. wraps.
- 175,000cc. AC1
-
- Mother Night.
- 1st trade ed. Fawcett, 1962. Original Gold Medal Collection. wraps.
- 175,000cc. AD1
- Harper & Row, 1966. single print: 5,500cc. (1st ed. in cloth/dj) AD2
- Avon edition, 1967. wraps. AD3
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Cape, 1968. AD6
-
- Cat's Cradle.
- 1st trade ed. Holt, Rinehart, Winston, 1963. 1st print: 6,000cc. AE1
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Gollancz, 1963. AE9
-
- God Bless You Mr. Rosewater.
- 1st trade ed. Holt, Rinehart, Winston, 1965. 1st print: 6,000cc. AF1
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Cape, 1965. AF8
-
- Welcome to the Monkey House.
- 1st trade ed. Delacorte, 1968. 5,000cc AG1
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Cape, 1969. AG4
-
- Slaughterhouse-Five.
- 1st trade ed. Delacorte, 1969. 1st print: 10,000cc. Uncorrected Proofs:
- 39cc. AH1
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Cape, 1970. AH8
- Franklin Library, 1978. 25,000cc. sgd./leather/box. AH7
-
- Happy Birthday, Wanda June.
- 1st trade ed. Delacorte, 1971. 1st print: 3,000cc. AI1
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Cape, 1972. AI5
-
- Between Time and Timbuktu. Based on Vonnegut materials, with foreword
- (only) by KV.
- 1st trade ed. Delacorte, 1972. AJ1
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Panther, 1975. pbo. AJ3
-
- Breakfast of Champions.
- 1st trade ed. Delacorte, 1973. 1st print: 100,000cc. AK1
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Cape, 1973. 1st print: 8,500cc. AK7
-
- Wampeters Foma Granfalloons.
- 1st trade ed. Delacorte, 1974. 1st print: 20,000cc. AL1
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Cape, 1975. 1st print: 3,000cc AL4
-
- Slapstick; Or, Lonesome No More!
- 1st trade ed. Delacorte, 1976. 1st print: 85,000cc. AM1
- Ltd. signed ed. Delacorte, 1976. 250cc no./sgd./slipcase. AM2
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Cape, 1976. 1st print: 7,500cc. AM5
- Franklin Library, 1976. sgd./leather/box.
-
- Jailbird.
- 1st trade ed. Delacorte, 1979. 1st print: 90,700cc. AN1
- Ltd. signed ed. Delacorte, 1979. 500cc no./sgd./slipcase. AN2
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Cape, 1979. 1st print: 7,500cc. AN7
-
- Sun Moon Star.
- 1st trade ed. Harper & Row, 1980. illus. Ivan Chermayeff. AO1
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Hutchinson, 1980. AO2
-
- Palm Sunday: An Autobiographical Collage.
- 1st trade ed. Delacorte, 1981. 1st print: 69,500cc. AP1
- Ltd. signed ed. Delacorte, 1981. 500cc no./sgd./slipcase. AP2
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Cape, 1981. 1st print: 5,000cc. AP6
-
- Deadeye Dick.
- 1st trade ed. Delacorte, 1982. 1st print: 100,000cc. AQ1
- Ltd. signed ed. Delacorte, 1982. 350cc no./sgd./slipcase. AQ2
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Cape, 1983. 1st print: 10,000cc. AQ7
-
- Fates Worse Than Death. L, Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation, 1982.
- pamphlet. AR1
-
- Nothing Is Lost Save Honor. Jackson, Mississippi, Nouveau Press, 1985.
- AS1
- Ltd. ed. of 40cc no./sgd. quarter bound cloth
- Ltd. ed. of 300cc no./sgd. half bound goatskin
-
- Galapagos.
- 1st trade ed. Delacorte, 1985. AT1 (final "A" entry in Pieratt &
- Klinkowitz bibliography)
- Ltd. signed ed. Delacorte, 1985. 500cc no./sgd./slipcase.
- Franklin Library, 1985. sgd./leather. precedes trade ed.
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Cape, 1985.
-
- Bluebeard.
- 1st trade ed. Delacorte,1987.
- Ltd. signed ed. Delacorte, 1987. 500cc no./sgd./slipcase.
- Franklin Library, 1987. sgd./leather.
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Cape, 1988.
-
- Who Am I This Time? For Romeos & Juliets. Minneapolis, Redpath Pres,
- 1987. plastic sleeve. illus. Barry Blitt. story first pub. in Monkey
- House.
-
- Hocus Pocus.
- 1st trade ed. Putnam, 1990.
- Ltd. signed ed. Putnam, 1990. 250cc no./sgd./slipcase.
- Franklin Library, 1990. sgd./leather.
- 1st Brit. ed. L, Cape, 1990.
-
- Fates Worse Than Death.
- 1st trade ed. Putnam, 1991.
- Ltd. signed ed. Putnam, 1991. 200cc no./sgd./slipcase.
-
- Timequake. Work-in-progress. To be published by Putnam in 1995?
-
-
- 3. How can I write to Him?
-
- I'm told he can be reached at this address:
-
- Kurt Vonnegut
- c/o Donald Farber
- Farber Rich and Simmons
- 150 E. 58th St,
- New York, NY 10155
-
-
- 4. Is he on the net? Does he read this newsgroup?
-
- Perhaps in keeping with his take on technology as presented in "Player
- Piano" and others of his novels, Kurt doesn't seem to be at all into
- "this internet thing." Not completely unexpected, really. Thanks
- to our own John Dinsmore, though, he has read this FAQ (version 2.0,) and
- had this to say about it, in a letter dated Nov 5, 1995:
-
- "The internet stuff is spooky. I am of course not on line.
- I do remember ham radio operators though, usually in attics or
- basements, pallid, unsociable, and obsessed, inhabiting a
- spirit world, and harmless."
-
- Way off. Doesn't sound like me at all. Nope. Nuh-uh. No way.
- My computer is in a room on the *ground floor*, thank you very much!
-
-
- 5. What about his *uncollected* short stories?
-
- Vonnegut has written many many short stories for a wide variety of
- magazines and newspapers. His book "Welcome to the Monkey House" is a
- collection of only 22 of his "best." Here is the list from Klinkowitz and
- Somer "The Vonnegut Statement" (1973) of as many of his other stories as
- they were able to discover. Vonnegut has said that there are still a
- few that these two guys weren't able to find out about (and he hopes they
- never do,) but I'd say this is about as complete a list as we're going to
- get for now. :-)
- This was posted by William J. Herbst (wjh3578@is2.nyu.edu):
-
- "Ambitious Sophomore" Sat. Eve. Post (May,1,1954)
- "Any Reasonable Offer" Collier's (1/19/52)
- "Bagombo Snuff Box" Cosmopolitan (10/54)
- "The Boy who Hated Girls" Sat. Eve. Post (3/31/56)"
- "Custom-Made Bride" Sat. Eve. Post (3/27/54)
- "Find Me a Dream" Cosmopolitan (2/61)
- "Lovers Anonymous" Redbook (10/63)
- "Mnemonics" Collier's (4/28/51)
- "A Night for Love" Sat. Eve. Post (11/23/57)
- "The No-Talent Kid" Sat. Eve. Post (10/25/52)
- "The Package" Collier's (7/26/52)
- "POOR Little Rich Town" Collier's (10/25/52)
- "The Powder Blue Dragon" Cosmopolitan (11/54)
- "A Present for Big Nick" Argosy (10/54)
- "Runaways" Sat. Eve. Post (4/15/61)
- "Souvenir" Argosy (10/52)
- "Thanasphere" Collier's (9/2/50)
- "This Son of Mine..." Sat. Eve. Post (8/18/56)
- "2BRO2B" Worlds of If (1/62)
- "Unpaid Consultant" Cosmopolitan (3/55)
-
-
- 6. Who wrote "Venus on the Half-Shell"?
-
- This has been by far the most frequently asked question of the newsgroup.
- The book is attributed to Kilgore Trout, a fictional author appearing in
- many of Vonnegut's works. In actuality, the book was written by Philip
- Jose-Farmer. There have been reports from numerous sources that this is
- the case, and that Vonnegut and Jose-Farmer themselves have each
- identified Jose-Farmer as the real author. No, Kurt didn't write it.
- No, Kilgore Trout is not a real person. A later publication of the work
- even correctly names Jose-Farmer as the author. If you're looking
- for it, I'd recommend looking under both the names Trout and Jose-Farmer;
- if you find it under Vonnegut, it's been misfiled.
-
- On the subject, Chris A. Hall (chall@sutro.SFSU.EDU) writes:
- In the introduction to his story "The Phantom of the Sewers" in
- "Riverworld and Other Stories," Farmer talks about his occasional habit
- of writing "fictional author" stories as a method of breaking writer's
- block. According to him, "Venus on the Half-Shell" was the very first
- of these attempts. He also says that that was him on the back cover
- under all that hair (actually pieces of a wig glued to his face.)
-
- I have not read the book, and there have been mixed reviews of it in the
- newsgroup.
-
-
- 7. Can someone tell me where to find "Canary in a Cathouse"?
-
- Well, the short answer is "lots of luck." Though listed under "by the
- same author" in thousands of recent publications of KV's books, this book
- has been out of print for years, and is rumored to be selling for over
- $100 a copy now. It isn't worth going after unless you are a serious
- collector, because all it really is is 11 of the 22 stories that are also
- in "Welcome to the Monkey House," plus one extra, entitled "Hal Irwin's
- Magic Lamp."
- So what are the twelve stories in "Canary in a Cathouse"? Courtesy of
- Jeff Rhodes (ir002222@interramp.com), they are:
-
- "Report on the Barnhouse Effect"
- "All the King's Horses"
- "D.P."
- "The Manned Missiles"
- "The Euphio Question"
- "More Stately Mansions"
- "The Foster Portfolio"
- "Deer in the Works"
- "Hal Irwin's Magic Lamp"
- "Tom Edison's Shaggy Dog"
- "Unready to Wear"
- "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow"
-
-
- 8. Where can I find Hal Irwin's Magic Lamp? (Or "But I've just got to read
- everything he's ever written!")
-
- Well, if you can't find "Canary in a Cat House" (see #7 above -- "lots of
- luck,") check your local library. It can also be found in the June, 1957
- issue of Cosmopolitan, on pages 92-95.
-
-
- 9. Who is Kilgore Trout?
-
- Kilgore Trout is perhaps Vonnegut's fictional alter ego. He is mentioned
- in many of KV's books as a little known science fiction writer who is
- usually published in pornographic magazines and books with pictures of
- "wide open beavers," although his stories have nothing to do with the
- accompanying photographs. Frequently, Vonnegut will give a synopsis
- of an amusing story written by Trout, as read by one of Vonnegut's main
- characters. Trout himself is a main character only in one of Kurt's
- novels, "Breakfast of Champions," where Vonnegut actually writes himself
- in to his own book, and allows Trout to meet him.
-
-
- 10. Can you name any resources for finding rare and used Vonnegut books?
-
- There is one who posts to this newsgroup from time to time. He is:
-
- John Dinsmore & Associates, Booksellers
- 1037 Castleton Way South
- Lexington, KY 40517-2724 USA
- (606) 271-8042 Daily 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM Eastern Time
- email: dinsmorej@uky.campus.mci.net
- current catalogue: http://www.cyberspc.mb.ca/~scott/jda/
- Modern First Editions and Fine Art
-
-
- 11. Didn't Vonnegut write a story using the name "Kilgore Trout" as a
- pseudonym?
-
- No. See question #5, "Who wrote 'Venus on the Half-Shell'?"
-
-
- 12. What is "Timequake"?
-
- This is still a work in progress that is supposed to be Vonnegut's next
- and final novel. It was originally due to be published by Putnam in
- 1994, but then got pushed back to 1995, and is now "indefinite." Some
- people have the mistaken impression that it was published but then
- yanked from the shelves, or published and now just really hard to find.
- Not so.
-
- I read an interview of Vonnegut last November in which he said that
- he is frustrated with it, unhappy with how it's coming, continually
- rewriting this part or that. He said that it's his last book and he
- doesn't want it to be a flop, he really wants to end his writing career
- with a bang.
-
- In any case, there's no telling when this will be published, or if it
- ever will. All we can do is hope, and keep our eyes and ears peeled!
-
-
- 13. What is "The Eden Express"?
-
- Kurt's son Mark Vonnegut wrote a book, "The Eden Express," about his
- episode with schizophrenia. I haven't read it, and there have been mixed
- reviews of it in the newsgroup.
-
-
- 14. What books have been written about Vonnegut?
-
- Here's a list of some of them, courtesy of Mic Platt
- (mic@darkwing.uoregon.edu):
-
- "The American Absurd: Pynchon, Vonnegut, and Barth" (Hipkiss)
- "Conversations with Kurt Vonnegut" (Allan, Ed.)
- "Critical Essays on Kurt Vonnegut" (Merrill)
- "The Critical Response to Kurt Vonnegut" (Mustazza, Ed.)
- "Discrimination, Affirmative Action, and Equal Opportunity: An Economic
- and Social Perspective" (Block & Walker, Eds.)
- --Kurt Vonnegut is a contributor to this book
- "Forever Pursuing Genesis: The Myth of Eden in the Novels of Kurt
- Vonnegut" (Mustazza, Ed.)
- "Happy Birthday, Kurt Vonnegut." (Jill Krementz)
- --issued on the occasion of KV's 60th birthday, November 11, 1982.
- "Kurt Vonnegut, Fanatacist of Fire and Ice" (Goldmith)
- "Kurt Vonnegut" (Lundquist)
- "Kurt Vonnegut" (Klinkowitz)
- "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr." (Reed)
- "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr." (Schatt)
- "Kurt Vonnegut: The Gospel from Outer Space (or, Yes we Have No Nirvanas)"
- (Mayo)
- "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr....a checklist" (Hudgens)
- "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.: A Descriptive Bibliography and Annotated Secondary
- Checklist" (Pieratt & Klinkowitz)
- "The New Realism of Heller, Kesey, and Vonnegut: A Study of Catch-22, One
- Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Slaughterhouse 5" (Gilligan)
- "Rhetoric, Identity, and Morality in Selected Leter Novels of KV"
- (Gholson)
- "Sanity Plea: Schizophrenia in the Novels of KV" (Lawrence P. Broer)
- "Slaughterhouse Five: Reforming the Novel and the World" (Klinkowitz)
- "Understanding Kurt Vonnegut" (Allen)
- "Vonnegut: A Preface to His Novels" (Giannone)
- "Vonnegut in America: An Introduction to the Life and Work of KV"
- (Klinkowitz & Lawler, Eds.)
- "The Vonnegut Encyclopedia: An Authorized Compendum" (Marc Leeds)
- --with a foreword by Kurt Vonnegut
- "The Vonnegut Statement" (Klinkowitz & Somer, Eds.)
-
- Also:
-
- "Justly Proud: A German American Family in Indiana" (Beverly Raffensperger
- Fauvre) -- about the old Indianapolis of the Vonneguts. Kurt
- Vonnegut contributed some material. It was due to be released on
- October 7, 1995.
-
-
- 15. Have any bands been influenced by Vonnegut's writing?
-
- Yes. Plenty of them. We keep getting posts to the group about various
- artists who use Vonnegut characters (and other Vonnegutian nouns) as names
- and/or song titles. Here's the list so far:
-
- The Karabekians (Netherlands)
- Billy Pilgrim
- Kilgore Trout
- The Nixons do a song called "Foma."
- Guitarist Joe Satriani does a song called "Ice Nine" (On his album
- "Dreaming #11.")
- The Grateful Dead publishes their music under their own company,
- "Ice Nine Music." They also used to own the movie rights for
- "Sirens of Titan" before KV recently bought them back.
-
- There is also a band called Deadeye Dick, and Ben Colmery
- (barb.colmery@umich.edu) reports that he heard Casey Kasem specifically
- say that they drew their name from the Vonnegut novel of the same name.
-
- Finally, English folksinger Al Stewart wrote a song called "Sirens of
- Titan" in 1975. Here are the lyrics, courtesy of Peter Wieriks
- (peterwie@knoware.nl):
-
- Sirens of Titan
-
- I was drawn by the sirens of Titan
- Carried along by their call
- Seeking for a way to enlighten
- Searching for the sense of it all
- Like a kiss on the wind I was thrown to the stars
- Captured and ordered in the army of Mars
- Marching to the sound of the drum in my head
- I followed the call
-
- Only to be Malachi Constant
- I thought I came to this earth
- Living in the heart of the moment
- With the riches I gained at my birth
- But here in the yellow and blue of my days
- I wander the endless Mercurian caves
- Watching for the signs the harmoniums make
- The words on the walls
-
- I was drawn by the sirens of Titan
- And so I came in the end
- Under the shadow of Saturn
- With statues and birds from my friends
- Finding a home in the end of my days
- Looking around I've only to say
- I was a victim of a series of accidents
- As are we all
-
- "I adored Kurt Vonnegut, and Slaughterhouse Five and Sirens of Titan are
- his best books, so I just decided to put Sirens into a song. The line 'I
- was a victim of a series of accidents' comes from the book." -sleeve
- notes from Al Stewart on 1992 CD reissue.
-
-
- 16. Where's the "flying fuck" quote from?
-
- A favorite quote among at least a faction of the newsgroup readership,
- the quote is thought to have originated in "Slapstick" (1976.) It
- appears numerous times in that book, and actually becomes a bit of a
- plot point. The quote is "why don't you take a flying fuck at a rolling
- doughnut? Why don't you take a flying fuck at the mooooooooooooon?"
- (pp 163, among others.) But it was also found (by Kevin Brophy
- (kevinb@drk.com) in "Slaughterhouse-Five." "'Go take a flying fuck at a
- rolling doughnut,' murmered Paul Lazzaro in his azure nest. 'Go take a
- flying fuck at the moon.'" (pp 147) This is the earliest known
- appearance of the quote to date.
-
-
- 17. Have any movies been made from his books?
-
- Perhaps the best one (according to almost everyone including Kurt) was
- George Roy Hill's 1972 "Slaughterhouse Five." The 1984 Jerry Lewis /
- Madeline Kahn film "Slapstick (Of Another Kind)" is widely regarded as
- just plain terrible. Displaced Person (DP) is a short film that I
- haven't been able to get any info about. Glenn saw it some years ago,
- and reports that it was pretty good. The 1971 "Happy Birthday, Wanda
- June," is a film that Vonnegut doesn't like at all; he even tried to have
- his name removed from it. As he writes in "Palm Sunday," "This proved to
- be impossible, however. I alone had done the thing the credits said I
- had done. I had really written the thing." (chap 18, pp 311) Finally,
- "Mother Night" is new from Fine Line Features, due out on November 8th,
- 1996. Read about it in question #18 -- "Isn't there a new movie coming
- out based on 'Mother Night'?"
-
- For TV movies, there was the 1972 "Between Time and Timbuktu" which was
- done by PBS, and also a pair of movies made by Showtime at some point:
- "Who am I this time?" starring Susan Sarandon and Christopher Walken, and
- "Harrison Bergeron," starring Sean Astin and Christopher Plummer. I have
- seen these in video rental stores in the USA; they are both very good and
- worth seeing, even with "Harrison Bergeron" being quite expanded with only
- very basic and thematic resemblance to the short story.
-
- Showtime also breifly had a science-fiction series called "Kurt Vonnegut's
- Monkey House" made up of 25 minute episode adaptions of various Vonnegut
- short stories, and this even included introductions by Kurt himself. I'm
- told there is one more Showtime tape containing four of these stories:
- "All the King's Horses," "Next Door," "The Euphio Question," and
- "Fortitude," and additional stories adapted in the series include "More
- Stately Mansions" with Madeline Kahn, "EPICAC," with Alley Sheedy, and
- "The Foster Portfolio." If anybody has any more concrete info about
- these or any other Vonnegut related movies, please email me.
-
- For more info about some of these KV movies, be sure to check out the KV
- info at the Internet Movie Database.
- <http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Vonnegut+Jr.,+Kurt>
- Maybe some of our loyal readers can fill in some of the blanks they have
- with even more specific info about these movies.
-
-
- 18. Isn't there a new movie coming out based on "Mother Night"?
-
- Yes! It's true! It is distributed by Fine Line Features, and is
- scheduled to open on November 8th, 1996. "Mother Night" is directed
- by Keith Gordon, and the screenplay is by Robert Weide, who posts to
- the newsgroup from time to time. The main cast is as follows:
-
- Nick Nolte .... Howard Campbell
- Sheryl Lee .... Helga Noth
- John Goodman .... Wirtanen
- Alan Arkin .... Kraft
- David Straitharn .... O'Hare
- Kirsten Dunst .... young Resi Noth
-
- You can read about it at the Fine Line Features web page, which has
- a plot summary and a picture. <http://www.flf.com/scr2scn/mother.htm>
-
- Bob Weide is now working on a documentary on Kurt Vonnegut which he
- hopes will be on PBS in a year or so and needs funds, and is also adapting
- "The Sirens of Titan" for the screen as well, at the request of Vonnegut.
- I for one can't wait for the new movie, and hope that these other
- projects also proceed unfettered.
-
-
- 19. Has Vonnegut been in any movies?
-
- He appears for approximately five seconds in "Back To School" starring
- Rodney Dangerfield. He delivers an essay about himself that Dangerfield
- paid him to write. The essay is later graded 'F,' because "whomever
- wrote this obviously knew *nothing* about Vonnegut!" (paraphrase)
-
- Bob Weide also reports that Vonnegut does make a cameo appearance in the
- new "Mother Night" movie! For more on "Mother Night," again, see
- question #18 above.
-
-
- 20. Are there any web sites about Vonnegut?
-
- Boy, are we glad you asked! Check them out:
-
- Kevin Boon's Kurt Vonnegut Home Page has been growing steadily - lots of
- jpegs and some other neat stuff.
- <http://www.cas.usf.edu/english/boon/vonnegut/kv.html>
-
- Robert Daeley also has a thorough collection of material on Kurt, as
- well as many other authors in his authors database.
- <http://www.empirenet.com/~rdaeley/authors/vonnegut.html>
-
- The Michigan State University Celebrity Lecture Series includes an
- internet presence, and they have an image, a sound file, and a brief
- story about the lecture Vonnegut gave there in 1992.
- <http://web.msu.edu/lecture/vonnegut.html>
-
- Eric Scheur's page houses the text of two of Vonnegut's short stories,
- and the full storybook (text and pictures) from KV's children's
- book "Sun, Moon, Star."
- <http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~eds>
-
- The Internet Movie Database has movie info on Kurt Vonnegut, peruse it at
- <http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Vonnegut+Jr.,+Kurt>
-
- The Indiana Historical Society houses a "Kurt Vonnegut and
- Slaughterhouse-Five" essay.
- <http://www.spcc.com/ihsw/kv.htm>
-
- Brian Rodriguez has a Vonnegut page with all the links, including a
- link to the Vonnegut newsgroup, and answers to a few questions not on
- this FAQ. (yet! :-) )
- <http://sunsite.unc.edu/brian/vonnegut.html
-
- Marek Vit also has some interesting things, including some essay's he's
- written, and some favorite quotes.
- <http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/4953/vonn.html>
-
- Finally, of course, you all must know about the usenet newsgroup
- alt.books.kurt-vonnegut!
-
-
- 21. What has been the funniest post to a.b.k-v to date?
-
- Well, IMHO, it was this one, from Corddry (corddry@aol.com):
-
- > Does anybody recognize this quote from a Vonnegut novel?
- >
- > "Go take a flying fuck at a rolling Karass! Go take a flying fuck at
- > the Dupraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas!"
- >
- > I think it was in a book called "Venus in the Half-Shell" by a guy named
- > Kilgore Trout which is actually Steven King's first pen name under which
- > he published "The Body" which was made into a great movie called
- > "Slaughterhouse Five", starring Karen Black, Bruce Davidson, and a man
- > called Rory.
-
- Then again, I suppose I could be wrong. :-)
-
- That's it for now. If there is any information that you feel should be in
- here, or if you think something is wrong or out of date, please email me at
- geocool@blarg.net
- Any and all information and/or suggestions for improvement will be welcomed!
-
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Maintained by George A Cooley (geocool@blarg.net, geocool@mit.edu)
-
- --
-
-