Kurt Vonnegut Explains All of Literature in 6 Graphs
Kurt Vonnegut once said of his novel 'Slapstick,' "This is the closest I will ever come to writing an autobiography." For those keeping score, 'Slapstick' is about an incestuous pair of fraternal twins who live in the post-apocalypse...until one of them dies on Mars. Then he wrote 'Palm Sunday,' which, we argue, is a little more of an autobiography than 'Slapstick.'
No offense to Kurt or anything. He can believe whatever he wants to believe. It's just that this compendium of his speeches, an interview he does with himself and a deep-dive into his family history feels slightly more autobiography-ish than 'Slapstick.'
But you can be the judge. In this episode of 'Kurt Vonneguys,' Alex and Michael are live from The Last Bookstore in downtown Los Angeles to break down 'Palm Sunday,' take listener questions and somewhere in-between, Michael hurls a book at one unsuspecting Vonnefriend.
Sections:
Franken-Time! (00:03:00)
Story Time! (00:05:30)
Kurt Blurt! (00:50:10)
VonneART! (01:00:50)
VonneWHAT!? (01:10:45)
Vonnegrades! (01:30:15)
Related Reading (01:14:40)
Vonnefriends! (01:18:00)
Related Reading!
Article: io9: The Universal Shapes of Stories, According to Kurt Vonnegut
Full Text: Mark Twain: Life on the Mississippi
Book: Dave Eggers: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
