Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
I keep
meaning to read more Kurt Vonnegut, sitelinkSlaughterhouse Five somehow did not have the transcendent effect on me it has on so many other reader.
But this collection of graduation speeches Vonnegut made in his later years, as an oftinvited speaker, paints a picture of a warm human being with gentle humor and some degree of selfdepreciating wisdom.
He was president of the Humanitarian Society, one of those squishy liberals who vex Christians so much by actually believing in all the stuff Jesus said without believing in Jesus.
Affectionate toward his country, while also disgusted as hell, Vonnegut was a man who saw Dresden burn in World War II, and then watched Korea and Viet Nam and the Cold War happen.
His speeches are full of warmth and humanity and jokes that range from funny to canned, This collection, If This Isn't Nice, What Is, was a free download from Audible, Since it collects several of his speeches, you can hear him repeating themes, even lines, but a fairly full picture of his philosophy emerges.
He was a great guy, It would have been an honor to meet him, This collection has no truly brilliant gems of wisdom or scintillating oneliners, but it's certainly worth having for any Vonnegut fan, and worth listening to if you have any interest in the man at all.
it just seems I want everything, If This Isn't Nice, What Is: Advice for the Young is an edited collection of commencement speeches Vonnegut gave basically in the last decade of his life.
Here are a few takeouts:
“We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.
”
“Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heavens sake.
Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. ”
“I apologize now, I apologize because of the terrible mess the planet is in, But it has always been a mess, There have never been any “Good Old Days,” there have just been days, And as I say to my grandchildren, “Dont look at me, I just got here myself, ” So you know what Im going to do I declare everybody here a member of Generation A, Tomorrow is another day for all of us, ”
You definitely get a sense of Vonnegut's humanism and his personality in these and other snippets from his speeches.
The collection offers both real advice and a way of getting to know what's important to Vonnegut, If you are a Vonnegut fan, you will enjoy!
And here I am a few years ago talking with the editor of this collection and writer, Dan Wakefield, about Kurt Vonnegut! Great guy and great conversation!!
Capisco le rimostranze di chi lo ha letto e lo ha trovato ripetitivo.
Quest'opera è infatti una raccolta didiscorsi tenuti da Vonnegut in altrettante università americane che non sono stati scritti con l'intento di farne un libro.
Il canovaccio da cui trae ispirazione è quasi sempre lo stesso, così come i vari aneddoti e le battute di spirito.
Se Vonnegut avesse saputo di questa trovata editoriale sarebbe stato di sicuro più vario!
Resta comunque una lettura fondamentale per capire ulteriori sfaccettature del pensiero di uno degli scrittori più importanti della letteratura americana contemporanea.
È una lettura sotto molti aspetti illuminante ma che consiglio solo dopo aver letto almeno un paio dei suoi romanzi per contestualizzarla al meglio.
When something is good and funny and witty enough, repetition is welcome but maybe don't read all of the speeches in a row give them a little time to air.
Herein lies a collection of nine commencement speeches by Kurt Vonnegut, delivered at various academic institutions between approximatelyand.
“We had a memorial service for Isaac Asimov a few years back and at one point I said, ''Isaac is up in Heaven now.
'' It was the funniest thing I could have said to a group of Humanists, I rolled them in the aisles, It was several minutes before order could be restored, And if I should ever die, God forbid, I hope you will say, ''Kurt is up in Heaven now.
'' Thats my favorite joke, "
When my youngest son graduated from Williams College some eight or nine years ago, we were treated to a group of commencement speakers that completely blew my mind.
Among those addressing his graduating class were author/historian Stacy Schiff, singer/songwriter Annie Lennox, and tennis legend Billie Jean King.
Commencement addresses can sometimes be a crap shoot, There are those that are academically inspirational see Stacy Schiff, those that are artistically beautiful see Annie Lennox, and those that are incredibly fun and entertaining see Billie Jean King.
There are also, on rare occasion, those that are all of the above see Kurt Vonnegut,
“Being merciful, it seems to me, is the only good idea we have had so far, Perhaps we will get another good idea by and byand then we will have two good ideas, ”
I wish desperately that he were still with us, but Kurt is up in Heaven now,
He was right, that does make me laugh Di solito mi tengo alla larga da queste raccolte posticce.
Però con Vonnegut si può fare uneccezione,
Per me è un classico libro da bagno, Ti siedi lì, apri a caso e leggi,
Un po sorridi e un po rifletti, E intanto fai le cose tue,
Il mio errore probabilmente è stato di leggerlo tutto dun fiato e alla fine risulta forse un po ripetitivo e troppo “sognante”.
Comunque ci sono un sacco di pezzi che potreste rigiocarvi ed è già un buon motivo per darci più di un occhio.
/
Le donne vogliono un sacco di persone con cui parlare, Di cosa vogliono parlare Vogliono parlare di tutto,
Gli uomini vogliono un sacco di amici e non vogliono che ci si arrabbi con loro, ” O que é que um não licenciado tem para oferecer a finalistas universitários Conselhos humanistas alguns hilariantes, outros cruéis, mas todos eles revestidos por uma deliciosa ironia.
Obra que reúne um conjunto de discursos que Kurt Vonnegut deu para finalistas universitários, durante as suas graduações.
“O meu pai era louco por armas, como Ernest Hemingway, principalmente para provar que não era efeminado, isto apesar de ser arquitecto e pintor.
Não se embebedava nem abatia pessoas, Bastavalhe disparar contra animais. ”
I can't say enough good things about Kurt Vonnegut, Since this is a collection of his graduation speeches, I went to YouTube first to rewatch some of his interviews and recorded presentations to hear his voice and prime my brain with an idea of his delivery, his intonation, his vocal tics and pauses and throatclearings, his grandfatherly warmth.
Here's the best of the bunch though who knows if the link will still point anywhere by the time you read this: "sitelinkKurt Vonnegut on the Shapes of Stories"
Here's another grand one though it cuts off too abruptly at the end, a sitelinkinterview with PBS, which kicks off with "Q: How's life A: Well, it's practically over, thank god!" and veers into the political realm, showing kindness and optimism but also sadness and a touch of anger all the qualities we identify in Vonnegut's strongest writing.
As for this book Dan Wakefield presents a helpful introduction to provide some context, and Vonnegut's own words are, of course, insightful, inspiring, wistful, and funny.
It's nice. But you probably expected that already, Every speech in here contains astar idea, When you read them all together, you will see some repetition, But only a damn fool would say repeating astar idea lessens its value, Vonnegut was not a damn fool, An old fool, sure, but that's only to be expected,
out of, Τι ατομάρα ήταν αυτός ο Βόννεγκατ δεν ήξερα, τώρα όμως, διαβάζοντας αυτό το απολαυστικότατο βιβλιαράκι, έμαθα. Πολλά και σημαντικά θέματα ακουμπάει στις ομιλίες του αυτές απέναντι σε νέους που αποφοιτούν και είναι έτοιμοι να ριχτούν στην αδιαμφισβήτητα σκληρή ζωή, με έναν τρόπο που μόνο ένας ευφυής άνθρωπος θα το έκανε. Τρολλάρει και λέει τα πράγματα ακριβώς όπως είναι, παραθέτει τις απόψεις του με την υπογραφή μιας ιδιαίτερης ιδιοσυγκρασίας, λέγοντας πολλά αυτονόητα που καλό είναι να αρχίσουμε να τα παίρνουμε μέσα μας να τα κάνουμε πράξη, γιατί απλώς η ζωή είναι καλύτερη έτσι. Μου φάνηκαν πολύ ενδιαφέρουσες οι απόψεις του για τις "ελλείψεις" μιας μικρής οικογένειας σε αντίθεση με τη δυναμική ιας διευρυμένης οικογένειαςκοινότητας. Αισιοδοξία είναι η λέξη που μου αντηχεί στο κλείσιμο του βιβλίου. Συνάνθρωπε, όταν σου συμβαίνει κάτι καλό, συνειδητοποίησέ το εκείνη τη στιγμή και πες στον εαυτό σου και στον δίπλα σου: "Αν αυτό δεν είναι ωραίο, τότε τι είναι" Και προσωπικά μέσα μου πιστεύω πως αυτό είναι κολλητικό και άρα αθροιστικά μόνο καλό μπορεί να φέρει σε μένα, σε σένα, σε ολόκληρη την κοινωνία.
Πήρα μια γεύση από τον συγγραφέα, ωστόσο θα πάρω μια μεγαλύτερη με την κυρίως βιβλιογραφία του μου φαίνεται. .
of the funniest stories I ever learned about Kurt Vonnegut was what he said as a eulogy to science fiction writer Isaac Asimov.
At Asimovs funeral, to the assembled guests, Vonnegut began his address with these words: “Well, hes in heaven now.
” Vonnegut recalls that the mourners broke up in laughter, It was so humorous because Asimov was an outspoken atheist, This anecdote is vintage Kurt, satirizing anything and everything and at the most ironic times,
If This Isnt Nice What Is is a collection of speeches Vonnegut delivered to graduating classes and other pep talks.
After becoming a best selling and famous writer, Vonnegut also became a well sought after speaker, Like the best of Vonneguts writing, these essays are so enjoyable because they are playful and profound at the same time.
Like Asimov, Vonnegut was a humanist as well, but unlike Asimov and so many others, he was not a virulent, in your face atheist, who displays as much zeal in denouncing God as many believers do trying to win converts.
Vonnegut invited people to listen to Jesus kind and gentle words and to go to church, He was all about community and living together peacefully and these speeches are wonderful reminders about the best of what he had to say.
“And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, 'If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.
”
I keep
meaning to read more Kurt Vonnegut, sitelinkSlaughterhouse Five somehow did not have the transcendent effect on me it has on so many other reader.
But this collection of graduation speeches Vonnegut made in his later years, as an oftinvited speaker, paints a picture of a warm human being with gentle humor and some degree of selfdepreciating wisdom.
He was president of the Humanitarian Society, one of those squishy liberals who vex Christians so much by actually believing in all the stuff Jesus said without believing in Jesus.
“. As children we were taught to memorize this year with pride and joy as the year people began living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America.
Actually, people had been living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America for hundreds of years before that.
was simply the year sea pirates began to rob, cheat, and kill them, ”
Affectionate toward his country, while also disgusted as hell, Vonnegut was a man who saw Dresden burn in World War II, and then watched Korea and Viet Nam and the Cold War happen.
His speeches are full of warmth and humanity and jokes that range from funny to canned, This collection, If This Isn't Nice, What Is, was a free download from Audible, Since it collects several of his speeches, you can hear him repeating themes, even lines, but a fairly full picture of his philosophy emerges.
“If you want to really hurt your parents, and you don't have the nerve to be gay, the least you can do is go into the arts.
I'm not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living, They are a very human way of making life more bearable, Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake.
Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem, Do it as well as you possible can, You will get an enormous reward, You will have created something, ”
He was a great guy, It would have been an honor to meet him, This collection has no truly brilliant gems of wisdom or scintillating oneliners, but it's certainly worth having for any Vonnegut fan, and worth listening to if you have any interest in the man at all.
“True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.I wish I could watch these lectures, Would have loved to have Kurt Vonnegut as a commencement speaker! I have no basis for complaint Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke at my graduation and was a fantastic speaker.
”
it just seems I want everything, If This Isn't Nice, What Is: Advice for the Young is an edited collection of commencement speeches Vonnegut gave basically in the last decade of his life.
Here are a few takeouts:
“We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.
”
“Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heavens sake.
Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. ”
“I apologize now, I apologize because of the terrible mess the planet is in, But it has always been a mess, There have never been any “Good Old Days,” there have just been days, And as I say to my grandchildren, “Dont look at me, I just got here myself, ” So you know what Im going to do I declare everybody here a member of Generation A, Tomorrow is another day for all of us, ”
You definitely get a sense of Vonnegut's humanism and his personality in these and other snippets from his speeches.
The collection offers both real advice and a way of getting to know what's important to Vonnegut, If you are a Vonnegut fan, you will enjoy!
And here I am a few years ago talking with the editor of this collection and writer, Dan Wakefield, about Kurt Vonnegut! Great guy and great conversation!!
Capisco le rimostranze di chi lo ha letto e lo ha trovato ripetitivo.
Quest'opera è infatti una raccolta didiscorsi tenuti da Vonnegut in altrettante università americane che non sono stati scritti con l'intento di farne un libro.
Il canovaccio da cui trae ispirazione è quasi sempre lo stesso, così come i vari aneddoti e le battute di spirito.
Se Vonnegut avesse saputo di questa trovata editoriale sarebbe stato di sicuro più vario!
Resta comunque una lettura fondamentale per capire ulteriori sfaccettature del pensiero di uno degli scrittori più importanti della letteratura americana contemporanea.
È una lettura sotto molti aspetti illuminante ma che consiglio solo dopo aver letto almeno un paio dei suoi romanzi per contestualizzarla al meglio.
"And that tiny part of the population which appreciates the arts is well taken care of, is often appalled by how much good stuff there is to read and see and listen to.Despite the repetition in these speeches across the collection, and in my case, the repetition that came from having just read A Man Without a Countryquite a bit of which overlaps, sometimes verbatim, with the speeches included herethings did not become tedious.
We have plenty of art in America, It is social justice which is in gruesomely short supply, "
When something is good and funny and witty enough, repetition is welcome but maybe don't read all of the speeches in a row give them a little time to air.
Herein lies a collection of nine commencement speeches by Kurt Vonnegut, delivered at various academic institutions between approximatelyand.
“We had a memorial service for Isaac Asimov a few years back and at one point I said, ''Isaac is up in Heaven now.
'' It was the funniest thing I could have said to a group of Humanists, I rolled them in the aisles, It was several minutes before order could be restored, And if I should ever die, God forbid, I hope you will say, ''Kurt is up in Heaven now.
'' Thats my favorite joke, "
When my youngest son graduated from Williams College some eight or nine years ago, we were treated to a group of commencement speakers that completely blew my mind.
Among those addressing his graduating class were author/historian Stacy Schiff, singer/songwriter Annie Lennox, and tennis legend Billie Jean King.
Commencement addresses can sometimes be a crap shoot, There are those that are academically inspirational see Stacy Schiff, those that are artistically beautiful see Annie Lennox, and those that are incredibly fun and entertaining see Billie Jean King.
There are also, on rare occasion, those that are all of the above see Kurt Vonnegut,
“Being merciful, it seems to me, is the only good idea we have had so far, Perhaps we will get another good idea by and byand then we will have two good ideas, ”
I wish desperately that he were still with us, but Kurt is up in Heaven now,
He was right, that does make me laugh Di solito mi tengo alla larga da queste raccolte posticce.
Però con Vonnegut si può fare uneccezione,
Per me è un classico libro da bagno, Ti siedi lì, apri a caso e leggi,
Un po sorridi e un po rifletti, E intanto fai le cose tue,
Il mio errore probabilmente è stato di leggerlo tutto dun fiato e alla fine risulta forse un po ripetitivo e troppo “sognante”.
Comunque ci sono un sacco di pezzi che potreste rigiocarvi ed è già un buon motivo per darci più di un occhio.
/
Le donne vogliono un sacco di persone con cui parlare, Di cosa vogliono parlare Vogliono parlare di tutto,
Gli uomini vogliono un sacco di amici e non vogliono che ci si arrabbi con loro, ” O que é que um não licenciado tem para oferecer a finalistas universitários Conselhos humanistas alguns hilariantes, outros cruéis, mas todos eles revestidos por uma deliciosa ironia.
Obra que reúne um conjunto de discursos que Kurt Vonnegut deu para finalistas universitários, durante as suas graduações.
“O meu pai era louco por armas, como Ernest Hemingway, principalmente para provar que não era efeminado, isto apesar de ser arquitecto e pintor.
Não se embebedava nem abatia pessoas, Bastavalhe disparar contra animais. ”
I can't say enough good things about Kurt Vonnegut, Since this is a collection of his graduation speeches, I went to YouTube first to rewatch some of his interviews and recorded presentations to hear his voice and prime my brain with an idea of his delivery, his intonation, his vocal tics and pauses and throatclearings, his grandfatherly warmth.
Here's the best of the bunch though who knows if the link will still point anywhere by the time you read this: "sitelinkKurt Vonnegut on the Shapes of Stories"
Here's another grand one though it cuts off too abruptly at the end, a sitelinkinterview with PBS, which kicks off with "Q: How's life A: Well, it's practically over, thank god!" and veers into the political realm, showing kindness and optimism but also sadness and a touch of anger all the qualities we identify in Vonnegut's strongest writing.
As for this book Dan Wakefield presents a helpful introduction to provide some context, and Vonnegut's own words are, of course, insightful, inspiring, wistful, and funny.
It's nice. But you probably expected that already, Every speech in here contains astar idea, When you read them all together, you will see some repetition, But only a damn fool would say repeating astar idea lessens its value, Vonnegut was not a damn fool, An old fool, sure, but that's only to be expected,
out of, Τι ατομάρα ήταν αυτός ο Βόννεγκατ δεν ήξερα, τώρα όμως, διαβάζοντας αυτό το απολαυστικότατο βιβλιαράκι, έμαθα. Πολλά και σημαντικά θέματα ακουμπάει στις ομιλίες του αυτές απέναντι σε νέους που αποφοιτούν και είναι έτοιμοι να ριχτούν στην αδιαμφισβήτητα σκληρή ζωή, με έναν τρόπο που μόνο ένας ευφυής άνθρωπος θα το έκανε. Τρολλάρει και λέει τα πράγματα ακριβώς όπως είναι, παραθέτει τις απόψεις του με την υπογραφή μιας ιδιαίτερης ιδιοσυγκρασίας, λέγοντας πολλά αυτονόητα που καλό είναι να αρχίσουμε να τα παίρνουμε μέσα μας να τα κάνουμε πράξη, γιατί απλώς η ζωή είναι καλύτερη έτσι. Μου φάνηκαν πολύ ενδιαφέρουσες οι απόψεις του για τις "ελλείψεις" μιας μικρής οικογένειας σε αντίθεση με τη δυναμική ιας διευρυμένης οικογένειαςκοινότητας. Αισιοδοξία είναι η λέξη που μου αντηχεί στο κλείσιμο του βιβλίου. Συνάνθρωπε, όταν σου συμβαίνει κάτι καλό, συνειδητοποίησέ το εκείνη τη στιγμή και πες στον εαυτό σου και στον δίπλα σου: "Αν αυτό δεν είναι ωραίο, τότε τι είναι" Και προσωπικά μέσα μου πιστεύω πως αυτό είναι κολλητικό και άρα αθροιστικά μόνο καλό μπορεί να φέρει σε μένα, σε σένα, σε ολόκληρη την κοινωνία.
Πήρα μια γεύση από τον συγγραφέα, ωστόσο θα πάρω μια μεγαλύτερη με την κυρίως βιβλιογραφία του μου φαίνεται. .