« For the Brisbanites |
Main
| Melbourne hello and links »
April 12, 2007
A hero, gone: Vonnegut
Some of you may know that my first post-graduate thesis was called 'Representations of Reality in the Fiction of Kurt Vonnegut: A post-modernist critique'. Yes it sounds extremely literary and it was, but it was essentially a model of reading reality as guided by the canon of Vonnegut's literature, arguing during the course of the dissertation that Vonnegut created a space for play which wasn't quite real, yet wasn't entirely fictional. He was a flawed writer in many respects, but his works assisted me in my engagement with the great literary theorists, from Baudrillard to Barthes. But now he's gone.
This is a rather poignant event for me. The first of my true academic subjects has gone. Vale Vonnegut. I will miss you.
Posted by jj at April 12, 2007 6:47 PM
Comments. Please PREVIEW your comment before submitting. This helps the server to save your entry.
Only ever engaged with Vonnegut as a commentator and essayist, in which capacity I admired him greatly. Cat's Cradle (his book about automation) has been on my list of to-read's for far too many years. Some advice for readers, please, on the best entry into Vonnegut's corpus. And isn't it rubbish when heroes die?
Posted by: soulboy at April 12, 2007 8:09 PM
JJ, just heard the news and thought of you immediately. Through your study of his work he was an important person in your personal development, and I know you had respect for him.
So it goes ...
Hugs
H x
Posted by: H at April 12, 2007 9:33 PM
*big hug to you both*
Thanks guys. It means a lot that you thought of me. xoxo
Posted by: jj at April 12, 2007 10:31 PM
Post a comment
Please PREVIEW posts before submitting. This helps my host server to save your comments.