Thursday, April 12, 2007

RIP, Kurt Vonnegut


It's a sad day for the writing world. Kurt Vonnegut, author/satirist/social critic, passed away at the age of 84. Vonnegut is well-known for the depth of his work, including novels like Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse 5. LA Times both had excellent obituaries on this curmudgeonly genius.

Each semester, I teach Vonnegut's short story Harrison Bergeron, and I am always struck by how relevant it is today, despite being written decades ago. I'm lucky to have such a great piece of dystopian literature to share with my students.

2 Comments:

Jim Brock said...

Jessica:

I can tell you're hugely busy, but I appreciate your very apt acknowledgement of Vonnegut's death. And yes, yes, yes about "Harrison Bergerson."

Jessica said...

Thanks Jim -- busy-ness should decrease in two days... and I teach Harrison Bergeron on Thursday.