Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr.

Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr.
born Nov. 11, 1922, Indianapolis, Ind., U.S.

U.S. novelist.

He attended Cornell University and the University of Chicago. Captured by the Germans during World War II, he also survived the Allied firebombing of Dresden, an experience he made part of his novel Slaughterhouse-Five (1969; film, 1972). His pessimistic and satirical novels use fantasy and science fiction to highlight the horrors and ironies of 20th-century civilization. They include Player Piano (1952), Cat's Cradle (1963), Breakfast of Champions (1973), Galápagos (1985), and Timequake (1997). He also wrote plays and collections of short stories.

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▪ 2008
 American novelist
born Nov. 11, 1922 , Indianapolis, Ind.

died April 11, 2007, New York, N.Y.
was noted for his pessimistic and satiric novels that used fantasy and science fiction to highlight the horrors and ironies of 20th-century civilization. Vonnegut studied at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., before serving in the U.S. Air Force in World War II. Captured by the Germans, he was one of the survivors of the fire bombing of Dresden, Ger., in February 1945. After the war he studied anthropology at the University of Chicago. In the late 1940s he worked as a reporter and as a public relations writer. Vonnegut's first novel, Player Piano (1952), visualized a completely mechanized and automated society whose dehumanizing effects are unsuccessfully resisted by the scientists and workers in a New York factory town. The Sirens of Titan (1959) was a quasi-science-fiction novel in which the entire history of the human race is considered an accident attendant on an alien planet's search for a spare part for a spaceship. In Cat's Cradle (1963), some Caribbean islanders adopt a new religion consisting of harmless trivialities in response to an unforeseen scientific discovery that eventually destroys all life on Earth. In Slaughterhouse-Five; or, The Children's Crusade (1969), Vonnegut drew on his Dresden experience; the book used that bombing raid as a symbol of the cruelty and destructiveness of war down through the centuries. Vonnegut also wrote several plays, including Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1970); several works of nonfiction; and several collections of short stories, chief among which was Welcome to the Monkey House (1968). His other novels included Mother Night (1961), God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965), Breakfast of Champions (1973), Slapstick (1976), Jailbird (1979), Deadeye Dick (1983), Galápagos (1985), Bluebeard (1987), Hocus Pocus (1990), and Timequake (1997). In 2005 he published A Man Without a Country, a collection of essays and speeches.

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▪ American novelist
born Nov. 11, 1922, Indianapolis, Ind., U.S.
died April 11, 2007, New York, N.Y.

      American novelist noted for his pessimistic and satirical novels that use fantasy and science fiction to highlight the horrors and ironies of 20th-century civilization.

      Vonnegut studied at Cornell University before serving in the U.S. Air Force in World War II. Captured by the Germans, he was one of the survivors of the fire bombing of Dresden, Ger., in February 1945. After the war he studied anthropology at the University of Chicago. In the late 1940s he worked as a reporter and as a public relations writer.

      Vonnegut's first novel, Player Piano (1952), visualizes a completely mechanized and automated society whose dehumanizing effects are unsuccessfully resisted by the scientists and workers in a New York factory town. The Sirens of Titan (1959) is a quasi-science-fiction novel in which the entire history of the human race is considered an accident attendant on an alien planet's search for a spare part for a spaceship. In Cat's Cradle (1963), some Caribbean islanders adopt a new religion consisting of harmless trivialities in response to an unforeseen scientific discovery that eventually destroys all life on Earth. In Slaughterhouse-Five; or, The Children's Crusade (1969), Vonnegut drew on his Dresden experience; the book uses that bombing raid as a symbol of the cruelty and destructiveness of war down through the centuries.

      Vonnegut also wrote several plays, including Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1970); several works of nonfiction; and several collections of short stories, chief among which was Welcome to the Monkey House (1968). His other novels include Mother Night (1961), God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965), Breakfast of Champions (1973), Slapstick (1976), Jailbird (1979), Deadeye Dick (1983), Galápagos (1985), Bluebeard (1987), Hocus Pocus (1990), and Timequake (1997). In 2005 he published A Man Without a Country, a collection of essays and speeches.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Vonnegut, Kurt,Jr. — Von·ne·gut (vŏnʹĭ gət), Kurt, Jr. Born 1922. American writer whose works show compassion and humor in the midst of the violence and alienation of modern life. His novels include Cat s Cradle (1963) and Slaughterhouse Five (1969). * * * …   Universalium

  • Vonnegut, Kurt — ► (n. 1922) Novelista estadounidense. En su obra narrativa presenta una visión desmitificadora de su país. Autor de La pianola (1952) …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr. — (n. 1922, Indianapolis, Ind., EE.UU.). Novelista estadounidense. Estudió en la Universidad de Cornell y en la Universidad de Chicago. Fue capturado por los alemanes durante la segunda guerra mundial y sobrevivió al bombardeo aliado de Dresden,… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Vonnegut, Kurt —  (1922–2007) American novelist …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

  • Vonnegut, Kurt —    см. Воннегут, Курт …   Писатели США. Краткие творческие биографии

  • Vonnegut — Vonnegut, Kurt …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Kurt Vonnegut — Vonnegut redirects here. For other persons with the surname, see Vonnegut (surname). Kurt Vonnegut Vonnegut speaking in 2004 Born Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. November 11, 1922(1922 11 11) Indianapolis, Indiana, United States …   Wikipedia

  • Vonnegut — Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (* 11. November 1922 in Indianapolis; † 11. April 2007 in New York) war ein US amerikanischer Schriftsteller. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Künstlerisches Schaffen 3 Weltanschauung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Kurt — /kerrt/, n. a male given name. * * * (as used in expressions) Cobain Kurt Eisner Kurt Gödel Kurt Jooss Kurt Lewin Kurt Schleicher Kurt von Schuschnigg Kurt von Schwitters Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Jr. Waldheim Kurt Weill Kurt Julian * * * …   Universalium

  • Kurt — (as used in expressions) Cobain, Kurt Eisner, Kurt Gödel, Kurt Jooss, Kurt Lewin, Kurt Schleicher, Kurt von Schuschnigg, Kurt von Schwitters, Kurt …   Enciclopedia Universal

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