Reading Kurt Vonnegut's latest work makes one thing clear. Vonnegut believes the title is self-descriptive.
Reading Kurt Vonnegut's latest work, A Man Without A Country, makes one thing clear. Vonnegut believes the title is self-descriptive.…
"A sinister cabal of superior writers."
Article comments
76 - Herbert Foster
It is not surprising that such a poorly written review--full of grammatical and typographical errors (not to mention the reviewer's seeming lack of familiarity with much of Vonnegut's work)--has spawned such a useless pseudo-debate on "patriotism" and the value of Vonnegut's writing.
Simply by being a writer of conscience, Mr. Vonnegut has done more to make this world a better place than 1,000 "Paul Lazzaros" (an apt psuedonym, by the way). Admirers of Vonnegut--or reviewer Gebhardt, if there are any--have made the mistake of allowing themselves to be distracted by a few people frothing at the militaristic bit. Even cursory attention to the few "facts" these individuals come up with reveals them as up to their ears in baloney.
I am looking forward to this new work of Vonnegut, no thanks to this review. I recently finished Timequake, which is stellar. I strongly recommend Jailbird to our authoritarian, love-it-or-leave-it bogus patriots; maybe it'll work some magic.
Ting-a-ling, you s.o.b.'s.
77 - Texas Craig T
I bet that made you feel good Herbie. Big man on campus?
Dust off that corduroy blazer! You're ready to brush shoulders with the literati! Let's burst into a round of "Fair Harvard!" Herb knows the words.
Ting-a-ling, Hi ho, Poo-tee-weet...The Excrement has hit the air conditioner.
To give you an idea of my maturity, here is a picture of my friend Herbert Foster.
*
Stellar Herbie! Thanks for taking the bait. You're a real sport.
I'll see you under the Banyan tree. You can show the way to enlightenment. Then, we'll rid the world of these pseudo-intellectuals p.d.q. (how clever, the letters mean words!)
78 - Padraig
Thank you PONZU for the advice, I shall certainly keep it in mind! I went to a bookshop two days ago to try to find the latest K. Vonnegut book; they didn't have it in yet. (I live in Paris, France, so things are a little slower over here for newly-released English-language books). However, I looked at some of the K.Vonnegut books thay do have in their collection and flicked through them. I have to admit I wasn't too pleased with the style of writing, but maybe it's an acquired taste. Anyway from what I hear and what I am reading on this BLOG; it's more Vonnegut's ideas and sharp wit that make him famous (and indeed controversial) rather than his literary style.
These comments will seem very boring to most of the participants on this page as there seems to be a high degree of disagreement (even agression)as regards the value and message of K. Vonnegut's work. Is this good or bad? Well at least it's making me even more determined to read his works.
79 - Juan
Listen Dwayne, if you ever read this. You stated that it's so easy for the poor to come up in America if they have a drive and ambition. I absolutely agree with this. But who's giving them the drive? Who's letting them know that all these opportunities are available. It's so easy for you because you know you can't be the proper asshole that you can be without knowing a lot of information. You wont be open minded to this because you'v surrounded yourself by all these terms and words that you just throw out there to feed your ignorance. Additionally, you stated that you wouldn't mind if artists just vanished. Fine, that statement only makes you more of a prick like it really matters what you think. Life isn't just about serving the government it's about serving your government to enjoy your freedoms. Art for example is one of my freedoms without the stresses that other countries have to interfere with it.
And im not a leftist or whatever names you throw out. I am a young hispanic male who just wakes up and goes to work. I support this country and I try to educate myself as well as educate others, as we should be doing. Rambling online is nothing. If you really care about this country, go out there and fucking do something. Dwayne, you have too much time on your sweaty hands. Only if you could see how blatant your insecurities are. You are no real American a real American would tell you to shut the fuck up and get to work. Lead by example and stop complaining.
words words words....mean nothing.
I wont be surprised by whatever reply you give to this.
80 - Bill M.
"Fascist corporatism"? What the fuck is that, comrade?
It's redundant. Fascism is corporatism. If you'll recall the Maher show, Carlin said as much when he declared that the Nazis may have lost WW2, but fascism ultimately won. And he's right.
81 - Patrick
I read up until comment 35 and then stopped there in order to say a few words about this Dwayne fella. I just couldn't take anymore of his stereotypes and unjustified rabble babble about what he thinks is right from what he read in some garbage pushed out through the mind of the sickness that is this country. I imagine there isn't a day that goes by, Dwayne, in which you don't engage an argument on how somebody is wrong because their viewpoints differ from that of the burgeoise. Ths sort of guy who turns decent intellectual discussions into full fledged arguments, without any bearing on the facts, because that is how you have learned to cope with situations which are above your head, so to speak. I came here originally to comment on one of the greatest writers of our time, but you sir have led me astray because of the hatred you spew with such ease; that of an ignorant little rich boy who's experienced nothing outside of his "safety box" or "comfort zone." And if you're wondering why I would hypocricize myself by spitting out my own generalizations it's because of you and your silly greed headed antics displayed, arrogantly yet proudly, on this discussion board. I just hope to never meet another one of "you" as long as I live...although unfortunately that will not happen because people like you are parasites which populate this earth like maggots on a rotting carcass.
82 - Padraig
My goodness that last comment was a bit of a mouthful. I wouldn't like to be stuck between Dwane and Patrick at a political rally.
83 - Howard Roark, Architect
Dwayne, the only comment of yours that I am going to comment on is your attack on art. The rest of your longwinded commentary is of no consequence to those of us who actually take the time to formulate our own views and opinions instead of recycling the values of our peers and predecessors. You said:
"A majority of the artists in America are parasites and contribute nothing to how this country pursues its strategic military and commercial interests. Their status in society is WAY overvalued. If they vanished tomorrow I wouldn't miss them."
Tell me what the hell you know about art. You are a fool if you would defend individualism and spit in the face of self-expression. Military and commercial interests will always come second to an honest artist, as this is not the artist's area of expertise. One cannot master a trade if one spreads onesself too thin, and not everyone should dedicate their lives to political ambitions. There are a great many artists that contribute to the cultural evolution of the (most commonly) very few who are willing to listen. For instance: I am a musician. I work a long, hard hours to support myself and not be a drain on anyone else. I don't ask for handouts, and I don't expect a damned thing that isn't a given as being a citizen of the US of our government. I am most certainly NOT a parasite. As for my major contribution to society, I hope to increase the general public's understanding of human emotion and what is required to provide a better future for this country by writing music that champions the innovations of mankind and our ability to triumph over natural obstacles. My subject matter includes many of the same topics adressed by a part of the United States Department of Defense, called DARPA. I would say that indicates an interest in the strategic military and commercial gain of the US. And the rest of the world, for that matter.
Secondly, I don't think that art (at least real art) is valued at all by an overwhelming majority of America's citizens. Let's consider popular music... I mean in the adult world. The music being plugged by the media powers-that-be is trite, nonexpressive garbage like Harry Connick Jr. while there are musicians coming out of the woodworks these days, trying to put artistry back into the list of staples with which music first emerged in culture. Most are as yet unknown, and if they have gained any footholds in the media, they are small and likely fleeting. If you ask random people in a shopping mall in the average middle-class suburb(the middle-class composing most of our country) the last time a song affected their personality in an important way, most would stare at you blankly and then give you a confused and rather vague answer. If you asked them to name their favorite visual artist from the 90s, most couldn't give a single painter's name. And if they did, it would be (to reference Vonnegut's "Bluebeard" - just so that the this post has somthing to do with the rest of the thread, I guess) a sort of Dan Gregory type artist. As for poetry... it barely exists in this country. Obscurity is prized by the "higher" schools of thought, and cliche`s by the "lower". None of this is real poetry. It's derivative and phony and it leads to comments like the one that inspired this rebuttle. Show me where art exists in this country and I will consider your comment as to artists being overvalued. The more I mull that over, the more ridiculous it sounds. OVERvalued... friggin' ha.
I'll be pleased if you don't mention individualism again until you actually understand what the term means. The same goes for art. The freedoms given to us by our particular system of government entail a certain resposibility. If you aren't willing to take the effort to be somewhat objective and consider unfamiliar points of view (which is truly what art is all about), then you don't deserve the freedom this country gives you. Champion the cause all you want, but it's comments like yours that suggest to people like me that the human condition is what Vonnegut thinks it is. Perpetually hopeless and lonesome.
84 - kv
the show of humanity in this commentary is one of those horrors you've just got to laugh at * ( i hope you still can )