Kurt Vonnegut Jr. foi um escritor estadunidense de ascendência germânica.
Concluída a formação em Química, alistou-se no exército e combateu na Segunda Guerra Mundial. Feito prisioneiro, presenciou o bombardeamento de Dresden. Após a Guerra, formou-se em Antropologia.
É autor de vários romances, ensaios e peças de teatro, entre os quais se destacam Player Piano de 1952, Cat’s Cradle de 1963, Slaughterhouse-Five de 1969, Breakfast of Champions de 1973 e Galápagos de 1985. Sua última obra foi Look at the Birdie de 2009, livro póstumo com uma coleção de contos e ensaios.
Vonnegut morreu em 11 de abril de 2007, semanas após uma queda em sua casa em Manhattan que resultou em graves complicações cerebrais.
“Humanista é uma pessoa com grande interesse pelos seres humanos. Meu cachorro é humanista.”
I have found that a humanist is a person who is tremendously interested in human beings. My dog is a humanist.
citado em "The Vonnegut encyclopedia: an authorized compendium" - Página 311, de Marc Leeds - Greenwood Press, 1995, ISBN 0313292302, 9780313292309 - 693 páginas
There in the cocktail lounge, peering out through my leaks at a world of my own invention, I mouthed this word: schizophrenia. The sound and appearance of the word had fascinated me for many years. It sounded and looked to me like a human being sneezing in a blizzard of soapflakes.
Breakfast of champions: or, Goodbye blue Monday! - Página 198, Kurt Vonnegut - Delacorte Press, 1973 - 295 páginas
“Esta provavelmente é a história da minha vida: falta de determinação suficiente.”
that's probably the story of my life: not enough determination.
Breakfast of champions: or, Goodbye blue Monday! - Página 110, Kurt Vonnegut - Delacorte Press, 1973 - 295 páginas
“We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different.”
A Man Without a Country (2005)
Paragraph 1 (p. 7 of Welcome to the Monkey House)
Welcome to the Monkey House (1968), "Harrison Bergeron" (1961)
“Ideas or the lack of them can cause disease.”
Breakfast of Champions (1973)
"Self-Interview", originally appeared in The Paris Review no. 69 (1977)
Palm Sunday (1981)
“No grown woman is a fan of premature ejaculation.”
"Mildred"
Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1970)
"Thoughts of a Free Thinker", commencement address, Hobart and William Smith Colleges (26 May 1974)
Palm Sunday (1981)
“Evolution is so creative. That's how we got giraffes.”
A Man Without a Country (2005)
“Peculiar Travel Suggestions are Dancing Lessons From God”
Cat's Cradle (1963)
Fonte: The Sirens of Titan (1959), Chapter 12 “The Gentleman from Tralfamadore” (p. 285)
Bennington College address (1970)
“He ransacked his memory like a thief going through another man’s billfold.”
Fonte: The Sirens of Titan (1959), Chapter 1 “Between Timid and Timbuktu” (p. 22)
Fonte: The Sirens of Titan (1959), Chapter 6 “A Deserter in Time of War” (p. 162)
Interview Public Radio International (October 2006)
Various interviews
“If facts weren't funny, or scary, or couldn't make you rich, the heck with them.”
Hocus Pocus (1990)
"Science Fiction"; originally published in The New York Times Book Review, 5 September 1965
Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons (1974)
“To be
the eyes
and ears
and conscience
of the Creator of the Universe,
you fool.”
Kilgore Trout's unwritten reply to the question "What is the purpose of life?"
Breakfast of Champions (1973)
As quoted in The Observer [London] (27 December 1987)
Various interviews
“Beer, of course, is actually a depressant. But poor people will never stop hoping otherwise.”
Hocus Pocus (1990)
On humans, interviewed by Jon Stewart, The Daily Show http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=18090&title=kurt-vonnegut/ (13 September 2005)
Various interviews
Paragraph 78 (p. 13 of Welcome to the Monkey House)
Welcome to the Monkey House (1968), "Harrison Bergeron" (1961)
“Pretend to be good always, and even God will be fooled.”
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
