article about the late Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Unhappy Camper neh.gov
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| Kurt Vonnegut, 1990 — © Nancy Crampton |
excerpt
Vonnegut’s poetic rhythms serve as a clue to another cornerstone of his style: It’s written for the ear, and meant to be heard. The very first sentence of the new collection, “Call me Jonah,” from Cat’s Cradle, is an imperative, as is the first paragraph of the second chapter of Slaughterhouse-Five, which introduces the whole Billy Pilgrim thread of the story with the single word “Listen.”