“You understand, of course, that everything I say is horseshit.” (Playboy interview)

My plan was to dip in and out of this one, but sometimes I let too many days go in between. It took me forever to finish, and as a result, I got kind of tired of it. Still a decent collection, though. I liked the speeches and book reviews (that KV wrote of other books) the most.

As a lover of Vonnegut, I liked this. Anyone else should probably not read it. It’s a semi-interesting collection of largely non-fiction speeches and writings from his career. Since I enjoy so much of his work and life philosophy, I found value in the collection. Others will probably not, especially since much of the content here assumes you’ve read at least the 3 or 4 biggest Vonnegut novels.

This is one of many collections of Vonnegut's various collected non-novel writing (essays, speeches, interviews), and I'm getting to the point in my Vonnegut journey where I feel like I may have previously heard at least excerpts from several of these pieces. Several bits of wisdom bear re-reading, but I can't say the repeats are as impactful the second go-round.

The real standout is the nearly 50 page interview from Playboy that closes out the book. It's a cultural artifact of an era (1973), and Vonnegut's reflections on government, war, and the nature of writing feel fresh in an interview in a way that no one can feel fresh in the essay format. If nothing else, the interview alone is worth exploring.

Another pandemic Vonnegut read I first read and taught decades ago.
Uneven is quality and depth, a number of pieces really resonated with me - the Preface, Yes, We Have No Nirvanas,The Mysterious Madame Blavatsky, Biafra: A People Betrayed, Playboy Interview, Torture and Blubber, Reflections on My Own Death.
So drawn to Vonnegut's willingness to face up, fess up, tell the truth and broadcast it. Seek a companion like Kilgore Trout. Seek light in darkness. Don't give up....unless it's in your chemistry.
Not enough time to tackle each piece now.
Essential to think again about truth and falsity, again in 2020.

It’s fascinating to have all of these different essays and speeches Vonnegut made while he wasn’t fully expecting anyone was listening. He had such an interesting mind, and when I read his books I feel like I get him. I appreciate his sincerity and cynicism, and how he says some truly wacky things. I would’ve liked to meet him, but reading his books are the closest I can get.

Divina idiozia è una raccolta di nove saggi, articoli e discorsi prodotti da Vonnegut tra metà anni 60 e il '73.
C'è il suo solito cinismo, ci sono un paio di testi ben riusciti (uno sul Biafra e uno sugli Usa) ma ho l'impressione che ci siano solo tracce del Vonnegut migliore e più ispirato. Chiaramente ci troviamo di fronte a testi di secondo piano, a cui Kurt non ha prestato l'attenzione che riservava alla narrativa.
Insomma, questa raccolta la consiglierei solo ai veri ammiratori di Vonnegut, per tutti gli altri: leggete i romanzi!

I can recommend this book to anyone who has read any of Kurt Vonnegut’s books. Although it is nonfiction — it is a collection of essays, interviews and public speeches made by the author — it has all of the sarcasm, satire, wit and humour that Vonnegut displays in his many works of fiction. We have opportunity here to become acquainted with Kurt Vonnegut, the man.

“Thinking the guy up ahead knows that he’s doing is the most dangerous religion there is.”

A collection of speeches, short articles, and one short story from the late 1960's to about 1972. Like most such oollections, uneven, but worth reading for the Playboy Interview, an article about his visit to Biafra (probably not a good idea for him), and his views on the Vietnam war.

Probably not the best place to start for those who haven't read Vonnegut before, or who don't have any memories of the Vietnam-era protests.

La traducción, de Marcelo Covián, es infame, y es una pena que el origen de los textos solo se indique por excepción. Aun así, disfruto mucho del prisma descreído que Vonnegut aplica al mundo, dándoles a la antropología y a las explicaciones psicosociales esa última vuelta de tuerca que las pasa de rosca. Los documentos —columnas de opinión, reseñas, charlas…— resultan muy irregulares (¡lo mejor, la entrevista de Playboy!), pero todos componen un sustrato muy interesante para comprender el proyecto creador de Vonnegut.
Produce algo de melancolía que en los años 1960 y 70 un pensador declaradamente ateo y antimilitarista pudiera ser mainstream en Estados Unidos. Y produce une melancolía mayor que no lo sea hoy en todas partes.

A very interesting dive in to Vonnegut's essays, speeches, an interview, and one short story through the early 1970s. A few were a little hit-or-miss for me like "The Mysterious Madame Blavatsky." It took three tries for me to gut it out. It was well written; I simply didn't care for the subject matter. The best material comes from his speeches and the closing interview with Playboy in 1973. They give real connection to his mindset and experiences to that point. While I don't agree with all of his sentiments, they do seemingly come from a place of genuineness like his fictional works.

It's Kurt Vonnegut, what more can I say? This book is a collection of speeches and an interview, published in 1974. Some of the topics addressed are science fiction, teaching writing, going to the moon, Vietnam, Herman Hesse and Biafra--and more.
I'll comment on his comments on Biafra. It's forgotten now but in the 60s, a part of Nigeria seceded to form the independent Republic of Biafra. Nigeria was aided by Britain and Russia ( America was neutral) to turn its military might on Biafra and crush it. In the process, there was mass starvation. Before the end, Vonnegut flew into the doomed country to witness the ongoing atrocity.He wrote:
"My main aim will not be to move readers to voluptuous tears with tales about innocent black children dying like flies, about rape and looting and murder and all that. I will tell instead about an admirable nation that lived for less than three years."