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“. . . one thing I’ve learned is that you don’t have to understand things for them to be.”

– Madeleine L’Engle, A Wrinkle In Time.

When I was a kid, growing up in the 60’s, I didn’t read many children’s books. P.D. Eastman, of course, whom I liked better than Suess, some of the Little Golden Books, and later, the Hardy Boys. Frank and Joe, I think their names were. I have no memory of either of my parents reading to me, ever. It may have happened, must have happened, but I can’t recall it. I was the youngest of seven, born in 1961, and bed time wasn’t the hour-long ritual it’s become for so many kids today, with reading and talking and snuggling and sharing, etc. When I was a kid, it was more like, “Good night. And don’t forget to brush your teeth.”

The words that formed my reading habit came from the sports pages of The New York Daily News and The Long Island Press. I still maintain that my writing style, such as it is, was probably more influenced by Dick Young than anybody else: I faithfully read his column for many (formative) years. I also remember, as I reached my middle grade period, talking to my older brothers and sisters about books. They were readers, all of them, and loved Bradbury and Vonnegut and Brautigan and Robbins, so I picked up those books. I have a vivid recollection of writing a book report in 7th grade on any book I wanted. I chose Anthem by Ayn Rand, probably because it was a slendest paperback on the family bookshelf.

I also read sports biographies, being an ex-boy, and still hold a special fondness for Go Up for Glory Bill Russell. It hit me like a thunderbolt, and for a time I was determined to grow into a very tall black man who’d willingly pass up a shot in order to set a fierce pick and roll into the paint, looking for the put-back.

Anyway, I basically missed the entire canon of children’s literature. I didn’t read Where the Wild Things Are until I worked at Scholastic as a junior copywriter in 1985, hauling in $12,500 a year, thank you very much. These days I still try to fill in the holes, though I’ll admit it: I love adult literature. After all, I’m an adult. Those are the books that lit my fuse. I am not giving up my grown-up books.

Now, about A Wrinkle In Time. I liked it. Some parts — the first few chapters, especially — I really, really admired. Other parts — after the tessering, and into the full-blown fantasy — I didn’t care for as much. It reminded me of the original Star Trek series (my brothers loved Star Trek and we watched it religiously). In sum: Dated, kind of corny, a little obvious, but entertaining and fast-paced and intelligent and provocative, too. There’s a quality to the book, a be

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Kurt Vonnegut could bend words like no one else and create satire that deconstructed complicated themes into relatable, entertaining stories. In other words: He made fun of us. All of us. And millions loved him for it. I am one of those millions. (You may remember I've mentioned this before.) Read more

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In an inspiring response to censorship, the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library will give away up to 150 free copies of Slaughterhouse Five to high school students in Republic, Missouri.

The school board voted to ban Kurt Vonnegut‘s book from the high school library along with Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler. If you believe in this cause, the museum is asking for donations to help pay for shipping for the books. Follow this link to donate. 

Here’s more from the museum: “If you are a student at Republic High School, please e-mail us at i…@vonnegutlibrary.org to request your free copy of the book. Please provide us with your name, address, and grade level. We have up to 150 books to share, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor. We think it’s important for everyone to have their First Amendment rights. We’re not telling you to like the book… we just want you to read it and decide for yourself. We will not share your request or any of your personal information with anyone else.” (Via Reddit)

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Earlier this week, a Missouri school board voted 4-0 to remove Sarah Ockler‘s Twenty Boy Summer and Kurt Vonnegut‘s Slaughterhouse-Five from the Republic High School library.

Ockler responded in a proud blog blog post this week: “Banned, but Never Shamed.” She’s already earned over 60 comments from readers around the country. What do you think about the controversial school board decision?

Check it out: “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a million times more. I get that my book isn’t appropriate for all teens, and that some parents are opposed to the content. That’s fine. Read it and decide for your own family. I wish more parents would do that — get involved in their kids’ reading and discuss the issues the books portray. But don’t make that decision for everyone else’s family by limiting a book’s availability and burying the issue under guise of a ‘curriculum discussion.’” (Via Reddit)

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A Missouri school board voted 4-0 this week to yank Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut out of the Republic High School library. The move has already drawn thousands of responses online.

Last year, Missouri State assistant professor Wesley Scroggins attacked the books at a a school board meeting and wrote a newspaper column for the Springfield News-Leader (“Filthy books demeaning to Republic education“). This GalleyCat editor will never forget the joy of discovering Vonnegut in his own high school library and can’t imagine missing that experience.

Here’s how Scroggins described Slaughterhouse-Five: “This is a book that contains so much profane language, it would make a sailor blush with shame. The ‘f word’ is plastered on almost every other page. The content ranges from naked men and women in cages together so that others can watch them having sex to God telling people that they better not mess with his loser, bum of a son, named Jesus Christ.” (Via Reddit)

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Flavorpill has collected the doodles of famous authors, including Sylvia Plath, David Foster Wallace, Vladimir Nabokov, Franz Kafka, Samuel Beckett, Allen Ginsberg, Mark Twain, Henry Miller, Kurt Vonnegut, and Jorge Luis Borges.

The drawings ranged from insect portraits to nightmare images. Wallace drew one of the funnier pieces, doodling glasses and fangs on a photo of Cormac McCarthy.

Vonnegut (pictured with his artwork, via) incorporated many of his drawings into his books. He even had his own art gallery exhibitions. What author should illustrate their next book?

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Publisher Black Ocean has made an unconventional offer to its most unconventional fans–if you get a tattoo inspired by one of the press’ books, you will receive a lifetime subscription to its titles.

Here’s the deal: “If you’d like to get a tattoo inspired by a Black Ocean title, you too can receive a lifetime subscription and become a Black Oceanographer for life! Just send us a picture of you getting your tattoo (so we know it’s not simply a magic marker), or find one of us in person and expose yourself to us (with fair warning).”

Three readers have already received lifetime subscriptions for tattoos,  including Rebecca H.’s tattoo inspired by “The Center of Worthwhile Things” from The Man Suit (pictured, via). UPDATE: Earlier this year, we found out that Kurt Vonnegut, e.e. cummings, and Shel Silverstein are the most popular literary tattoo inspirations.

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On November 12th, the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library allowed a sneak peek at the archive.  On December 3rd, half of the planned exhibits will be on display. The library will be fully functional in January.

The Chicago Tribune had more: “One exhibit is a gallery of Vonnegut art that includes pieces by the writer, two drawings by Vonnegut fan and 60 Minutes correspondent Morley Safer and ‘Star Time,’ a 20-feet timeline of important events in Vonnegut’s life painted by artist Chris King and text written by William Rodney Allen, editor of Conversations with Kurt Vonnegut.”

After discovering the Henry Miller Memorial Library, library president Julia Whitehead decided to do the same for Kurt Vonnegut. She earned the support of his children and started the library in 2008.

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Twilight tattoos are not the only contenders on the literary tattoo playing field. Novelist Justin Taylor and literary agent Eva Talmadge collaborated on a nonfiction compilation of literary tattoos based on their blog, tattoolit.com.

The Word Made Flesh: Literary Tattoos from Bookworms Worldwide came out this week from Harper Perennial and the trailer is embedded above. We caught up with the authors to talk about how the book came to be.

E = Eva Talmadge
J = Justin Taylor

Q: From your experience, which book/author receives the most tattoo requests?
E: Kurt Vonnegut and e.e. cummings are probably the most popular authors when it comes to literary tattoos.
J: And of course, if we had wanted to we could have done an entire book of just Shakespeare.

Q: Which children’s book illustrations are most popular?
E: Shel Silverstein, by far.

Q: What was the most interesting “story” behind a tattoo?
E: Best story by far is how Jamie Garvey of Gainesville, Florida, came to copy his e.e. cummings tattoo (“how do you like your blue-eyed boy now, mr. death?”) off the one and only Harry Crews.

continued…

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Cameron McClure, author of the Book Cannibal blog and literary agent with Donald Maas, put up a great post a while back on How to Break the Rules. Of course, I didn't find it until last night. Otherwise, I would have realized sooner that there are actually ways to make the rules I've broken accidentally worth breaking. Can you untangle that logic?

Don't worry. She did.

Not only does her article provide Kurt Vonnegut's 8 Rules of Writing, but if you read it now for the low, low price of a few minutes of your time, she throws in Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing absolutely free. AND she adds 8 more rules of her own--with explanations and examples of authors who have broken them compellingly.

This is seriously one of the best checklists I have read on how to write. I am printing it out and taping it to my wall.

Go read it and live it:

http://bookcannibal.blogspot.com/2010/02/how-to-break-rules.html

What do you think? Do you agree with her examples? Are the rules worth breaking?

Happy writing,

Martina

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Vonnegut Web is a comprehensive site created by Chris Huber in 1995 while he was a grad student at Duke University. While it is not kept right up to date, it contains a lot of information about the often challenged writer. It includes some of Vonnegut's more obscure writings. a chronology of his life, a bibliography, a critical bibliography with suggested resources for research, education, family background and much more information.

Take the Banned Book Challenge. Choose a goal for the number of challenged or banned books you can read between Feb. and June. Let us know about your goal on our form, so we can keep track. Not sure what to read? Check out our suggested reading and the many links on the right side bar.

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