Kurt Vonnegut and Other Thoughts

As may be obvious from some of my previous posts, I love Kurt Vonnegut. This love affair began in high school when I first picked up Slaughterhouse-Five. My obsession (obsession, yes, but I think it's at least a healthy one) continues every year as I make it a point to read one of his novels every summer. When Vonnegut died my senior year of high school, I felt as if I lost an old friend as Vonnegut's words helped shape my adolescence. To console ourselves on his death, my friend Travis and I went to Barnes and Nobel. Walking through the stacks, we found Vonnegut's last published work, A Man Without a Country. I don't think we talked much as we both read the short work silently and quickly. Finding this short collection of Vonnegut's thoughts was akin to finding a treasure trove. I bought the book and reread it several times. One passage reminds me a lot of this class and of teaching in general. He terms it one of his many lessons on creative writing, some of which he developed while teaching at the Writer's Workshop in Iowa City.

"Here is a lesson in creative writing.

First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college.

And I realize some of you may be having trouble deciding whether I am kidding or not. So from now on I will tell you when I'm kidding.

For instance, join the National Guard or the Marines and teach democracy. I'm kidding.

We are about to be attacked by Al Qaeda. Wave flags if you have them. That always seems to scare them away. I'm kidding.

If you want to really hurt your parents, and you don't have the never to be gay, the least you can do is go into the arts. I'm not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something."

Vonnegut continues on to say that every great writer has broken every one of his rules. While his lessons in creative writing could certainly be beneficial to students, I think the more salient point here is that art, no matter what form, is a way to appreciate life in a completely unique and personal way. Vonnegut also believed in the value of every individual's voice, regardless of the background, race, or orientation this voice carries. While teaching my students to love art, music, literature, etc. may sometimes be impossible (and believe me, I can understand this just from working within my practicum experience), I hope I can at least teach some of my students the value of their own perspectives and the power those perspectives carry to create. I know this sounds very cliche, but the moments that this appreciation manifests in the classroom are priceless.

Mackenzie