Why a Vonnegut Society?
Many of us have probably experienced odd looks from colleagues when they found out we were working on serious scholarship about Kurt Vonnegut. Those looks were probably from the people who may have thought science fiction was entertaining but not worth the effort. Or from those who thought Kurt simply slapped together a pastiche of witty remarks in a perfunctory manner without regard to form or careful editing. Or from people who did not know what to do with a paperback writer’s being lionized by the counter-culture during America’s greatest social upheaval since the Revolution.
Those were the sort of people who did not know what to make of Kurt’s understanding of his own experiences, or of how his experiences were being interpreted by his readers through the lens of current events. For them, Kurt was subversive, anti-American, anti-religion, anti-establishment. They even saw the structures of his novels ripping apart the fabric of literature.
How little they knew. How much there is still for the rest of us to learn, to grapple with, to pass on to others.
Scores of scholars have chosen to spend their precious time in deep thought about Kurt’s literary artistry, humanism, and iconoclasm. Forming the Kurt Vonnegut Society provides an opportunity for scholars to meet, share ideas, and seek assistance from like-minded souls interested in advancing our collective understanding of one of the more significant post-World War II writers, one who wrestled with humanity’s pressing issues as poignantly as did Chaucer, Rabelais, Swift, Voltaire, Franklin, Twain, H.G. Wells, etc.
Our plans
Our hope is that this site will serve as a virtual meeting place for scholars interested in sharing their knowledge and enabling others to remain current on Vonnegut criticism as it happens.
We are kicking around the idea of a peer-reviewed online journal, but that is still down the road. This baby needs to crawl before it can walk.
Annual Meeting
The society plans on having its annual meeting and panel presentations during the ALA annual meeting. Our 2011 meeting will be held in Boston during the Memorial Day weekend.
After our first “Timequake Clambake” during the 2009 meeting in Boston (yes, there will always be a vegetarian option), we plan on making this a permanent feature of our activities.
Membership
At the moment we are not charging for membership in the society. The costs for the Web site are minimal and being handled by the society’s charter members.
In the meantime, please check out the online bibliography of recent Vonnegut scholarship and drop us an email with your contact information (physical address, electronic address, professional affiliation and phone number). Also please let us know if we can list your email contact information in our membership directory.
We absolutely encourage scholars outside the United States to join our karass. Our list of Founders already has a good international representation.
Cheers.
Marc
Founding President
