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Kurt Vonnegut Quotes - Page 28

All Quotes Accidents Age Alcohol Apologizing Army Art Atheism Atheist Belief Bitterness Business Chaos Character Chemistry Children Christ Church College Communication Community Compassion Competition Country Creativity Culture Curiosity Dancing Democracy Design Dignity Doubt Dying Earth Evil Evolution Expectations Feelings Fighting Food Forgiveness Frustration Fun Funny Giving God Happiness Hard Work Hate Heart Heaven Hell Hiroshima Home Humanity Hurt Ignorance Imagination Inspirational Jazz Jesus Laughter Life Literature Loneliness Love Luck Lying Making Love Management Maturity Meaning Of Life Military Mountain Music Nature Opportunity Pain Past Philosophy Politics Progress Purpose Reading Reality Religion Revenge Running Safety School Science Science Fiction Shame Sleep Smoking Socialism Son Soul Students Stupidity Style Survival Teaching Technology Time Today Trade Tragedy Train Universe Waiting Wall War Water Wife Work Writing

When a man becomes a writer, I think he takes on a sacred obligation to produce beauty and enlighenment and comfort at top speed

When a man becomes a writer, I think he takes on a sacred obligation to produce beauty and enlighenment and comfort at top speed

Men, Thinking, Comfort

Kurt Vonnegut (2009). “Cat's Cradle: A Novel”, p.231, Dial Press

Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, as I’ve said before, bugs in amber.

Wisdom, Philosophy, Slaughterhouse Five

FaceBook post by Kurt Vonnegut from Jul 04, 2016

I am a very bad scientist. I will do anything to make a human being feel better, even if it's unscientific. No scientist worthy of the name could say such a thing.

Feel Better, Names, Scientist

"Cat's Cradle". Book by Kurt Vonnegut (Chapter 98), 1963.

It is almost always a mistake to mention Abraham Lincoln. He always steals the show.

Mistake, Stealing, Abraham

Kurt Vonnegut (2011). “A Man Without a Country”, p.75, Seven Stories Press

The crowd, having been promised nothing, felt cheated, having received nothing.

Crowds, Cheated, Felt

Kurt Vonnegut (2007). “The Sirens of Titan”, p.38, Dial Press

I don't know what anybody else in the world would want to thank America for, but man, it [jazz] works. What I like about it - and what public health people ought to like about it - it's safe sex.

Sex, Men, America

You develop a style from writing a lot.

Writing, Style

Then the lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of Heaven; and He overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. So it goes. Those were vile people in both those cities, as is well known. The world was better off without them. And Lot's wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human. So she was turned to a pillar of salt.

Home, Fire, Cities

Is there nothing I have done which will outlive me, other than the opprobrium of my first wife and sons and grandchildren? Do I care? Doesn't everybody? Poor me. Poor practically everybody, with so little durable good to leave behind!

Son, Grandchildren, Wife

Kurt Vonnegut (1998). “Bluebeard”, Dial Press

I don't think he was knowable. I mean, when most people talk about knowing somebody a lot or a little, they're talking about the secrets they've been told or haven't been told. They're talking about intimate things, family things, love things," that nice old lady said to me. "Mr. Hoenikker had all those things in his life, the way every living person has to, but they weren't the main things with him.

Nice, Mean, Thinking

Kurt Vonnegut (2009). “Cat's Cradle: A Novel”, p.54, Dial Press

Literature is the only art in which the audience performs the score.

Art, Literature, Score

A lot of critics think I'm stupid because my sentences are so simple and my method is so direct: they think these are defects. No. The point is to write as much as you know as quickly as possible.

Stupid, Writing, Simple

Kurt Vonnegut (2016). “If This Isn't Nice What Is? (Much) Expanded Second Edition: The Graduation Speeches and Other Words to Live By”, p.112, RosettaBooks

Oh, God — the lives people try to lead. Oh, God — what a world they try to lead them in.

People, Trying, World

Kurt Vonnegut (2009). “Mother Night: A Novel”, p.142, Dial Press

Thinking doesn't seem to help very much. The human brain is too high-powered to have many practical uses in this particular universe.

Power, Thinking, Brain

Kurt Vonnegut (1988). “Conversations with Kurt Vonnegut”, p.81, Univ. Press of Mississippi

What war has always been is a puberty ceremony. It's a very rough one, but you went away a boy and came back a man, maybe with an eye missing or whatever but godammit you were a man and people had to call you a man thereafter.

War, Life Lesson, Eye

If I am ever put to death on the hook, expect a very human performance.

Hook, Humans, Performances

"Self-taught, are you?" Julian Castle asked Newt. "Isn't everybody?" Newt inquired. "Very good answer." Castle was respectful.

Self, Castles, Answers

"Cat's Cradle". Book by Kurt Vonnegut, 1963.

I do not say that children at war do not die like men, if they have to die. To their everlasting honor and our everlasting shame, they do die like men, thus making possible the manly jubilation of patriotic holidays. But they are murdered children all the same.

Children, War, Holiday

"Cat's Cradle". Book by Kurt Vonnegut, Chapter 114, 1963.

I think it can be tremendously refreshing if a creator of literature has something on his mind other than the history of literature so far. Literature should not disappear up its own asshole, so to speak.

Memorable, Thinking, Mind

Kurt Vonnegut (2011). “Kurt Vonnegut: The Last Interview: And Other Conversations”, p.40, Melville House

The dog, who had sounded so ferocious in the winter distances, was a female German Shepherd. She was shivering. Her tail was between her legs. She had been borrowed that morning from a farmer. She had never been to war before. She had no idea what game was being played. Her name was Princess.

Dog, Morning, War

KURT VONNEGUT JR (1969). “SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE”

Farewell, hello, farewell, hello.

Farewell, Hello

KURT VONNEGUT JR (1969). “SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE”

That’s the attractive thing about war,” said Rosewater. “Absolutely everybody gets a little something.

War, Attractive Things, Littles

Kurt Vonnegut (1969). “Slaughterhouse-five: or, The children's crusade, a duty-dance with death”

I wish you'd help me look into a more interesting problem - namely, my sanity.

Interesting, Wish, Looks

He had supposed for years that he had no secrets from himself. Here was proof that he had a great big secret somewhere inside, and he could not imagine what it was.

Years, Secret, Imagine

KURT VONNEGUT, JR (1969). “SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE”

Unusual travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.

Travel, Climbing, Dancing

"Cat's Cradle". Book by Kurt Vonnegut, 1963.

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