At Millennium's End
New Essays on the Work of Kurt Vonnegut
Published on 29. March 2001
Book
Paperback/Softback
216 pages
978-0-7914-4930-1 (ISBN)
Description
Collected essays by noted scholars covering the breadth and influence of Kurt Vonnegut's literature.
"When I look back at my incredibly lucky career as a writer, it seems that there was never time to think. It was as though I were skiing down a steep and hazardous mountain slope. When I look back at the marks my skis made in the snow on the way down, I only now realize that I wrote again and again about people who behaved decently in an indecent society." - From the Foreword by Kurt Vonnegut
At Millennium's End looks back over the body of Kurt Vonnegut's writing, examining the novels, essays, and short stories of one of the century's most beloved and widely read authors and social critics. It also looks forward, projecting Vonnegut's relevance to the next millennium. The essays, by noted Vonnegut scholars and personal friends, are each written from the perspective of someone familiar with Vonnegut's entire canon.
"When I look back at my incredibly lucky career as a writer, it seems that there was never time to think. It was as though I were skiing down a steep and hazardous mountain slope. When I look back at the marks my skis made in the snow on the way down, I only now realize that I wrote again and again about people who behaved decently in an indecent society." - From the Foreword by Kurt Vonnegut
At Millennium's End looks back over the body of Kurt Vonnegut's writing, examining the novels, essays, and short stories of one of the century's most beloved and widely read authors and social critics. It also looks forward, projecting Vonnegut's relevance to the next millennium. The essays, by noted Vonnegut scholars and personal friends, are each written from the perspective of someone familiar with Vonnegut's entire canon.
Reviews / Votes
"Kevin Boon's At Millennium's End is a splendid collection of original essays about one of our most singular and enduring writers. The book includes a variety of new voices in Vonnegut criticism along with the most respected scholars in this area, including Jerry Klinkowitz, Donald Morse, Larry Broer, and Loree Rackstraw. Together they offer a unique perspective that makes this collection one of the best books on Vonnegut to appear in years." - Leonard Mustazza, author of Forever Pursuing Genesis: The Myth of Eden in the Novels of Kurt Vonnegut"This is a very important book in the area of Vonnegut studies. Vonnegut's long career corresponds almost exactly with the last half century, making this an appropriate point for evaluation. Besides consideration of the work of this one writer, the book addresses wider issues such as making fiction into film, narratology, and the nature of postmodernism." - Peter Reed, coeditor of The Vonnegut Chronicles: Interviews and Essays
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Albany, NY
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 227 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
295 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7914-4930-1 (9780791449301)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Kevin Alexander Boon is Assistant Professor of English at Penn State Mont Alto. His previous books include Absolute Zero and Chaos Theory and the Interpretation of Literary Texts: The Case of Kurt Vonnegut.
Content
Foreword
Kurt Vonnegut
Introduction
WHAT TO DO WHEN A POOL-PAH IS YOUR ZAH-MAH-KI-BO
Kevin Alexander Boon
1. VONNEGUT THE ESSAYIST
Jerome Klinkowitz
2. VONNEGUT AND AESTHETIC HUMANSIM
David Andrews
3. QUANTUM LEAPS IN THE VONNEGUT MINDFIELD
Loree Rackstraw
4. VONNEGUT'S GOODBYE: KURT SENIOR, HEMINGWAY, AND KILGORE TROUT
Lawrence R. Broer
5. YOU CANNOT WIN, YOU CANNOT BREAK EVEN, YOU CANNOT GET OUT OF THE GAME: KURT VONNEGUT AND THE NOTION OF PROGRESS
Donald E. Morse
6. SCIENCE AND SENSIBILITY IN THE SHORT FICTION OF KURT VONNEGUT
Jeff Karon
7. KURT VONNEGUT: LUDIC LUDDITE
Hartley S. Spatt
8. NARRATIVE, SELF, AND MORALITY IN THE WRITING OF KURT VONNEGUT
Bill Gholson
9. APOCALYPTIC GRUMBLING: POSTMODERN HUMANISM IN THE WORK OF KURT VONNEGUT
Todd F. Davis
10. VONNEGUT FILMS
Kevin Alexander Boon and David Pringle
List of Contributors
Index
Kurt Vonnegut
Introduction
WHAT TO DO WHEN A POOL-PAH IS YOUR ZAH-MAH-KI-BO
Kevin Alexander Boon
1. VONNEGUT THE ESSAYIST
Jerome Klinkowitz
2. VONNEGUT AND AESTHETIC HUMANSIM
David Andrews
3. QUANTUM LEAPS IN THE VONNEGUT MINDFIELD
Loree Rackstraw
4. VONNEGUT'S GOODBYE: KURT SENIOR, HEMINGWAY, AND KILGORE TROUT
Lawrence R. Broer
5. YOU CANNOT WIN, YOU CANNOT BREAK EVEN, YOU CANNOT GET OUT OF THE GAME: KURT VONNEGUT AND THE NOTION OF PROGRESS
Donald E. Morse
6. SCIENCE AND SENSIBILITY IN THE SHORT FICTION OF KURT VONNEGUT
Jeff Karon
7. KURT VONNEGUT: LUDIC LUDDITE
Hartley S. Spatt
8. NARRATIVE, SELF, AND MORALITY IN THE WRITING OF KURT VONNEGUT
Bill Gholson
9. APOCALYPTIC GRUMBLING: POSTMODERN HUMANISM IN THE WORK OF KURT VONNEGUT
Todd F. Davis
10. VONNEGUT FILMS
Kevin Alexander Boon and David Pringle
List of Contributors
Index