And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut, A Life

And So It Goes is the culmination of five years of research and writing-the first-ever biography of the life of Kurt Vonnegut, author of the now-classic Slaughterhouse Five: Vonnegut's World II experiences turned into fiction.
Published in November 2011, Charles J. Shields' biography was chosen by the New York Times and the Washington Post as a 2011 Notable Book, and been widely acclaimed by reviewers. Shields is also the author of Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee (2006), which spent 15 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. In August 2011 he was named associate director of the Chappell Great Lives Lecture Series.

[@wb5584]

Human. I shook his hand. It was after a speaking engagement, at Illinois Wesleyan, 20 years ago. The iconic image of him on a fall evening, turning toward me with a carton of Pall Malls and a copy of the New York Times stuffed under his arm, is a gem I get to keep.

[@Werewatchingyouscum]

Lucky bastard haha! I envy you

[@JackieSmalls]

Pedantic pet peeve before we get started watching this: "And so it goes" is the song. In the book, there's no "and". So it goes.

[@TheSpiritCarriesOn]

Thank you very much for uploading this. I'm one of those 25 year old young people who got into Kurt's work recently and was very interested in knowing him and emotions that he expresses through his works a little closer. This lecture certainly satisfies my hunger.

[@brianallen8588]

☮️ thank you. I grew up reading Kurt but I never new all this. What a wonderful life.

[@KevinFinkbeiner]

I'm reading Mr. Shields' biography of Vonnegut currently. A very good read and very interesting look into Vonnegut's life and what inspired his writing and stories. I highly recommend it.

[@polyestawyldesage504]

This is AMAZING.. I stumbled onto it by accident.. thanks so much for posting it though, despite it's eaten a good portion of my morning when I had chores to do. BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT speech though.

[@CzarOfVermont]

Vonnegut is timeless. What he handles in his books and short stories, those are absolutely timeless. This guy seems almost baffled that people still read Vonnegut's work.

[@Brian-nt1hh]

It appears no one under appreciated Kurt more than Vonnegut himself. I personally know dozens that still revere him

[@yG65gT6]

To anyone who's read Mr. Shields book and is wondering if they should listen to this oral presentation. ... Yes, you should! He does an *excellent* job of summarizing the book -- and adds lots of information & emphasis not in the book. So listen, you'll learn a great deal about a great author, especially what he had to go through in the bombing of Dresden.

[@RocksteadyNeddy]

I wrote my 10,000 word dissertation on his three words: ‘So it goes…’

[@Amazinglyamazing271]

Can you send me

[@Amazinglyamazing271]

I am working on his novels presently

[@TheSpacydawn]

Would love to read this.

[@JBGJBGJBGrn]

Good for you, James. Many years earlier, in the mid 80s, I wrote a paper on the same three words, and my under-grad professor, Hamlin Hill, a witty scholar and teacher of American humor in general and Mark Twain in particular, responded with a condescending yawn. I don't remember what exactly Prof. Hill said, but I do remember thinking it amazing that he could so easily dismiss those three words, as if they were beneath the dignity of serious intellectual contemplation. I eventually came to admire Hill but couldn't square his position on Vonnegut with his appreciation of Twain. (Hill was probably right about my adolescent fawning. In any case, I got over the sting.) My appreciation of Vonnegut wasn't damaged, so there was no harm. In fact, Hill made me question my admiration for both Twain and Vonnegut, and to ask myself why "so it goes" seemed so profound. I won't dwell on that self-analysis but don't mind admitting that Twain and Vonnegut continue, for me, to shed light on this difficult predicament of life. James, I hope you're still engaged in thoughtful scholarship and that you've found time to add a few hundred words to your reaction to Slaughterhouse-Five.

[@RocksteadyNeddy]

@@JBGJBGJBGrn nice to hear a reply and revisit this post seven years on; wow! I’m disappointed in your professor’s response. Writing can be so intimate and it was their job to empathise with the themes you were exploring. Fortunately my lecturer, as we call them in Britain, was very much a man who was enthused by his humanist work and found those three words captivating. I explored semiotics and the meaning of words as a basis of my dissertation. It was an enjoyable experience but seems like a lifetime ago. In regards to continuing my scholarly thinking, I became a teacher where I can now ensure I give the appropriate responses to a human’s writing which furthers critical thinking and compassion rather than debases it with a yawn. I hope you’re keeping well. All the best, James

[@LeeAlexxander]

It is a shame no one has commented on this. His observations concerning Vonnegut being stuck in the emotional age of young adulthood are so similar to how Billy being unstuck in an inverse fashion. Difficult to put those sort of thing into words.

[@funkyalfonso]

Enthralling. There is a glorious video on youtube entitled: ' Kurt Vonnegut's war in reverse' which relates to one of the most remarkable and beautiful passages in Slaughterhouse 5. It seems to say what K.V. thought should take place in war.

[@brianjoyce9040]

Any factual stuff about KV is worth hearing, and knowing he wanted it heard and good enough for me.

[@yG65gT6]

I just finished "And So I t Goes." Good book. The saddest thing about KV's life, for me, was how unhappy he seemed to be with his wife, Jill Krementz. She comes off as pretentious, manipulative and insincere - the worst kind of NYC phony. I think it say a great deal about KV that he initiated divorce proceedings, I believe it was twice, maybe three times, to try and separate from her, but never went through with it, referring to his wife as his “disease.” (Ouch!) (Continued)

[@LogoDojo]

How romantic!

[@Bix12]

I have, and often wear, a black hoodie with white lettering on its front side. The letters are about 2" tall and spell out "So It Goes"....and right below this is a white asterisk about 5" in diameter. I've had, and worn, this hoodie for over 3 years now. I live right in the center of one of the 5 largest cities in America...in the heart of the downtown arts district, as a matter of fact. In over 3 years of wearing my black hoodie w/white lettering on the front only one person so far has yet to understand its origin. I find this informal factoid rather dismal to contemplate. At any rate, I've been reading Kurt Vonnegut since the year 1970, when I was 13 years old. Although he is by no means the only author I've read, he is certainly my favorite author. Over the years, I've devoured his many works repeatedly, and I believe I read him continuously during my most formative years between age 13 to 21. There is no doubt he has had an extraordinary impact on my psyche. I'm thankful for that. I am not impressed with this fellow, I must say. I don't think he understands KV nearly as well as a biographer should...especially the biographer of Mr. Kurt Vonnegut Jr, perhaps our last truly great writer. Am I overlooking someone? At any rate, it is unfortunate he was given the green light. Actually, to me it's much more than merely "unfortunate". I miss Kurt - his peephole has been closed for 12 years already. So it goes.

[@rustychandler]

Thanks for sharing this

[@SuperJJRousseau]

Excellent Presentation. Triple Woof!

[@yG65gT6]

Personally, I would have liked to have seen an “intervention” where someone plucked KV out of the phony NYC literati scene and made for him the kind of dignified, respectful life he deserved. He certainly earned it. (Continued)

[@LogoDojo]

Golly!

[@blitzkrug]

Pain and suffering are inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart- Dostoevsky ❤️

[@summerdayslost]

The stranger who called 911 was Billy Pilgrim.

[@djesno]

+summerdayslost Or perhaps Kilgore Trout?

[@Bix12]

Malachi Constant

[@bobsyeruncle4841]

Erudite interesting well presented , thanks

[@hahnfurst2195]

"I figured out how to keep humanity from hurling itself off the cliff. To start, we're all going to post our favorite Rant(s) on 11-11 at 11:11. ~ xoxo Hahn Furst” #FLICKiT #HappyBirthdayKurt #HappyBirthdayFyodor #HappyBirthdayLeo

[@xxcelr8rs]

The train station in Dresden had fire damage in 1996, wonder if it is still as it was.

[@yG65gT6]

It's also revealing that Shields tells us that KV didn't always practice what he preached, having held various “Corporate America,” stocks, one of which was Dow Chemical, the exclusive producer of napalm during the Vietnam War. (Ouch again!) Shields’ biography makes it hard not to like KV, even though he’s frank and straightforward about The Great Man’s faults and shortcomings. (Continued)

[@rustychandler]

Bookmark 30:00

[@yG65gT6]

I get the feeling that he never fully connected with the people in his life, and that maybe that had to do more with the stars and with those around him than with himself. I say all this not as a fanatical KV fan -- I like his books very much but I was never “crazy” about them. (In fact, my favorite KV book is “Palm Sunday,” which Vonnegut himself graded as only a C. Oh well.) (Continued)

[@DavidMiller-zs1os]

Chris Cross I spent a few evenings with Kurt. And you are right..he always seemed to kind of humor me and us..in the most loving way. There was a palpable loneliness to him. Though he adored music and musicians and seemed at home with them..especially the classical players who had little idea who he was.

[@fbrind3734]

I have the book. 😀

[@FleetwoodMacadamia]

feel like palm sunday kinda already did all this +++ dissertation tho i'd like to read the bio and know more about why these cats in the audi dislike KMFV the man!?!? i imagine his brownstone looking like dan gregorian's and he took a fall like marilee.. and if his dog was named kazak? life is no way to treat an animal

[@Blake_.Dryden]

The selfishness of the boomers is staggering. I almost admire it. I'd love to have the ability to throw my family aside to follow my passion. Be careful about when and where you "settle down"

[@LogoDojo]

Now here's a comment!

[@SmithMrCorona]

I'm curious as to why the American baby boomer male has had such a love affair with the goatee. ETA: I stopped watching it ten minutes in. The guy talks mostly about himself.

[@osbornaz]

This guy is a hack. Kurt left behind enough background on this and that to explain himself.

[@LogoDojo]

No we need this, you cannot stop the insatiable fans! *Snarls*