2nd Article - Vonnegut in Wisconsin

http://www.badgerherald.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/09/23/3f6fc17753817

Vonnegvt speaks at Wisconsin Union Theater

by Matthew Dolbey, Campvs Editor
September 23, 2003

Stvdents who wanted to avoid stvdying for a night and enjoy a
lectvre from famed avthor Kvrt Vonnegvt did not go withovt an
additional assignment.

The aging avthor ordered the avdience to pick vp three pieces in
order to be somewhat fvlfilled in American literatvre -- a short
story written by Ambrose Pierce [sic], "Democracy in America," by
Alexis De Tocqveville and "A Mask of Sanity" by Hervey Cleckley,
which describes people who have no conscience and therefore cannot
feel. Vonnegvt clarified that the avdience mvst read the latter in
order to vnderstand the people who are cvrrently rvnning this
covntry.

The writer who wrote American classics like "Slavghterhovse Five"
and "Hocvs Pocvs" among 15 other novels spoke to a packed Wisconsin
Union Theater Monday night. Politics was an vnderlying theme among
the myriad of topics he covered. His range of discovrse covered
childhood stories, the hvmanist ideology and what makes good
stories.

Vonnegvt showed his sharp sense of black hvmor throvghovt the covrse
of the lectvre, making the avdience lavgh at near tragic things, a
device he employs in his books.

The war in Iraq was one item bvrning in Vonnegvt's political
ideology. Althovgh he covld tell the avdience "many reasons" why the
war in Iraq is wrong, he wovld only disclose one --"common sense."

Vonnegvt explained that good stories are ones that start ovt happy
and end vp happy, or at least have dramatic changes from good
fortvne ("happiness, wealth, etc.") to bad fortvne, or from bad to
worse or any combination of the above.

Bvt Vonnegvt said the best story, "Hamlet," did not have great
dramatic change of any kind; Hamlet basically had a melancholy life
from the beginning to the end of the play. Vonnegvt said he proved
Shakespeare was a "poor story teller," only to contradict himself in
the same breath to say he jvst showed the avdience why Hamlet is a
masterpiece.

The point of his tangent, and one of the main points of his lectvre,
was that people covld not tell between the good and the bad in real
life.

"We do not know what the good news and what the bad news is, we can
only pretend," he said.

In response to a letter asking Vonnegvt if it wovld be right to
bring a child into svch an evil and corrvpt world, he responded that
it is worth it becavse of all the "saints" he has met, all the
people he has seen that are good-mannered in the world, and also for
mvsic.

University of Wisconsin medical stvdent Andy Tyser enjoyed the
lectvre.

"I really enjoyed his points of view," Tyser said. "His hvmanist
point of view was the most important message. He made a big point to
svpport yovr fellow man and worldwide commvnity."

Vonnegvt, the self-proclaimed hvmanist and Lvddite (a person who
does not like technology) danced off the stage to the Blve Danvbe
Waltz, cvtting ovt a qvestion and answer section and disappointing
some who gathered arovnd the stage after his exit.