Shalom Reader,

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was born on November 11th, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana and died April 11th, 2007 in New York, New York.

In between, among a lot of other things, he wrote 14 novels, 9 collections of short stories, and a bunch of assorted letters and commentaries.

I was born on October 6th, 1985 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and one of the best things I've done is read them. All of them.

Kurt Vonnegut's writing gave me a way to think about the world that eased my bewilderment and anger. He taught me to think seriously and warmly about people and institutions and systems. He showed me how to survive on kindness and beauty.

I saw him twice, once on the street in New York City, and again when he gave Lehigh University's commencement address in 2004. Both times I was skipping school.

When he died I was studying for my final exams in Pittsburgh. I went to the 7-11 at Forbes and Bigelow and bought a pack of his favorite unfiltered Pall-Malls (my first cigarettes ever) and smoked them on the steps of the library in the rain. Then I went home and read chapters 18 &19 of Breakfast of Champions for the 200th time.

I read his obituaries. I didn't except any sort of public memorial service, but although I've never done anything like it before, I would have gone had there been one.

Although everyone talked about his epitaphs, "Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt", "We are only human to the extent that our ideas are humane" and "The only proof he needed for the existence of God was Music" to name a few. But not one article, not one obituary or letter said where he is buried (if he is) or what the stone says.

And I need to know.




So what I'm going to do is look. I'm going to go around to Manhattan and Long Island first, and to Barnstable or Indianapolis if I have to, in order to find out.

How weird is this? Probably very. I have no response to this charge. However, I think most Vonnegut fans can sympathize, and perhaps support such a quest.


that is my hope