1970: KURT VONNEGUT Interview | Review | Writers and Wordsmiths | BBC Archive

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  • Опубліковано 25 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 127

  •  9 місяців тому +85

    All these years later, Kurt Vonnegut is still one of my favorite friends on the bookshelf!

    • @MadonnaGrogan
      @MadonnaGrogan 5 місяців тому +4

      Same

    • @Terrible0x0Trivium
      @Terrible0x0Trivium 2 місяці тому +2

      I'm 35 and I've rarely been so moved by a book as when I've read Slaughterhouse Five or Breakfast of Champions, or Mother Night. Vonnegut's point of view is timeless, tragic and beautiful.

  • @MrMann0123
    @MrMann0123 2 роки тому +201

    So it goes.

  • @kdavisinca
    @kdavisinca 7 місяців тому +29

    Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt

  • @stewmo1
    @stewmo1 2 роки тому +132

    James Mossman, the interviewer here, killed himself a year after this interview. What an excellent interviewer he was, and obviously a sensitive soul.

    • @andydixon2980
      @andydixon2980 Рік тому +24

      That's very tragic. I could never have guessed from what I've just seen.

    • @richardchason
      @richardchason 10 місяців тому +3

      ​@pistachiowarcrimes6885What a terrifying note. I don't envy his psyche.

    • @liammcooper
      @liammcooper 10 місяців тому +1

      Jesus

    • @DemonetisedZone
      @DemonetisedZone 10 місяців тому +3

      I was certain that was Alan Watts😂

    • @DemonetisedZone
      @DemonetisedZone 10 місяців тому +9

      ​@@richardchason
      I have been near that edge and luckily stepped back.
      That's trauma, most times its from childhood
      I went into my psyche and opened up the doors 🚪😱
      Confronting monsters in the head is possible
      You need to..
      High Emotional State
      Discovery if traumatic event
      Externalise it
      Observe it from many angles
      I cried for 7 days, it was me as a boy telling my mother about my sister's strange things she was saying to boys. My mother called her up and asked her but my mother's friends were in and they laughed😱
      Anyway cut to now and that traumatised little boy was still running things. He was tragic, no one ever came. All alone defending his sister. I apologised to him for not arriving until recently
      I told him he could now
      ☺️💤🛌
      7 days of crying
      Now i feel like my mind is rewired
      Powerful
      Muscles relaxed nack, back
      Brain feels rewired
      Just saying this for ppl out there
      Read Nietzsche
      Ancient Greek Tragedy was not just entertainment
      It was Therapy
      Community trauma
      Gather everyone and show drama
      Its tragic
      😭

  • @sacredguineapig9397
    @sacredguineapig9397 7 місяців тому +6

    The absolute man. So happy to see new footage. Love all you. Here we go again!

  • @spitefuldeer
    @spitefuldeer 3 місяці тому +9

    kurt vonnegut is one of the most special authors ever. he didn’t have wordsmith abilities of shakespeare or oscar wilde, but the man could tell a story that drags you into his mind. SHV being the first book i genuinely ever read, and the book that caused my passion for literature to grow. what a lad.

  • @cshelley5658
    @cshelley5658 2 роки тому +53

    Watching these 2 'preserved ghosts' talk about "time"; to help revive the value of living. 🤔
    Thanks for this.

  • @James-pq7nf
    @James-pq7nf 5 місяців тому +13

    ive always been HONORED that i saw him in Stratford

  • @shakazulu5665
    @shakazulu5665 Рік тому +48

    "if this isn't nice I don't know what is"
    I love you all
    God bless you
    May we all find our own peace

  • @DamienLavizzo
    @DamienLavizzo 2 місяці тому +4

    Slaughterhouse-Five is the most eloquent and fantastical examination of PTSD I've ever read.

  • @owengrubbs4050
    @owengrubbs4050 Рік тому +27

    This was absolutely wonderful.

  • @DenkyManner
    @DenkyManner 2 роки тому +59

    Great writers often have these slightly crazy theories about why certain things happens in the world, their own mythos. I don't necessarily agree with him but it doesn't matter, he wasn't running for office, he can have "interesting" ideas that make us think about the world differently, if only for a minute or two.

    • @shakazulu5665
      @shakazulu5665 Рік тому

      But was he wrong? Do you not see the Orwellian world we now live it? 1984 is literally the status quo nowadays. Science is now a dogmatic cult like religion and "the science is settled" when thats not how scientific discoveries work

    • @Daniel-nh3qr
      @Daniel-nh3qr Рік тому +6

      Beautifully said.

    • @cappuccinobean2442
      @cappuccinobean2442 7 місяців тому +1

      Very good way of thinking :)

  • @cynthiafernandez6187
    @cynthiafernandez6187 9 місяців тому +17

    Oh my. I love Kurt Vonnegut- my absolute favorite writer. @1:27 his response to why he writes briefly about women, is just perfect in every sense. Thank you, Kurt!

    • @cappuccinobean2442
      @cappuccinobean2442 7 місяців тому +7

      I found it a bit disappointing...Why does it have to be a love story if a woman is involved? Kind of makes it seem like women only exist as objects of desire and can't drive a deeper plot.

    • @Karaokuma
      @Karaokuma 5 місяців тому +10

      ​@cappuccinobean2442 It's not so much about the involvement of women as it is the perspective from which the story is told. If a man writes about a woman, there's always a degree of separation because life is different for men and women. A female character from a male writer can only ever be an estimation.

  • @RoseaNebulaLaeta
    @RoseaNebulaLaeta Рік тому +19

    8:40 this is so brilliant - these are the ideas explored in Fight Club and Mr. Robot - that computers and machines would have to be factored in when overthrowing a society. And Kurt knew back in 1970 🤯

    • @lewis5384
      @lewis5384 9 місяців тому +5

      I do believe it was the subject of his first book. You would be surprised how many of our problems today were predicted in the 50s and 60s.

    • @sehlordhorr8540
      @sehlordhorr8540 2 місяці тому

      @@lewis5384Aldous Huxley released their brave new agenda back in the 1930s

  • @jasonayres
    @jasonayres 2 роки тому +32

    My dad was a fan of his writings.
    What can I say..
    Don't worry.
    It's not the end of the world. 🙂👍

    • @bluepvp900
      @bluepvp900 Рік тому +1

      That made me laugh like hell.

    • @A-432-Zone
      @A-432-Zone Рік тому +1

      And yet, ironically, this IS the end of the world. And Vonnegut foresaw the whole thing in every word he spoke here. And still, people in the very comments here are lightly passing him off as gifted but a little "crazy." They cannot she through the poetry when the truth becomes so nullified. This truly is the curse of the great artists.

    • @proto-geek248
      @proto-geek248 8 місяців тому +1

      It's not the end of the world. Mankind's belief that he can harm the Earth is the most pompous of notions.
      "The world isn't going anywhere.
      WE ARE!"
      George Carlin

    • @naomigee1109
      @naomigee1109 6 місяців тому

      Yes it is

    • @christopher_ecclestone
      @christopher_ecclestone 5 місяців тому

      It's not the end of the world, but you can see it from here.

  • @hilaryepstein6013
    @hilaryepstein6013 2 роки тому +37

    Whether you agree with his ideas or not, one of the 20th Century's great thinkers. Full of wisdom amd humour.

    • @sexobscura
      @sexobscura Рік тому

      Humour is the wisdom that is like a warm breeze in winter

    • @A-432-Zone
      @A-432-Zone Рік тому +6

      Yes. In a way he was THE modern-day Mark Twain.

  • @JackThursby-w1s
    @JackThursby-w1s Рік тому +12

    An impressive deep thinking man. The story of his survival in Dresden is pretty mind blowing and deeply ironical and I think it must have jolted him awake.

  • @flerkk
    @flerkk 5 місяців тому +4

    My Favorite Author. Started out with Cat's Cradle and I was hooked ❤❤

  • @buckshot.98
    @buckshot.98 Рік тому +27

    "There's something about my teachings, or about my writings, I think that discourages everybody from reproducing."

  • @ShrimpGame
    @ShrimpGame Місяць тому

    Today I finished reading "The Sirens of Titan". I could hardly hold back my tears. So impressive! 😭

  • @davedogge2280
    @davedogge2280 2 роки тому +20

    This is a reminder for me to either watch the Slaughterhouse-Five movie / read the book or both.

  • @tunkamoose1981
    @tunkamoose1981 7 місяців тому +5

    6:36 in…
    “ They ( his children) don’t see life as an amusing opportunity, and I’d hoped they would.”

  • @MrMann0123
    @MrMann0123 2 роки тому +10

    My favourite book of all time.

  • @chrisneyman
    @chrisneyman 10 місяців тому +5

    "To win or to quit"
    Wow.

  • @moonstad6750
    @moonstad6750 Рік тому +3

    he will be in the canon. mark my words. if i had heros, joe, fred, robin... those, and this guy.

    • @proto-geek248
      @proto-geek248 8 місяців тому +2

      Palooka, Flintstone & Hood?

  • @dannywhite9975
    @dannywhite9975 Рік тому +3

    D quality of d audio is top notch. Thanx.

  • @tylerlevingston2771
    @tylerlevingston2771 3 місяці тому

    Vonnegut is brilliant. I say is because if his thinking is correct he still is alive at this moment

  • @melissavidic2895
    @melissavidic2895 8 місяців тому +1

    Good interview, I can’t believe I haven’t read Slaughterhouse Five. It’s on my list!

    • @M05tly
      @M05tly 5 місяців тому +2

      I am sure you will enjoy it greatly, it is a truly excellent book!

  • @valuetraveler2026
    @valuetraveler2026 2 роки тому +4

    Great mind great interview

  • @studioyosemite671
    @studioyosemite671 9 місяців тому +5

    really and truly on a higher plane

  • @tonymoon7741
    @tonymoon7741 4 місяці тому +5

    My parents' generation has quite literally kept the idea of reproducing out of my head. I'm in my mid-40s, and the chances of my wife and I having children is nil. Since the post-war generation has taken power, all of our interests have been handed over to giant corporations, the environment is on the verge of collapse, and the US is close to be run by a bunch of religious fanatics. Many of us don't want to contribute to the problems, and don't want to subject our genetic off-spring to a crumbling world.
    In my lifetime, I've lived through several deep economic recessions and several forever wars. I've seen our rights stripped away by them, the water become undrinkable, the air un-breathable, plastics in my food and body, and my freedom of speech limited. And on top of that, I have to live under the constant threat of getting shot in public by some mentally unstable person who was able to quickly and cheaply by guns. And on top of that, it looks like attending church will be compulsory in many parts of America.

  • @Sporky.Productions
    @Sporky.Productions Рік тому +7

    If this isn't nice, I don't know what is!

  • @aboveman5321
    @aboveman5321 9 місяців тому +4

    "Spinoza had already said all of this" ...

  • @A-432-Zone
    @A-432-Zone Рік тому +3

    A true Christian AND Buddhist! We love 'ya, Kurt!

  • @qevian
    @qevian Рік тому +9

    As much as I love Kurt Vonnegut, it is perfectly possible to write about women as people and not simply introduce them as a love story 😳

    • @alexanderacostaosorio
      @alexanderacostaosorio Рік тому +3

      Women represent something that's not present in Vonnegut's work, hence, the limited and almost non-existent reference.

    • @dylanhatesyou
      @dylanhatesyou Рік тому +1

      @@alexanderacostaosorio maybe not in Slaughterhouse 5 but there are female characters in other novels

    • @A-432-Zone
      @A-432-Zone Рік тому +1

      Oh, I don't think that's what he was saying all. He almost always "speaks" between the lines. Same thing for his novels.

    • @SearchIndex
      @SearchIndex Рік тому +1

      That’s not what he was saying

    • @LuminousTurtle2029
      @LuminousTurtle2029 10 місяців тому +5

      It also is a sign of intelligence when you know yourself so well that you know you can't write female characters aside from their being in a romantic setting. I'm not saying this is how he felt. This is how I interpret what he said. I could be wrong.

  • @kavicm43
    @kavicm43 17 днів тому

    I want to see the world as an amusing opportunity

  • @DemonetisedZone
    @DemonetisedZone 10 місяців тому +5

    Kilgore Trout is not a very good writer, he's more of an ideas man🤩

  • @jdm65
    @jdm65 2 роки тому +6

    Looking remarkably like Swiss Toni. Being a famous novelist...

    • @alancawfield6549
      @alancawfield6549 2 роки тому +9

      Writing a novel is a lot like making love to a beautiful woman, you find a quiet place to do it, you make sure you have enough lead in your pencil and then you keep going until you've reached a satisfying climax.

    • @MartinCellarDJ
      @MartinCellarDJ Рік тому +2

      ​@@alancawfield6549 superb.

  • @Appleblade
    @Appleblade 5 місяців тому +1

    Woosh! ... 1:20... right over the dull perception of the interviewer. At the end, Vonnegut manages to provide the bona fides for eternal recurrence or multiple worlds with the Spinoza reference, but makes clear he came by the opinion honestly (even as a American).

  • @Jamersonjamersonjamerson-or4tz

    Good vibrations

  • @stephenburke7108
    @stephenburke7108 Рік тому +6

    so it goes

  • @taff6987
    @taff6987 3 місяці тому

    David Bowie interviews Kurt Vonnegut😮

  • @HenryCasillas
    @HenryCasillas 8 місяців тому

    🌻

  • @jessed1709
    @jessed1709 2 роки тому +3

    14:05 What is Vonnegut saying here? Where was he?

  • @TheWaveBay
    @TheWaveBay 8 місяців тому

    We just have to learn navigating infinity a bit better

  • @Notme5-5
    @Notme5-5 3 місяці тому

    🍃🍃🍃

  • @contecrayononpaper
    @contecrayononpaper 6 місяців тому +3

    I am not responding well.

    • @_loegan
      @_loegan 4 дні тому

      My response exactly 😂

  • @manicmandownup
    @manicmandownup Рік тому +1

    Peace.

  • @faithbad666
    @faithbad666 Рік тому +1

    We
    All
    Live
    Like that...mind in the present, past & future

  • @burnlastsunday
    @burnlastsunday Рік тому +1

    Just finished Hocus Pocus a few minutes ago. Cough.

  • @gryffonsi
    @gryffonsi 11 місяців тому

    I had to laugh like hell

  • @richardjames1946
    @richardjames1946 8 місяців тому

    " ... doesn't give you the right to rule the universe "

  • @turntabillist
    @turntabillist Рік тому

    THAT happiness is mine.

  • @COURRUPTIONCOIN
    @COURRUPTIONCOIN 5 місяців тому +1

    System ..........is presently......dying.

    • @Brian-nt1hh
      @Brian-nt1hh 3 місяці тому

      You really think so?! Hmm the machine RNC/DNC/corporation complex is just smoothly chugging along from my viewpoint. That’s not saying it is a good thing

    • @COURRUPTIONCOIN
      @COURRUPTIONCOIN 3 місяці тому

      @@Brian-nt1hh ( You R a Fed of some kind....trying to bait me .....but......)
      💀 💀 💀 🤕 💀 💀 💀
      B O D Y
      IS THE 8 th
      Satan will assign 10 insane ( Web Phantoms ) criminals to operate in behalf of ;
      Military - lnsurance - Agriculture -U S Evangelical -Vatican- Asian Christianity- Media- Markets- Technology - Energy Sector.
      Watch how WE allow Genocide.
      Because it means WE will never spot the
      Antichrist
      operate in behalf of

  • @PoetlaureateNFDL
    @PoetlaureateNFDL 4 місяці тому

    There were no cellphones then.

  • @kyleebrock
    @kyleebrock Рік тому +3

    James was not listening... Kept asking the same questions... Glad it was Kurt that he kept talking...

  • @alancawfield6549
    @alancawfield6549 2 роки тому +2

    Alan Arkin was sick of Acting in 1970, he's still doing it now, sort of feel sorry for him now.😆

    • @proto-geek248
      @proto-geek248 8 місяців тому +2

      Mr. Arkin passed away
      June, 29 2023
      RIP 🙏

  • @proto-geek248
    @proto-geek248 8 місяців тому +2

    Poo tee weet 🐦

  • @marmasettesamram2024
    @marmasettesamram2024 Рік тому +4

    Hi Ho

  • @ianparsons6466
    @ianparsons6466 4 місяці тому

    Lol man this guy seems like a real bummer to cruz with ngl

  • @burnlastsunday
    @burnlastsunday Рік тому +2

    Hi ho.

  • @JayPattersonTV
    @JayPattersonTV 3 місяці тому +2

    I think Kurt was smoking some trees before this interview.

  • @jediknight108
    @jediknight108 2 роки тому +2

    Hare Krishna

  • @vanleeuwenhoek
    @vanleeuwenhoek 2 місяці тому

    Vonnegut looks peak stoned eyes alone.

  • @kerrieannebaker8595
    @kerrieannebaker8595 9 місяців тому +2

    america, the collective narcissist

  • @cartoonvandal
    @cartoonvandal 8 місяців тому

    I mean, clearly, he's no Ballard, but he's alright.

  • @matt.willoughby
    @matt.willoughby 2 роки тому +8

    I feel the same about an infinite regress, we are doomed to repeat this for eternity

    • @BreezyE-d3n
      @BreezyE-d3n Рік тому

      I think we all experience every living things life for infinity

    • @proto-geek248
      @proto-geek248 8 місяців тому

      Now is forever.