KURT VONNEGUT (1922 – 11 Apr 2007). A quintessential novelist of the 1960’s has died. A voice of an era will speak no new words. Kurt Vonnegut no longer resides in his fleshly body. A striking aspect of the phenomenon known as the 1960’s was the embracing of Dreams. It was a time of psychedelia, chemically assisted attempts to transcend the bounds of Ordinary Thinking. It was a time of Noble Aspirations. It was a time when Beauty, rather than just Money, was a goal. It was a time when many were struggling to live more dreamful lives. Vonnegut was a voice of both the Hopefulness and Despair of those dreaming times.
While Vonnegut was famous as a prose writer, it is interesting that some of his poetic words have appeared in the press upon his death. Poetry well spun is a Dreamful language. Two of his poems appear in today’s New York Times (13 Apr 07). The first captures the wild-eyed, sensual exhuberance that marked the Sixties generation. .
WORSHIP
I don’t know about you,
but I practice a disorganized religion.
I belong to an unholy disorder.
We call ourselves,
“Our Lady of Perpetual Astonishment.”
You may have seen us praying
for love
on sidewalks outside the better
eating establishments
in all kinds of weather.
Blow us a kiss
upon arriving or departing,
and we will climax simultaneously.
It can be quite a scene,
especially if it is raining
cats and dogs.
The second well expresses the shadow that has been created by the same exhuberant, but woefully ungrounded generation. This verse concludes his last published book:
When the last living thing
has died on account of us,
how poetical it would be
if Earth could say,
in a voice floating up
perhaps
from the floor
of the Grand Canyon,
“It is done.”
People did not like it here.
What is the dream we are dreaming these days, anyway? Is it true that we humans really don’t like it on Earth? Or have we forgotten our Beautiful Dreams and succumbed to a Nightmare Vision? Have we forgotten that we can dream beautifully? Can we revive our beautiful dreams, become aware of how dangerous our unexamined Nightmares can be, and create a waking reality that would have the Earth NOT saying, “Good riddance to bad rubbish!“ when we humans finally do depart the planet?
God bless you, Mr. Vonnegut! Lai Tev vieglas smiltis! May the sands of your grave rest lightly upon you!