Historic Legacy * Education Resource * Local Treasure
To some avid HI architecture fans, he might not be considered the “favorite Indy Vonnegut,” but to others, it will always be author Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. –who emerged as an “overnight success” in the 1960s. The truth is, it’s hard to pick a favorite, since the Vonnegut family has many colorful characters and has been a local institution for over a century.
The Great-grandfather: Clemens Vonnegut, Senior (1824–1906) emigrated from Germany in 1850 and built the Vonnegut Hardware store, an extremely successful business venture that elevated and magnified the immigrant family’s finances and social standing.
The Grandfather: Bernard Vonnegut, Senior (1855 – 1908) was co-founder of the renowned Indianapolis architectural firm of Vonnegut & Bohn. Local landmarks attributed to Bernard Senior are: the Athenaeum, William H. Block Company store, John Herron Art Institute (Now Herron High School), the L. S. Ayres store Building, the Delaware Street Synagogue of the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation and Shortridge High School on Meridian Street.
The Father: Kurt Vonnegut, Senior (1884 – 1957) carried on in the family architecture business as partner in the firms of Vonnegut & Bohn; Vonnegut, Bohn & Mueller; and Vonnegut, Wright, & Yeager. Local buildings designed by Kurt Senior include: the Indiana Bell Telephone Building, All Souls Unitarian Church, the Plaza Service Station, various Hook’s Drug Stores (pre-WWII), and the family residence in the Williams Creek neighborhood.
The Son: Kurt Vonnegut, Junior (1922 – 2007) graduated from Shortridge High School in 1940 and left Indianapolis to pursue his education. As is typical of many successful men, his “overnight success” was anything but overnight. Kurt attended Cornell University and dropped out to enlist in the Army during WWII. The Army sent Kurt to Carnegie Institute of Technology after he enlisted. His experiences as a prisoner of war and his survival of the bombing of Dresden, would later feature quite prominently in his writings — but being a new kind of “voice” in American literature lead to a great deal of frustration before his best-known novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, was recognized as a success. Kurt attended the University of Chicago after the war was over, and after he married.
Touch everything! A replica of the author’s studio comes complete with a working typewriter and copies of his book collection which you may peruse on site or check out from the library. Soak it in!
Science fiction author, novelist, playwright, artist and social commentator: Kurt Jr.’s accomplishments may well outlive the beautiful edifices built by his forefathers. Many of his works are now considered “classics” of American literature:
- Novels: Player Piano (1952) The Sirens of Titan (1959) Mother Night (1961) Cat’s Cradle (1963) God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965) Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) Breakfast of Champions (1973) Slapstick, or Lonesome No More (1976) Jailbird (1979) Deadeye Dick (1982) Galapagos (1985) Bluebeard (1987) Hocus Pocus (1990) Timequake (1997)
- Short Fiction: Canary in a Cathouse (1961) Welcome to the Monkey House: A Collection of Short Works (1968) Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction (1999)
- Plays: Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1970) Between Time and Timbuktu, or Prometheus Five: A Space Fantasy (1972) Make Up Your Mind (1993) Miss Temptation (1993) Essays and Collections Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons (1974) Palm Sunday (1981) Fates Worse Than Death: An Autobiographical Collage (1991) God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian (1999) A Man Without a Country (2005)
The museum contains personal affects from Vonnegut’s life as well as historic artifacts from the larger Vonnegut family.
Library of Champions*
Though Vonnegut didn’t reside for long in Indianapolis after his high school graduation, it appears he looked upon his Indianapolis roots with pleasure– and with his signature, acerbic wit.
“All my jokes are Indianapolis. All my attitudes are Indianapolis. My adenoids are Indianapolis. If I ever severed myself from Indianapolis, I would be out of business. What people like about me is Indianapolis.” —Kurt Vonnegut, 1986
Therefore, it seems only fitting that the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library would be located here. The not-for-profit library and museum champions the author’s literary, artistic and cultural contributions and serves as a unique educational resource with a variety of highly interactive events and displays–especially for such a small organization. A Vonnegut devotee could spend a week soaking in the author’s essence, free to peruse the library and museum exhibits at will — or — to enjoy a deeply insightful (if appropriately irreverent) discussion of Vonnegut’s life and times with Curator, Chris Lafave.
Go ahead and touch “Kurt Vonnegut” by Artist Ivars Mikelsons. Like almost everything else in the library and museum, guests are encouraged to interact with the exhibits. Like the author himself, the place has a decidedly non-stuffy atmosphere.
Guests benefit from the passion of the staff and their expert story telling. From:
– Ironic: A delicious collection of rejection letters from short-sighted editors to
– Quirky : Vonnegut’s drawing, doodles and quotations, and from
– Reverent: Veterans’ writing workshops, Veterans Reclaim Armistice Day panels, exhibits by soldier-artists and more to
– Irreverent: The annual Banned Books Week…the gamut is well-covered.
Author Hugh Vandivier celebrated 2013 “Banned Books Week” as a captive in the front of the Library, surrounded by an ever-growing pile of banned books.
What’s In It For You?
The library serves the community by supporting Indianapolis public high school newspapers, awarding scholarships through high school writing competitions, and bringing together members of the Indianapolis writing community through visiting authors, artists, performers and others. Thanks to donors and volunteers, the library continues Kurt Vonnegut’s fight against censorship and supports language and visual arts education through programs and outreach activities such as:
- Teaching Teachers to Teach Vonnegut (an accredited continuing education course)
- Kurt Vonnegut and Jane Cox Vonnegut Writing Awards
- So It Goes: The Literary Journal of the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library
- Night of Vonnegut
- VonnegutFest
- IDADA First Friday Gallery Tours
- School tours and partnerships
- Original exhibits and art shows
Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library
The Emelie Building
340 N. Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46204
info@vonnegutlibrary.org
DON’T MAKE THIS MISTAKE! This much-loved mural of Kurt Vonnegut on Mass Ave. is not at the location of the Library. (That’s a common misconception.) Note the library’s address above.
Please share:
– Did you ever meet Kurt Vonnegut or any other Vonnegut?
– What are your favorite Vonnegut stories and quotes?
I have met a noteworthy second cousin (one generation behind) of Kurt Vonnegut Jr., who is Richard Vonnegut Jr. He is the son of Richard Vonnegut (Sr), a first cousin of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Richard (Jr) is a supporter of the local Greenways movement and is a rather knowledgeable history buff, and knows the history of railroad development in Indianapolis. He is a true gentleman and would no doubt not claim these talents I mentioned!