Artists are people who say I can’t fix my country or my state or my cite, or even my marriage. But by golly, I can make this square of canvas, or this eight and a half by eleven piece of paper, or this lump of clay or these twelve bars of music, exactly what they ought to be. — Kurt Vonnegut, Timequake (1996)
I was saddened to hear that perhaps my favourite writer of all time, Kurt Vonnegut died yesterday. More eloquent words than I can provide will be spoken about him, but his books have been a constant source of enjoyment ever since I first read Cat’s Cradle in middle school. We lost a great writer, but as Vonnegut would no doubt retort, life goes on and on…
So it goes.
We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane.
— Kilgore Trout’s epitaph, Breakfast of Champions (1973)
Check out this NY Times, the AV Club and these two from NPR here and here.
Also check out this great wiki resource of memorable quotes and passages by Vonnegut.