The Rocket

Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: Opinion

Kurt Vonnegut died on April 11 at the age of 84. The man was an incredible writer who helped me find my own writing style when I was in high school.

Although I never became a novelist, his influence still appears in my writing every once and awhile.

He's also one of the few authors that helps me justify jumping from random topic to random topic when I write.

I figured I would inform my readers about this, seeing as how the major news outlets are still crying about the Playboy bimbo whose name I refuse to mention. It's a sad world when a literary legend will get absolutely no press because an airhead celebrity died before he did.

It happens all the time though. Celebrities die in threes and the most notable ones pass under the radar. Many people can remember where they were the day Princess Diana was killed, but very few remember that Mother Theresa died around the same time.

It's unfortunate and sad; yet in a sense the sensationalism is a temporary thing.

Vonnegut will be read in schools and colleges forever. Many people will open his books and have their lives changed.

On the other hand, the dead Playboy bunny will be talked about for a few months tops.

By that time, people will have moved on to the next big scandal. Maybe Britney Spears will snap again and go on a killing spree where the police have to take her out. I think it would be a lot more interesting than the garbage we're hearing about now.

To get back on topic, I am amazed that Vonnegut lived as long as he did. He tried to commit suicide earlier in his life but screwed it up. That has got to be hard to live with.

If you think it's horrible I joke about this, Vonnegut made jokes about screwing up his own suicide attempt as well. He'd get a kick out of this. So it goes.

If you take time and think about it, many writers have committed suicide. Hemmingway and Hunter S. Thompson come to mind immediately.

I attribute this to the fact that most great writers are nuts. You have to have a few screws loose to come up with some of the things that they wrote about.

The problem with suicide is it doesn't give the writer much time to release a ton of material. You may get three or four good books, but that's it.

Rest in peace Kurt Vonnegut. You will be missed.

Tony Maiocco is a senior communication major and regular contributor to The Rocket.

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