Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library

July 2, 2010 – Join Us for a benefit supporting The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library!

Eat out and contribute to the Vonnegut Library. Click here for more information about the Vonnegut Library fundraiser at Noodle and Co. on July 8th from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Vonnegut Library Book Club – June Book “God Bless You Mr. Rosewater”

The Vonnegut Library Book Club began in January with a reading and discussion of Slaughterhouse Five, along with a viewing of the film. Come join the group led by Sylvia Halladay, which meets at the Rathskeller on the last Thursday of each month. To RSVP, please e-mail .

June 8, 2010 – Unstuck in Time: Rochester’s Connection to Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five

The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library will be sponsoring a free public lecture on June 8 by noted historian Grant Holcomb who will tell the story of the real-life soldier who Vonnegut used as the model for Billy Pilgrim, the central character in his classic novel “ Slaughterhouse-Five.”

The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library lecture will be held on June 8 at 7 p.m. at the Athenaeum, 201 E. Michigan St., Indianapolis, IN 26204. Over the years, Vonnegut has said that the Billy Pilgrim character in his book was based on a young Rochester, New York man who, like Vonnegut, served in the 106th Infantry, was captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge and held as a POW in Dresden, Germany. Unlike Vonnegut, however, the real-life Edward R. Crone did not survive the war and, unlike Billy Pilgrim, he did not return to upstate New York to marry and raise a family.
During his lecture, Holcomb will discuss Crone’s early years in Rochester, his service during the war (including the bombing of Dresden), his relationship to the character in the Vonnegut novel and how it took his parents five years after the war to locate their son’s body in order to bring him home for burial in Rochester. Holcomb worked with Kurt Vonnegut on developing this presentation on Crone and is coming to Indianapolis to share insights into this important character in Vonnegut’s work.

About Grant Holcomb

Holcomb is the Mary W. and Donald R. Clark Director of the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY. Born and raised in California, Holcomb received his B.A. in History from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Art History from the University of Delaware. He taught at Mount Holyoke College (1972-1979) before returning to California to begin his museum career at the San Diego Museum of Art where he served as curator and later Assistant Director. He assumed the directorship of the Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester in 1985.

Holcomb was a Kress Fellow at the National Gallery of Art, has been the recipient of fellowships and grants from the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Endowment for the Arts, Henry Francis DuPont Winterthur Museum and the New York State Council on the Arts, among others. He has written a number of articles, essays and exhibition catalogs on 19th and 20th century American art. He is married and the father of five children.

RSVP for this special event by e-mailing .

Night of Vonnegut Event – May 8

A “Night of Vonnegut” benefit event will be held on May 8th at 7 p.m. at the Theatre in the Historic Athenaeum in Indianapolis. The event will include dinner provided by the Rathskeller, jazz by the Tim Brickley Trio, a Vonnegut look-alike contest, dramatic readings of Vonnegut work by local actors, a panel discussion of “My Friend Kurt” by those who knew him well, a silent auction of a piece of Vonnegut art, and a “Family Feud” style Vonnegut trivia game. Tickets are $75 each with discounts for students.

Vonnegut Library Book Club – April Book “Mother Night”

The Vonnegut Library Book Club began in January with a reading and discussion of Slaughterhouse Five, along with a viewing of the film. Come join the group led by Sylvia Halladay, which meets at the Rathskeller on the last Thursday of each month. To RSVP, please e-mail bookclub@vonnegutlibrary.org.

The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library Presents “Conversations with Rodney Allen”

William “Rodney” Allen, scholar and author of “Conversations with Kurt Vonnegut,” will be traveling from Louisiana to Indianapolis to share his insights into Vonnegut’s life and works. After speaking to 9th Grade students at Shortridge High School earlier in the day, Allen will deliver a speech tailored for adults to supporters of the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library at the historic Athenaeum at 7 p.m. on February 18th.

Allen earned his Ph.D. in English at Duke University and taught at the University of Mississippi until he and his wife moved to Natchitoches, LA in 1983. They both work at the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts, a state-run residential program for gifted students from all over the state They have two daughters. Allen’s publications include his first book, Walker Percy: A Southern Wayfarer, and two books on Kurt Vonnegut, Conversations with Kurt Vonnegut (interviews) and Understanding Kurt Vonnegut. Allen’s latest book is The Coen Brothers: Interviews, and his next will be on the writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson, whose most recent film was There Will Be Blood. Allen is a member of the Board of Directors of the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library.

This event is sponsored by the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, a public benefit, nonprofit organization championing the literary, artistic, and cultural contributions of the late writer, artist and Indiana native Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. The Library is creating a library that will also serve as a cultural and educational resource center, functioning as a museum, art gallery, and reading room for readers, writers, and students. In addition, the library will support language and visual arts education for the local community. This free event is open to the public, but anyone interested in attending must RSVP by contacting Julia Whitehead at Julia@vonnegutlibrary.org.

Join the Vonnegut Library Book Club – The Last Thursday of Each Month – February’s Book: Player Piano.

The Vonnegut Library Book Club began in January with a reading and discussion of Slaughterhouse Five, along with a viewing of the film. Come join the group led by Sylvia Halladay. February’s book will be Player Piano. The book for March is Sirens of TItan. To RSVP, please e-mail bookclub@vonnegutlibrary.org.

1st Annual Meeting – November 14th, 2009

The Vonnegut Library Board of Directors kicked off the first Annual
Meeting on November 14th at the office of Krieg DeVault Law Firm in
Indianapolis. Nonprofit consultant Jessica White facilitated a
strategic planning discussion in which participants shared new ideas
for the library, and each attendee left with an understanding of how
he or she fits into the organization. The group decided to focus on
three major areas in 2010. These include:

(1) The library (determining its location, collection, programs)
(2) fundraising
(3) visibility

Some of the new ideas that came out of the discussions include an
Indianapolis book fair, dramatic readings and plays, a video of Kurt’s
life and interviews with those who knew him, a digital archive when we
have documents and other personal items, and Facebook and other social
media (facebook.com/Vonnegut library). The group is especially
interested in partnering with arts and literary organizations to help
raise the cultural tide in Indianapolis and to promote Kurt’s works in
high schools and universities.

The GermanFest – October 10th, 2009

The first annual Indianapolis GermanFest, our public debut, was a
great success for the Vonnegut Library. It was a gorgeous day, and
Corey Dalton and Julia Whitehead were happy to discover that we were
setting up our booth right next to one of the food vendors. This was
great as folks had to walk by us to get to their sausages. Corey and
Julia were later joined by Kip Tew, K.C. Norwalk, Keri Young, Diana
Brown, Kelli Norwalk, and Rebeccah Glass, who volunteered to staff the
booth and share information about the library. We were also very close
to the stage, which meant that we were in a great spot to take in the
yodeling contest and the waltzing couples. We regret that we missed out on seeing the wiener dog race, as apparently
there were dozens of dachshunds entering the competition.

We met many, many folks that day who were either huge Vonnegut fans or
completely unfamiliar with him and his work, people of all ages. It
was a delight to speak with both types of individuals as some left the
table with their curiosity piqued and others left excited about the
library plans.

Attendees generously donated to the library, and we were grateful for
each contribution, whether it was $5 or $100.

If you haven’t visited us on Facebook yet, please check us out at
facebook.com/Vonnegutlibrary to see photos of the GermanFest. There
was one gentleman at the GermanFest with “So It Goes” tattooed on his
arm. We loved it!

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For media inquiries, please contact Terry Burns at (317) 437-7857 or e-mail Terry at