Update For Our Karass!
Due to the health risks of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the recommendations of health officials, we have decided to temporarily close Kurt’s Forever Home, the KVML at 543 Indiana Avenue, on March 17 at 5 p.m. We look forward to the day when we reopen. Meanwhile, we are working to offer more experiences and content here on our website and via social media. Our online store is always open for business, so make sure to visit us often. Read more here.
A Letter from KVML CEO & Founder Julia Whitehead
Dear Vonnegutians,
As we temporarily close our doors, let’s take a moment to recap our year to date. Since January 1, 2020, 646 of you welcomed us into your schools, prisons, community clubs, libraries, etc. Nearly 400,000 of you visited us here at our website! Another 1,213 of you stopped by in January and February when we were offering 6 tours a day! We shared suicide prevention training with more than 50 of you, and you keep asking for more. Arthur Murray Dance Studio taught 20 guests new dance steps at our first-ever Valentine’s Day Party. We hosted author Dave Eggers as we start our Youth Writing Program, and 210 of you had the opportunity to meet him. We’ve had an amazing year so far, and we are not stopping now. We are moving full-steam ahead, creating online content for you and planning our first Kentucky Derby Party and Fourth of July events, Freedom to Read Week, VonnegutFest, and more. What’s more, a donor from Danville, Indiana, is donating $500 if it is matched by the end of the day Friday, March 20th. His name is Tom, and you’ll learn more about him in our next newsletter. Would you consider donating any amount to help us reach our total goal of $500 by Friday at 5 pm? Donate here!
We exist to celebrate the legacy of Kurt Vonnegut and support free expression and common decency. Hand washing is common decency. Of course, Kurt had something to say about hand washing (he was so brilliant):
“My hero is Ignaz Semmelweis . . . But all that dying went on and on and Semmelweis, having far less sense about how to get along with others in this world than you and I would have, kept on asking his colleagues to wash their hands. They at last agreed to do this in a spirit of lampoonery, of satire, of scorn. How they must have lathered and lathered and scrubbed and scrubbed and cleaned under their fingernails. The dying stopped – imagine that! The dying stopped. He saved all those lives.” Read more here.
Although our building is closed, our organization is still open for business. So stay in touch with us, Vonnegutians, through our social media channels, email, and phone, and we’ll do our best to keep you informed of all things Vonnegut. So it goes!
KVML LIVE: A Virtual Museum
During these times everyone needs a bit of an escape, a little beauty, and a heavy dose of humor. Herewith we offer what we aim to build into a growing virtual library to soothe you and sustain you from the brilliant mind of Kurt Vonnegut Jr. CLICK TO SEE MORE
In this short film based on the Kurt Vonnegut short story of the same name we meet a girl named Catharine and her long-time friend, Newt. The two had grown up next door to each other, “on the fringe of a city, near fields and woods and orchards, within sight of a lovely bell tower that belonged to a school for the blind.” Vonnegut tells the simplest of love stories illustrating the theme of natural response and listening to one’s heart. One foot in front of the other, on the way to forever. Produced and directed by Jessica Hester in 2014.
Listen to KVML CEO Julia Whitehead reading from Vonnegut’s 1963 novel Cat’s Cradle.
Listen to KVML Director of Programs Lauren Ramsby reading Vonnegut’s short story Long Walk to Forever, originally published in Ladies Home Journal in 1960.
Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library champions the legacy of Kurt Vonnegut and the principles of free expression and common decency.
CONNECT WITH US
CONTACT US:
Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library
543 Indiana Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46202
[email protected]
(317) 652-1954
FOLLOW US:
Join the conversations on social media
Kurt Vonnegut shared his views and wit with so many. We’d like to engage with you too. Please lend your voice to our social media channels: Facebook and Twitter and Instagram.
Don’t miss our current Slaughterhouse-50 art exhibition, now through February 29, 2020. L.A. based artist Lance Miccio spent the last three years painstakingly working on fifty unique paintings based on the text from Kurt Vonnegut’s classic novel Slaughterhouse-Five. From Billy Pilgrim to those crafty little Tralfamadorians to the beautiful Montana Wildhack, you don’t want to miss this exhibition! Lance also has posters and postcards of his work in our gift shop and online.
Become a member of the Karass!
Donate to KVML and help us continue to bring Kurt Vonnegut and his ideals to the world.
Your support helps fund our new building and programs such as Banned Books Week, VonnegutFest, Teacher Workshops, School Outreach, and so much more. Please consider donating today.
About Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut is a renowned author who took an unflinching look at the world, tempered with a satirical eye and sardonic sense of humor. In a career spanning over 50 years, Vonnegut published 14 novels, three short story collections, five plays, and five works of non-fiction. He is most famous for his darkly satirical, best-selling novel Slaughterhouse-Five, which turned 50 years old in 2019.
“Free Speech 50” Sponsors (It’s not too late to join this list!)
The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library opened at 543 Indiana Avenue November 9, just in time for VonnegutFest! One of our permanent exhibitions focuses on Freedom of Expression. You are invited to become one of 50 donors (individuals or corporations) to contribute $500 to support the creation of phase one of this important educational exhibition. Donor names will be displayed at the exhibit and highlighted in future newsletters and select event programs. Thanks to those who have already donated:
- Anonymous Gift in Honor of Brett Stoker
- Theresa and Terrian Barnes
- Sharon D. Battista
- The Charles Bruce Foundation
- Craig and Andrea Carmichael
- Dr. David A. and Mrs. Mary F. Cory
- Nicholas Croce
- James Forest Day on behalf of Montana Wildhack
- DePauw University Libraries
- Juliet and Alan Duncanson
- Valerie Elliott
- Mary Lee Gambone
- Matthew and Anne Gillingham
- Gregory & Appel Insurance
- Sarah Harrell and Kristin Cutler
- Paige Christine Harrington
- Heartland Hemp and Supply Co.
- James Lucas Jones and Jennie Jones
- David and Mimi Lepreau Jose
- Victor R. Jose
- Katz.Korin.Cunningham
- Matthew Knoy
- The Lafave Family
- Marshal A. Miller
- Frank Noge
- John and Lisa Nolan
- Brock Noseworthy
- In Memory of Daniel W. Pfaff
- Mark Remington
- Patrick Rummel
- Stephanie Salter and Gabriel Fenoglio
- Bonnie Schall
- Kimann and Mike Schultz
- Sherwin Williams (Downtown Location)
- Kurt Simerman
- Candace and Neil Teixeira
- Kevin Toner and Susan Toner
Join us! Call KVML CEO Julia Whitehead (317) 652-1954 to learn how you can help make history with your contribution. Click here for more info and a donation form. Thank you for your support!
Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library 2017 - All Rights Reserved
The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library is a 501(c)(3) private nonprofit organization
The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library is proud to partner with the following American Writer's Museum.