Me & Kurt

What do you say about Kurt Vonnegut? Most people who have been through an educational process, in the western hemisphere at least, have had some exposure to him and he left quite an impression on a multitude of people. When he died in 2007 it surprised and perhaps even baffled his readers because the man, like his work, seemed so timeless. Yet all things pass and this simple animation tells the story of how Turner Hale discovered that Kurt was no longer with us.

Yet it is much more than that. Turner - in a measured and somwhat contemplative tone - also recounts the things he would like to do in Kurt’s company had they ever met. He goes on to tell the story how his mother, when she was at college, met and spent several hours with Vonnegut. Her own reminisces are wrapped up within his own and this essentially becomes a homage in four diminutive parts to best American writer of the last century.

The best American writer part of the last sentence may give you a clue about why I decided to include this animation which isn’t quite an animation on Kuriositas. Vonnegut will always be one of my literary heroes, someone whose stories I can return to time and time again. They were so easy to read yet gave so much food for thought that he used to often confound me with the (apparently!) effortless way he created brilliant and unusual literature. Turner’s thoughts here very often mirror my own throughout the four minutes or so of this short reflection on his relationship with someone he never met.