Kurt Vonnegut On Making Your Soul Grow
Writers Write is a resource for writers. We’ve put together a post on Kurt Vonnegut and a copy of his letter of advice on making your soul grow.
Kurt Vonnegut was an American novelist, satirist, and graphic artist. He was born 11 November 1922, and died 11 April 2007.
He is best known for his books which blend satire, black comedy and science fiction. These include the novels, Cat’s Cradle
, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Breakfast of Champions
.
Kurt Vonnegut On Making Your Soul Grow
In 2006, students at Xavier High School in New York tested their persuasive writing skills by writing to their favourite author to ask him or her to visit the school. Five pupils chose Kurt Vonnegut. Although he never made the trip, he wrote this warm letter in reply.
Transcript
November 5, 2006
Dear Xavier High School, and Ms. Lockwood, and Messrs Perin, McFeely, Batten, Maurer and Congiusta:
I thank you for your friendly letters. You sure know how to cheer up a really old geezer (84) in his sunset years. I don’t make public appearances any more because I now resemble nothing so much as an iguana.
What I had to say to you, moreover, would not take long, to wit: Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow.
Seriously! I mean starting right now, do art and do it for the rest of your lives. Draw a funny or nice picture of Ms. Lockwood, and give it to her. Dance home after school, and sing in the shower and on and on. Make a face in your mashed potatoes. Pretend you’re Count Dracula.
Here’s an assignment for tonight, and I hope Ms. Lockwood will flunk you if you don’t do it: Write a six line poem, about anything, but rhymed. No fair tennis without a net. Make it as good as you possibly can. But don’t tell anybody what you’re doing. Don’t show it or recite it to anybody, not even your girlfriend or parents or whatever, or Ms. Lockwood. OK?
Tear it up into teeny-weeny pieces, and discard them into widely separated trash recepticals. You will find that you have already been gloriously rewarded for your poem. You have experienced becoming, learned a lot more about what’s inside you, and you have made your soul grow.
God bless you all!
Kurt Vonnegut
Suggested Reading:
- 15 Things Kurt Vonnegut Said Better Than Anyone Else
- Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Writing Tips
- All About Cinderella – Kurt Vonnegut Explains The Shapes Of Stories
Source: Letters of Note
Source for image
If you enjoyed this, you will love:
- Janet Fitch’s Top 10 Writing Tips
- Andrew Motion’s 10 Rules For Writers
- Elmore Leonard’s 11 Rules For Writing Fiction
- Writing Advice From The World’s Most Famous Authors
TIP: If you want help writing a book, buy The Novel Writing Exercises Workbook.