Sunday Speaker Topic: Wayne Laufert: The Life and Lines of Kurt Vonnegut
Description:
The novels and nonfiction books of Kurt Vonnegut (1922—2007) are famous for their absurdist humor, vivid characters (including Vonnegut himself), memorable phrases (“So it goes”), forthright insights about America—and some crude drawings and the occasional recipe. They’re also filled with subjects of interest to humanists. Vonnegut repeatedly wrote and talked about war, religion, government, science, the arts, and more. By considering Vonnegut’s self-proclaimed moralizing and his unique approach to humanism—for example, he called himself a “Christ-worshiping agnostic”—we realize that these issues and Vonnegut himself remain as relevant as ever. Vonnegut’s speeches, essays, interviews, and journalism support and expand upon the sentiments in his 14 novels. From his first novel, Player Piano (1952), through his antiwar masterpiece, Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), to collections of his writing that appear up until today, 17 years after his death, Vonnegut’s sentiments were consistently humanistic. Wayne Laufert, author of Behaving Decently: Kurt Vonnegut’s Humanism (Humanist Press, 2022), will explore Vonnegut’s expressed worldview in a two-part presentation. First, Vonnegut’s biography will be summarized briefly. His upbringing as a freethinker (who nevertheless received informal Bible lessons), his wartime experience, his time in the corporate world, and other factors formed his values. Those values often are expressed by Vonnegut’s characters. Consider what the super-rich, damaged philanthropist Eliot Rosewater determines that he will urgently impart upon two newborn babies: “God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.” And consider what Vonnegut himself told a gathering of Unitarians: “What could be more essential in a pluralistic society like ours than that every citizen see dignity in every other human being everywhere?” Those are two of several quotes from Part 2 of the presentation, in which sentences written and spoken by Vonnegut will be highlighted and expanded upon. Vonnegut was a master of succinct expression. Seeing and hearing snippets of his words and then expanding upon their meaning is an enlightening, enjoyable way to experience his message. It’s a message of kindness and community and dignity and art—and farting around. It’s a message of humanism.
Bio:
Wayne Laufert is a former newspaper reporter and editor who now proofreads material published by the United States government. He has been a member of the humanist Baltimore Ethical Society since 2013 and a fan of Kurt Vonnegut since long before that. Wayne joined the Vonnegut Baltimore book club in 2011, as it began its second season. These days he runs the club with lots of help.
Please Note:
Doors open at 9:00 am for optional buffet breakfast ($5 donation) and socializing. Speaker program begins at 10:00 am.
Important: $5 breakfast fee waived for awesome humans bringing in food to share! Plus HSGP will reimburse $10 per casserole to help with the cost of ingredients.
If you can help with set-up, clean-up, and/or by bringing a breakfast casserole, please go to SignUpGenius HERE
A Children's Program is available during the Speaker Meeting. Go to a separate Meetup to RSVP for your kids HERE.
Prefer to join us remotely?
- Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84760042087?pwd=YnpQVml5LzllV1Y1QWM1ZVBDRXJudz09
- YOUTUBE: You can watch live (15 second delay), or you can watch later. LINK HERE
Need help? Email humanist@hsgp.org before the day of this meeting.
The Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix presents its Sunday Speaker meetings twice a month on Sunday mornings. Meetings are free and open to the public.
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HSGP HUMANIST CENTER
MESA, AZ 85201-4009
United States