Vonnegut and an array of misconceptions

<p dir="ltr">(February 15, 2020) Some folks assume <strong><a href= "https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kurt-Vonnegut">Kurt Vonnegut</a></strong> seldom visited <strong>Indianapolis</strong> after he achieved fame. Others claim the literary lion disliked his hometown - intensely and continuously - until his <strong><a href= "https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/apr/13/usa.kurtvonnegut">death in April of 2007</a></strong>.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src= "http://hoosierhistorylive.org/images/Julia-Whitehead-2020.JPG" alt="Julia Whitehead" width="190" height="260" align= "right" />Still others make assumptions about his religious and spiritual beliefs. Then there are those who think of him as a curmudgeon. And those who assume that most of Vonnegut's extended family members remain involved in the multi-generational hardware business that his great-grandfather, <strong><a href= "https://www.vonnegutlibrary.org/vonnegut-family-history-clemens-vonnegut/">Clemens Vonnegut</a></strong>, founded in the 1850s.</p> <p dir="ltr">Our show explores a range of misperceptions - as well as aspects that are much more nuanced than often assumed - related to the author of the classic <strong><em><a href= "https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/what-kurt-vonneguts-slaughterhouse-five-tells-us-now">Slaughterhouse-Five</a></em></strong> (1969) and other bestselling books, including the semi-autobiographical <strong><em><a href= "https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9602.Palm_Sunday">Palm Sunday</a></em></strong> (1981).</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src= "http://hoosierhistorylive.org/images/Clemens-vonnegut-great-grandfather-to-Kurt.JPG" alt= "Clemens Vonnegut (1824-1906), great-grandfather to novelist Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., founded a hardware store in Indianapolis in the 1850s." width="303" height="506" align="left" />We also explore little-known episodes in Vonnegut's life. Nelson's studio guest <strong>Julia Whitehead</strong>, executive director of the <strong><a href="https://www.vonnegutlibrary.org/">Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library</a