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5 SELF-INTERVIEW

Replies by KV to questions put by himself for The Paris Review No. 69

6 THE PEOPLE ONE KNOWS

“Who in America Is Truly Happy?”—essay by KV on William F. Buckley, Jr., for Politics Today

“Something Happened”—review by KV for The New York Times Book Review of Joseph Heller’s second novel

“The Rocky Graziano of American Letters”—speech by KV at banquet in honor of Irwin Shaw at the Players’ Club, New York City

“The Best of Bob and Ray”—introduction by KV to book by the great comedians Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding

“James T. Farrell”—speech by KV at Farrell’s funeral in New York City

7 PLAYMATES

“Lavina Lyon”—speech by KV at the funeral of an old friend in Lexington, Ky.

“The Class of ’57”—song by Don and Harold Reid of the Statler Brothers, a country-music quartet

“The Noodle Factory”—speech by KV at the dedication of the new library at the University of Connecticut, New London

8 MARK TWAIN

“Mark Twain”—speech by KV at the one-hundredth anniversary celebration of the completion of Mark Twain’s fanciful residence in Hartford, Conn.

9 FUNNIER ON PAPER THAN MOST PEOPLE

“How Jokes Work”—commencement address by KV at Fredonia College, Fredonia, N.Y.

10 EMBARRASSMENT

11 RELIGION

“Do Not Mourn!”—speech written by KV’s great-grandfather, Clemens Vonnegut, to be read at his own funeral

“Thoughts of a Free Thinker”—commencement address by KV at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, N.Y.

“William Ellery Charming”—speech by KV on the 200th anniversary of the birth of the great Unitarian minister, First Parish Church, Cambridge, Mass.

12 OBSCENITY

“The Big Space Fuck”—short story by KV

13 CHILDREN

“Fear and Loathing in Morristown, NJ.”—speech by KV to the Mental Health Association of New Jersey

“Dear Mr. X”—letter by Nanette Vonnegut, waitress, to disgruntled restaurant customer

14 JONATHAN SWIFT MISPERCEIVED

“Jonathan Swift”—rejected introduction by KV to new edition of Gulliver’s Travels

15 JEKYLL AND HYDE UPDATED

The Chemistry Professor—treatment by KV for a musical comedy based on Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

16 A NAZI SYMPATHIZER DEFENDED AT SOME COST

“Louis-Ferdinand Céline”—introduction by KV to paperback editions of the controversial author’s last three novels

17 A NAZI CITY MOURNED AT SOME PROFIT

“Dresden Revisited”—introduction by KV to new edition of Slaughterhouse- Five

18 THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION

“Flowers on the Wall”—song by Lew De Witt of the Statler Brothers

19 IN THE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

“Palm Sunday”—sermon delivered by KV at St. Clement’s Church, New York City

INTRODUCTION

THIS IS a very great book by an American genius. I have worked so hard on this masterpiece for the past six years. I have groaned and banged my head on radiators. I have walked through every hotel lobby in New York, thinking about this book and weeping, and driving my fist into the guts of grandfather clocks.

It is a marvelous new literary form. This book combines the tidal power of a major novel with the bone-rattling immediacy of front-line journalism—which is old stuff now, God knows, God knows. But I have also intertwined the flashy enthusiasms of musical theater, the lethal left jab of the short story, the sachet of personal letters, the oompah of American history, and oratory in the bow-wow style.

This book is so broad and deep that it reminds me of my brother Bernard’s early experiments with radio. He built a transmitter of his own invention, and he hooked it up to a telegraph key, and he turned it on. He called up our cousin Richard, about two miles away, and he told Richard to listen to his radio, to tune it back and forth across the band, to see if he could pick up my brother’s signals anywhere. They were both about fifteen.

My brother tapped out an easily recognizable message, sending it again and again and again. It was “SOS.” This was in Indianapolis, the world’s largest city not on a navigable waterway.

Cousin Richard telephoned back. He was