Author, editor, and writing teacherSuzanne McConnellwas a student
of Kurt Vonnegut's at the Iowa Writers' Workshop from 1965 to 1967,
when Vonnegut-along with Nelson Algren and other notable
authors-was in residence and finishing his
masterpiece,Slaughterhouse-Five. Vonnegut and McConnell became
friends, and stayed so for the rest of his life. She has published
short memoirs of him intheBrooklyn Railand theWriter's Digest, and
led a panel at the 2014 AWP conference titled "Vonnegut's Legacy-
Writing About War and Other Debacles of the Human Condition."
McConnell taught writing at Hunter College for thirty years, and
she serves as the fiction editor of theBellevue Literary
Review.Twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize, her fiction also won
first prize in theNew Ohio Review's 2015 Fiction Contest, first
prize inPrime Number Magazine's2014 Awards for Flash Fiction, and
second prize inSo to Speak's 2008 Fiction Contest.She lives in New
York City and Wellfleet, Massachusetts, with her husband, the
artist Gary Kuehn.
Kurt Vonnegutwas one of the few grandmasters of American
literature, whose novels continue to influence new generations
about the ways in which our imaginations can help us to live. Few
aspects of his contribution have not been plumbed-fourteen novels,
a collection of his speeches, essays, letters, a play-so this fresh
self-portrait, written with the aid of a former student, is a
bonanza for writers and readers everywhere.
“A love song for the writing life by one of the world’s finest
humanist writers, Kurt Vonnegut’s wry and compassionate voice is
given a resonant echo chamber here by the wise and abidingly
respectful presence of his former graduate student, Suzanne
McConnell. Part homage, part memoir, and a 100% guide to making art
with words, Pity the Reader: Writing With Style is a
simply mesmerizing book, and I cannot recommend it highly enough!”
—Andre Dubus III
The blend of memory, fact, keen observation, spellbinding
descriptiveness and zany characters that populated Vonnegut’s work
is on full display here, in a kind of workshop forum, with
explanations by the writer himself, as recorded by a fellow writer,
McConnell, who knew Vonnegut for decades. The result is Vonnegut as
we’ve never seen him before, a man of kindness and generosity,
humility and extraordinary introspection, whose humor and
creativity served as a kind of protectorate, a shield, and most
importantly a fountain of creativity to quench his life-long thirst
for a better, kinder planet. It’s a must read for any young
writer." —James McBride, author of the National Book
Award-winning novel, The Good Lord Bird
“Pity us not at all! What could be more welcome than Kurt
Vonnegut’s acerbic writing advice expertly illuminated by veteran
teacher/writer/editor Suzanne McConnell. A timely book for writers,
readers, teachers and book-lovers alike. It’s unsentimental,
unvarnished, and 100 percent treacle-free. If you’ve longed to be
under Vonnegut’s spell once again, this is the book for you.”
—Danielle Ofri, MD, author of What Patients Say, What Doctors
Hear
"As both biography and artifact, Pity the Reader is priceless.
But the practical guidelines on writing well are themselves worth
the price of admission, even for those of us who do not write
fiction, and even those who do not write at all. Indeed,
many aspiring writers pay good money for the kind of advice
and insight contained herein, not least of all in the form of
tuition at any of the world’s many MFA programs." —Jeremy Justus,
Provincetown Arts
"I hate getting advice, personally. This is not that kind of
book—it complains grumpily about the discomfort required to write
truthfully and it celebrates the long history of art as 'a very
human way of making life more bearable.' In short, it reminds us of
the important things. Suzanne McConnell takes us eloquently into
the joys of rediscovering Vonnegut, in a guide that will be
profoundly useful to writers thinking about fiction’s purposes as
well as its methods." —Joan Silber, author of Improvement,
winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award
"This is such a rich, generous book about writing and reading and
Kurt Vonnegut as writer, teacher, and friend, that I find
myself at a loss for the right good words. It’s a breeze to
read. Every page brings pleasure and insight. It captures the
spirit of the man some of us were lucky enough to know and
gives future generations a sense of him as a teacher and writer. It
traces how Vonnegut grew as a writer and how his writing took
shape. I have read it three times now and find it not only a
meticulous homage and worthy memorial to a great human being and a
lasting writer, but a true help, for all of us at any age, who
yearn to write with style.” —Gail Godwin, bestselling author
of A Southern Family among many others novels, and the
forthcoming Old Lovegood Girls
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