Quotessence
Home / Authors / Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut Quotes

Writer

Filter quotes by topic

AllPeopleIfsThinkingKnowsWritingWarWayHumansWorldMen

Famous Kurt Vonnegut Quotes

“I have wanted to give Iraq a lesson in democracy - because we're experienced with it, you know. And, in democracy, after a hundred years, you have to let your slaves go. And, after a hundred and fifty years, you have to let your women vote. And, at the beginning of democracy, is that quite a bit of genocide and ethnic cleansing is quite okay. And that's what's going on now.”

KnowsGivingYearsWantedPoliticsBitsDemocracyLessonsHundredOkayVoteSlaveIraqFiftyGenocideCleansingEthnic Cleansing
Author:Kurt Vonnegut
Create image

“A first grader should understand that her or his culture isn't a rational invention; that there are thousands of other cultures and they all work pretty well; that all cultures function on faith rather than truth; that there are lots of alternatives to our own society...Cultural relativity is defensible, attractive. It's a source of hope. It means we don't have to continue this way if we don't like it.”

IfsWayShouldFirstsWellsMeanFaithCultureCommunitySourceFunctionInventionRationalAlternativesAttractiveRelativityOther CulturesSociety And Culture
Author:Kurt Vonnegut
Create image

“Here's what I think the truth is: We are all addicts of fossil fuels in a state of denial, about to face cold turkey. And like so many addicts about to face cold turkey, our leaders are now committing violent crimes to get what little is left of what we're hooked on.”

ThinkingLittlesStatesFacesEnergyLeftLeaderCrimeColdTruth IsViolentDenialFuelAddictFossilsTurkeysFossil FuelHookedRenewable EnergyViolent CrimesCold Turkey
Book:A Man Without a Country
Create image

“If you make people laugh or cry about little black marks on sheets of white paper, what is that but a practical joke? All the great story lines are great practical jokes that people fall for over and over again.”

PeopleIfsLittlesStoriesFallBlackLinesWhiteLaughingCryPaperJokesMarkPracticalsSheetsMaking People LaughPractical JokeWhite Paper
Book:Kurt Vonnegut: The Last Interview: And Other Conversations
Create image

“Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.”

GivingShouldWritingStoriesLastsUnderstandingInformationReaderPagesShould HaveSuspenseCockroaches
Book:Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction
Create image

“All these people talk so eloquently about getting back to good old-fashioned values. Well, as an old poop I can remember back to when we had those old-fashioned values, and I say let's get back to the good old-fashioned First Amendment of the good old-fashioned Constitution of the United States - and to hell with the censors! Give me knowledge or give me death!”

PeopleGivingFirstsWellsI CanStatesRememberValuesUnitedUnited StatesHellAtheismConstitutionGive MePositive AtheismGet BackCensorshipAmendmentsOld FashionedFirst AmendmentConstitution Of The United StatesPoop
Author:Kurt Vonnegut
Create image

“Nobody will stop you from creating. Do it tonight. Do it tomorrow. That is the way to make your soul grow - whether there is a market for it or not! The kick of creation is the act of creating, not anything that happens afterward. I would tell all of you watching this screen: Before you go to bed, write a four line poem. Make it as good as you can. Don't show it to anybody. Put it where nobody will find it. And you will discover that you have your reward.”

WayLifeWritingSoulShowsHappensGrowsImaginationLinesCreativityFourCreationTomorrowBedCreatingRewardsScreensYour SoulKicksTonight
Author:Kurt Vonnegut
Create image

“I apologize because of the terrible mess the planet is in. But it has always been a mess. There have never been any 'Good Old Days,' there have just been days. And as I say to my grandchildren, 'Don't look at me. I just got here myself.'”

LooksPlanetsTerribleMessApologizingLook At MeGrandchildrenOld DaysMy GrandchildrenI ApologizeGood Old Days
Book:If This Isn't Nice, What Is?: Advice for the Young
Create image

“Jokes can be noble. Laughs are exactly as honorable as tears. Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion, to the futility of thinking and striving anymore. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward - and since I can start thinking and striving again that much sooner.”

ThinkingI CanLaughingTearsLaughterJokesResponseStriveNobleFrustrationHonorableCleaningExhaustionFutilityCleaning Up
Author:Kurt Vonnegut
Create image