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Palm Sunday (book)
Encyclopedia
Palm Sunday is a 1981 collection of short stories, speeches, essays, letters, and other previously unpublished works by author Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
Content
In addition to original material, Palm Sunday contains the following works (written by Vonnegut unless otherwise stated):- "Dear Mr. McCarthy" (letter)
- "Un-American Nonsense" (essay)
- "God's Law" (speech)
- "Dear Felix" (letter)
- "An Account of the Ancestry of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr, by an Ancient Friend of His Family" (formal essay by John G. Raunch)
- "What I Liked About CornellCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
" (speech) - "When I Lost My Innocence" (essay)
- "I Am Embarrassed" (speech)
- "How to Write with Style" (essay)
- Self-interview from The Paris Review
- "Who in America is Truly Happy?" (essay)
- "Something Happened" (review of Joseph HellerJoseph HellerJoseph Heller was a US satirical novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His best known work is Catch-22, a novel about US servicemen during World War II...
's novel) - "The Rocky GrazianoRocky GrazianoRocky Graziano, born Thomas Rocco Barbella in New York City , was an Italian American boxer. Graziano was considered one of the greatest knockout artists in boxing history, often displaying the capacity to take his opponent out with a single punch...
of American Letters" (speech) - "The Best of Bob and Ray" (Vonnegut's introduction to a book by Bob ElliottBob Elliott (comedian)Robert Brackett "Bob" Elliott is an American actor and comedian, formerly one-half of the comedy duo of Bob and Ray. He is the father of comedian/actor Chris Elliott and the grandfather of Saturday Night Live cast member Abby Elliott.-Life and career:Elliott was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the...
and Ray GouldingRay GouldingRaymond Walter Goulding was an American comedian, who, together with Bob Elliott formed the comedy duo of Bob and Ray....
) - "James T. FarrellJames T. FarrellJames Thomas Farrell was an American novelist. One of his most famous works was the Studs Lonigan trilogy, which was made into a film in 1960 and into a television miniseries in 1979...
" (funeral speech) - "Lavina Lyon" (funeral speech)
- "The Class of '57" (song lyric by DonDon Reid (music)Donald Sidney "Don" Reid is the retired lead singer and main songwriter of the American country music vocal group, The Statler Brothers...
and Harold ReidHarold ReidHarold Reid is the former bass singer for the country vocal group The Statler Brothers. He wrote or co-wrote 17 songs that were hit singles for the group, including "Bed of Rose's" and the #1 hit "Do You Know You Are My Sunshine." The latter was written with his younger brother, Don Reid, the lead...
of the Statler BrothersStatler BrothersThe Statler Brothers were an American country music vocal group founded in 1955 in Staunton, Virginia.Originally performing gospel music at local churches, the group billed themselves as The Four Star Quartet, and later The Kingsmen...
) - "The Noodle Factory" (speech)
- "Mark TwainMark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
" (speech) - "How Jokes Work" (commencement address)
- "Do Not Mourn!" (funeral speech by Clemens Vonnegut, written for his own funeral)
- "Thoughts of a Free ThinkerFreethoughtFreethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or other dogmas...
" (commencement address) - "William Ellery ChanningWilliam Ellery ChanningDr. William Ellery Channing was the foremost Unitarian preacher in the United States in the early nineteenth century and, along with Andrews Norton, one of Unitarianism's leading theologians. He was known for his articulate and impassioned sermons and public speeches, and as a prominent thinker...
" (speech) - "The Big Space Fuck" (short story)
- "Fear and Loathing in Morristown, N JMorristown, New JerseyMorristown is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 18,411. It is the county seat of Morris County. Morristown became characterized as "the military capital of the American Revolution" because of its strategic role in the...
" (speech) - "Dear Mr X" (letter by Nanette Vonnegut)
- "Jonathan SwiftJonathan SwiftJonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
" (Vonnegut's rejected introduction to a new edition of Swift's Gulliver's TravelsGulliver's TravelsTravels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships, better known simply as Gulliver's Travels , is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of...
) - "The Chemistry Professor" (treatment for a musical comedy based on Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde)
- "Louis-Ferdinand CélineLouis-Ferdinand CélineLouis-Ferdinand Céline was the pen name of French writer and physician Louis-Ferdinand Destouches . Céline was chosen after his grandmother's first name. He is considered one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, developing a new style of writing that modernized both French and...
" (Vonnegut's introduction to paperback editions of Céline's last three novels) - "DresdenDresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
Revisited" (Vonnegut's introduction to a new edition of Slaughterhouse-5) - "Flowers on the WallFlowers on the Wall"Flowers on The Wall" is a song made famous by country music group The Statler Brothers. Written and composed by the group's original tenor, Lew DeWitt, the song peaked in popularity in January 1966, spending four weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart, and reaching No....
" (song lyric by Lew DeWittLew DeWittLewis Calvin "Lew" DeWitt was an American country music singer and composer.For most of his career DeWitt sang tenor for The Statler Brothers...
of the Statler BrothersStatler BrothersThe Statler Brothers were an American country music vocal group founded in 1955 in Staunton, Virginia.Originally performing gospel music at local churches, the group billed themselves as The Four Star Quartet, and later The Kingsmen...
) - "Palm Sunday" (sermon)
Grades
In Chapter 18, "The Sexual Revolution," Vonnegut grades his own works. He states that the grades "do not place me in literary history" and that he is comparing "myself with myself." The grades are as follows:- Player PianoPlayer PianoPlayer Piano, author Kurt Vonnegut's first novel, was published in 1952. It is a dystopia of automation and capitalism, describing the dereliction they cause in the quality of life. The...
: B - The Sirens of TitanThe Sirens of TitanThe Sirens of Titan is a Hugo Award-nominated novel by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., first published in 1959. His second novel, it involves issues of free will, omniscience, and the overall purpose of human history...
: A - Mother NightMother NightMother Night is a novel by American author Kurt Vonnegut, first published in 1961. The title of the book is taken from Goethe's Faust....
: A - Cat's CradleCat's CradleCat's Cradle is the fourth novel by American writer Kurt Vonnegut, first published in 1963. It explores issues of science, technology, and religion, satirizing the arms race and many other targets along the way...
: A+ - God Bless You, Mr. RosewaterGod Bless You, Mr. RosewaterGod Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine, is a novel written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., published in 1965. The plot focuses on Eliot Rosewater, the primary trustee of the philanthropic Rosewater Foundation, whom one of the family lawyers, Norman Mushari, is attempting to have declared...
: A - Slaughterhouse-FiveSlaughterhouse-FiveSlaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death is a satirical novel by Kurt Vonnegut about World War II experiences and journeys through time of a soldier called Billy Pilgrim...
: A+ - Welcome to the Monkey HouseWelcome to the Monkey HouseWelcome to the Monkey House is an assortment of short stories written by Kurt Vonnegut, first published in August 1968. The stories range from war-time epics to futuristic thrillers, given with satire and Vonnegut's unique edge...
: B− - Happy Birthday, Wanda JuneHappy Birthday, Wanda JuneHappy Birthday, Wanda June is a play by Kurt Vonnegut, and a 1971 film adaptation, directed by Mark Robson.-Plot:The opening of this play is "This is a simple-minded play about men who enjoy killing, and those who don't."...
: D - Breakfast of ChampionsBreakfast of ChampionsBreakfast of Champions, or Goodbye Blue Monday is a 1973 novel by the American author Kurt Vonnegut. Set in the fictional town of Midland City, it is the story of "two lonesome, skinny, fairly old white men on a planet which was dying fast." One of these men, Dwayne Hoover, is a normal-looking but...
: C - Wampeters, Foma and GranfalloonsWampeters, Foma and GranfalloonsWampeters, Foma & Granfalloons is a collection of essays, reviews, short travel accounts, and human interest stories written by Kurt Vonnegut from c...
: C - Slapstick: D
- JailbirdJailbirdJailbird is a novel by Kurt Vonnegut, originally published in 1979. Its plot concerns a man recently released from a low security prison after having served time for a minor role in the Watergate scandal. The novel uses a standard memoir format, revealing Walter F...
: A - Palm Sunday: C