Kurt Vonnegut's Crusade Or, How a Postmodern Harlequin Preached a New Kind of Humanism

by Todd F. Davis, Joseph Natoli (Editor)

"I've worried some about why write books when presidents and senators and generals do not read them, and the university experience taught me a very good you catch people before they become generals and senators and presidents, and you poison their minds with humanity. Encourage them to make a better world." -- Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut's desire to save the planet from environmental and military destruction, to enact change by telling stories that both critique and embrace humanity, sets him apart from many of the postmodern authors who rose to prominence during the 1960s and 1970s. This new look at Vonnegut's oeuvre examines his insistence that writing is an "act of good citizenship or an attempt, at any rate, to be a good citizen." By exploring the moral and philosophical underpinnings of Vonnegut's work, Todd F. Davis demonstrates that, over the course of his long career, Vonnegut has created a new kind of humanism that not only bridges the modern and postmodern, but also offers hope for the power and possibilities of story. Davis highlights the ways Vonnegut deconstructs and demystifies the "grand narratives" of American culture while offering provisional narratives--petites histoires--that may serve as tools for daily living.

Genres: Nonfiction

176 pages, Hardcover

First published March 16, 2006

About the author

Todd F. Davis is an award-winning American poet, critic, and professor of English and Environmental Studies at Penn State Altoona. He has published eight poetry collections, including Ripe, The Least of These, Winterkill, and Ditch Memory: New & Selected Poems. His work has appeared in major journals such as The Iowa Review, Shenandoah, and The Gettysburg Review, and has been featured by Garrison Keillor and Ted Kooser. Davis has also co-edited literary anthologies and authored critical works on postmodern humanism. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and sons.

Reviews

[Pierce Ellinwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. It’s a really wonderful reading of the arc of Vonnegut’s novels in the framework of postmodernism, though probably not worth reading unless you’ve read at least a scattering of his books from across his career.

That said: I’m as big of a Vonnegut fan as there is, but Davis is definitely wearing rose-tinted glasses at times. Not everything that Kurt wrote was great, even when examined through this specific lens.

[Gindho Rizano · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book on how Kurt presents our chaotic (post)modern world, and at the same time, gets his gospel of humanism accross. Essential for his fans, Humanists, and enthusiasts of everything postmodern.

[Giorgi Komakhidze · Rating 5 out of 5]

BOOMER!
BOMBS!
B AND SO IT GOES...

[Nathan Stewart]

Kurt Vonnegut good guy thumbs up emoji

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fantastic, putting Vonnegut and his novels in an interesting light that was both in-depth and succinct. It helped me understand postmodernism and humanism, giving specific examples from each of Vonnegut's works in relation to those philosophies. Furthermore, Davis addressed other critics' similar or differing views with respect and evidence. Great addition to my Capstone project.