We met again via ZOOM on Thursday, May 25, 2023 to discuss KV’s
1968 collection of 25 short stories in “Welcome to the Monkey
House.” Those participating were Bill Briscoe, Gene Helveston,
John Clair, Sarona Burchard, Cheryl Carroll, and Dave Young.
It was noted that two of the entries were unusual. “New
Dictionary” was not a short story at all, but a book review of a
revised 1966 editon of the Random House Dictionary and all of it’s
logomachy which appeared in the New York Times in the fall of 1966.
Another anomaly was the short story “The Hyannis Port Story” which
featured the Kennedy family. It was purchased in 1963 by the
Saturday Evening Post but was never published due to sensitivity about
the assassination of JFGK.
We hunted and pecked through several of the other 23 stories.
It’s hard to summarize our reactions to them but we generally liked
what we read. We could see how he developed as a short story writer
over the years. To make a living, he was selling his stuff to mass
market family magazines and he played it safe. You won’t find much
sex or violence in these stories. After TV drove the mass-market
magazines out of business, he concentrated on his novels, where he
could be more daring.
Trying to immerse myself in the culture that TV took away, I became bogged
down in the 1950’s. My parents subscribed to the Saturday Evening Post
and Red Book while I was content with Boy’s Life and the Saturday
Review of Literature. My grandmother sent me clippings from the
Reader’s Digest which she hoped would improve my character.
Somehow, I got to read Esquire and Playboy, maybe at the Library
or the news rack next to the soda fountain at the drug store.
Respectable people did not subscribe to those mags and if
they did, they received them plain in a brown wrapper. A first
class postal stamp cost three cents and the mailman came
twice a day as we eagerly awaited new stuff.
I don’t remember reading Vonnegut in those days and he
was never brought up in my many college lit classes.
Vonnegut grew up a few blocks where I have lived for
many years and maybe that was the connection. Anyway
I didn’t take him seriously until I joined the book club in 2010.
Enough about me!
Vonnegut was prescient about so many things while most of
us were worried about nuclear war and the spread of Communism.
“Harrison Bergeron” is a satire about government-forced equality.
“Report on the “Barnhouse Effect” deals with mind-control, while
“EPICAC” is a takedown of artificial intelligence. The title
story “Welcome to the Monkey House” is a treatment of
government-endorsed assisted suicide. “The Euphoria Question”
muses about the use of a machine that makes people happy.
Our discussion went all over the map and my notes are
more chaotic than usual, so I will just quit right here!
We gave this little book a 9.2 rating on the highly acclaimed KV ten
point scale. One of our best ratings ever. We were so pleased
with ourselves that we resolved to cover the rest of the short
stories in “Monkey House” and perhaps some more in our next meeting. If you want
more of this stuff, I suggest you look at “Bagombo Snuff Box”
(23 short stories). If you want to go whole hog and get all 98 of
his short stories, you should get “Kurt Vonnegut Complete Stores”
(2017) edited by Jerome Klinkowitz and Dan Wakefield. It is
available on Amazon for about $32. I am attaching a list of all 98
stories (incuding five that were never published).
Dave Young
********************
So, we will meet again via ZOOM at 11AM on Thursday, June 22, 2023
(My how the time slips away!). Here is the ZOOM link:
You are invited to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Topic for 6/22/23 is more of KV’s short stories
Time: Jun 22, 2023 10:30 AM Indiana (East). (log in early if you
want to chat)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84048059253?pwd=RlFtbFErU1lRTHZtZXNQc3o0OUJMUT09
[1]
Meeting ID: 840 4805 9253
Passcode: 112497
******************************
Excerpt from Wikipedia: “Kurt Vonnegut: The Complete Stories” (2017)
Complete Stories (Seven Stories Press) is a 2017 collection of most of Kurt Vonnegut‘s previously published short stories, and several that were previously unpublished. The collection is introduced with a foreword by Dave Eggers, and is edited by Jerome Klinkowitz and Dan Wakefield.
This collection features 98 short stories:
- all from Bagombo Snuff Box (23), Look at the Birdie (14), and While Mortals Sleep (16)
- 23/25 from Welcome to the Monkey House (except “Where I Live” and “New Dictionary”)
- 10/11 from Armageddon in Retrospect (except “Wailing Shall Be in All Streets”)
- 6/8 from Sucker’s Portfolio (except “The Last Tasmanian” and “Robotville and Mr. Caslow”)
- 1 from Palm Sunday (only “The Big Space Fuck”)
- 5 never-before-published stories (“Atrocity Story,” “City,” “The Drone King,” “Requiem for Zeitgeist,” and “And on Your Left”)
Contents[edit]
Part 1: War[edit]
- All the King’s Horses (Collier’s Magazine, 10 February 1951; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- D.P. (Ladies Home Journal, August 1953; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- The Manned Missiles (Cosmopolitan, July 1958; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- Thanasphere (Collier’s Magazine, 2 September 1950; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- Souvenir (Argosy Magazine, December 1952; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- The Cruise of the Jolly Roger (Cape Cod Compass, April 1953; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- Der Arme Dolmetscher (The Atlantic Monthly, July 1955; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- Bagombo Snuff Box (Cosmopolitan Magazine, October 1954; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- Great Day (Armageddon in Retrospect, 2008)
- Guns Before Butter (Armageddon in Retrospect, 2008)
- Happy Birthday 1951 (Armageddon in Retrospect, 2008)
- Brighten Up (Armageddon in Retrospect, 2008)
- The Unicorn Trap (Armageddon in Retrospect, 2008)
- Spoils (Armageddon in Retrospect, 2008)
- Just You and Me, Sammy (Armageddon in Retrospect, 2008)
- The Commandant’s Desk (Armageddon in Retrospect, 2008)
- Armageddon in Retrospect (Armageddon in Retrospect, 2008)
- The Petrified Ants (Look at the Birdie, 2009)
- Atrocity Story (never-before-published)
Part 2: Women[edit]
- Miss Temptation (The Saturday Evening Post, 21 April 1956; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- Little Drops of Water (Look at the Birdie, 2009)
- Jenny (While Mortals Sleep, 2011)
- The Epizootic (While Mortals Sleep, 2011)
- Hundred-Dollar Kisses (While Mortals Sleep, 2011)
- Ruth (While Mortals Sleep, 2011)
- Out, Brief Candle (While Mortals Sleep, 2011)
- Mr. Z (While Mortals Sleep, 2011)
- With His Hand on the Throttle (While Mortals Sleep, 2011)
- Eden by the River (Sucker’s Portfolio, 2013)
- Lovers Anonymous (Redbook Magazine, October 1963; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
Part 3: Science[edit]
- Next Door (Cosmopolitan Magazine, April 1955; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- Report on the Barnhouse Effect (Collier’s Magazine, 11 February 1950; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- The Euphio Question (Collier’s Magazine, 12 May 1951; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- Unready to Wear (Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine, April 1953; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- EPICAC (Collier’s Magazine, 26 November 1950; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- Mnemonics (Collier’s Magazine, 28 April 1951; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- Confido (Look at the Birdie, 2009)
- Hall of Mirrors (Look at the Birdie, 2009)
- The Nice Little People (Look at the Birdie, 2009)
- Look at the Birdie (Look at the Birdie, 2009)
- Between Time and Timbuktu (Sucker’s Portfolio, 2013)
Part 4: Romance[edit]
- Who Am I This Time? (The Saturday Evening Post, 16 December 1961; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- Long Walk to Forever (Ladies Home Journal, August 1960; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- A Night for Love (The Saturday Evening Post, 23 November 1957; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- Find Me a Dream (Cosmopolitan Magazine, February 1961; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- FUBAR (Look at the Birdie, 2009)
- Girl Pool (While Mortals Sleep, 2011)
- Rome (Sucker’s Portfolio, 2013)
- Miss Snow, You’re Fired (Sucker’s Portfolio, 2013)
- Paris, France (Sucker’s Portfolio, 2013)
- City (never-before-published)
Part 5: Work Ethic versus Fame and Fortune[edit]
- More Stately Mansions (Collier’s Magazine, 22 December 1951; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- The Hyannis Port Story (Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- Go Back to Your Precious Wife and Son (Ladies Home Journal, July 1962; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- The Lie (The Saturday Evening Post, 24 February 1962; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- Deer in the Works (Esquire Magazine, April 1955; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- Any Reasonable Offer (Collier’s Magazine, 19 January 1952; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- The Package (Collier’s Magazine, 26 July 1952; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- Poor Little Rich Town (Collier’s Magazine, 25 October 1952; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- A Present for Big Saint Nick (Argosy Magazine, December 1954; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- This Son of Mine (The Saturday Evening Post, 18 August 1956; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- Hal Irwin’s Magic Lamp (Cosmopolitan Magazine, June 1957; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- Shout About It from the Housetops (Look at the Birdie, 2009)
- Ed Luby’s Key Club (Look at the Birdie, 2009)
- King and Queen of the Universe (Look at the Birdie, 2009)
- $10,000 a Year, Easy (While Mortals Sleep, 2011)
- Money Talks (While Mortals Sleep, 2011)
- While Mortals Sleep (While Mortals Sleep, 2011)
- Tango (While Mortals Sleep, 2011)
- The Humbugs (While Mortals Sleep, 2011)
Part 6: Behavior[edit]
- The Foster Portfolio (Collier’s Magazine, 8 September 1951; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- Custom-made Bride (The Saturday Evening Post, 27 March 1954; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- Unpaid Consultant (Cosmopolitan Magazine, March 1955; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- Sucker’s Portfolio (Sucker’s Portfolio, 2013)
- The Drone King (never-before-published)
- Hello, Red (Look at the Birdie, 2009)
- The Honor of a Newsboy (Look at the Birdie, 2009)
- Tom Edison’s Shaggy Dog (Collier’s Magazine, 14 March 1953; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- The Man Without No Kiddleys (While Mortals Sleep, 2011)
- The Powder-Blue Dragon (Cosmopolitan Magazine, November 1954; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- Runaways (The Saturday Evening Post, 15 April 1961; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- The Good Explainer (Look at the Birdie, 2009)
- Guardian of the Person (While Mortals Sleep, 2011)
- Bomar (While Mortals Sleep, 2011)
- Requiem for Zeitgeist (never-before-published)
- And on Your Left (never-before-published)
Part 7: The Band Director[edit]
- The Kid Nobody Could Handle (The Saturday Evening Post, 24 September 1955; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- The No-Talent Kid (The Saturday Evening Post, 25 October 1952; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- Ambitious Sophomore (The Saturday Evening Post, May 1954; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- The Boy Who Hated Girls (The Saturday Evening Post, 31 March 1956; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- A Song for Selma (Look at the Birdie, 2009)
Part 8: Futuristic[edit]
- Harrison Bergeron (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1961; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- Welcome to the Monkey House (Playboy Magazine, January 1968; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- Adam (Cosmopolitan Magazine, April 1954; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine, January 1954; also in a collection Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968)
- The Big Space Fuck (Again, Dangerous Visions, 1972; also collected in Palm Sunday, 1981)
- 2 B R 0 2 B (Worlds of If Magazine, January 1962; also in a collection Bagombo Snuff Box, 1999)
- Unknown Soldier (Armageddon in Retrospect, 2008)
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