The curator of the Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library in Indianapolis will visit Gary's lakefront Miller Beach neighborhood Friday to talk about the legendary counter-culture author who penned such classics as "Slaughterhouse-Five," "Breakfast of Champions," "Mother Night," "Player Piano" and "Cat's Cradle."
Chris LaFave will appear at 7 p.m. Friday at the Marshall J. Gardner Center for the Arts at 540 S. Lake St. to discuss the Hoosier author's life and work in a lecture called "And so it goes ..." in a talk sponsored by the Nelson Algren Museum of Miller Beach.
"Nelson Algren and Kurt Vonnegut are born Midwesterners who rejected their homelands later in life, known for their wit and dark humor, veterans of mothers lacking in warmth and World War II, instructors at the 1965 University of Iowa Writers Workshop, iconoclasts, recipients of numerous awards, and experienced periods of depression amid being lauded and criticized by a fickle public," the Miller Beach Arts & Creative District said in a news release. "Vonnegut is best known for his novel, 'Slaughterhouse-Five' and short stories such as 'God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater' and 'Happy Birthday, Wanda June.' His grim humor and anti-war sentiment was a great draw for Nelson Algren."
Visitors also can check out a traveling exhibit from the Vonnegut Museum at the Marshall J. Gardner Center.
"The Vonnegut exhibit features a desk and typewriter similar to what Vonnegut used to write his novels, iPads loaded with archived images, drawings, notes, manuscripts and videos of Vonnegut at various speaking engagements, amid standing displays of his work,"Â the Miller Beach Arts & Creative District said in a news release.
Tickets to the talk are $10 at the door, and beer and wine will be available for purchase.
For more information, visit nelsonalgrenmuseumofmillerbeach.com or visit millerbeacharts.org.