From "is" to "was" the Passing of a Cultural Icon, My Hero, Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut died yesterday in his home in New York City. He was 84 years old. Known formally as an author, famous for his many novels including "Slaughter House Five" and "Cat's Cradle."

Today, his website, Vonnegut.com, depicted an image of an empty birdcage with the door left ajar. Below was a caption (1922-2007)

I was first introduced to Vonnegut as a junior in high school taking a course in contemporary literature. We read "Slaughter House Five," a book I loved instantly, one that will forever remain synonymous in my mind with other great works of literature I read that year including "Catcher in the Rye" and "One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest."

A master of creative writing, Vonnegut was more than an author, he is a social icon, a satirist, a respected and revered pessimist, and a cultural and political critic. Most importantly, Vonnegut's honest, funny and sarcastic style that is so evident in his books caused me to think critically, and to question the generally accepted conventions of society.

Vonnegut's last writing was "A Man Without a Country," a non-fiction reflection on his life and the society he refused to accept. The book has a dis-attached, slightly bitter tone, leaving me to think Vonnegut had given up on the rest of us. I wonder now, in the hours after his death, if he was at peace on his death bed, if he found comfort in the world he spent his live criticizing.

I hope so. I love you Kurt Vonnegut. You are my favorite author, you have taught me so much.