Kurt Vonnegut Remembered

As the flap over Don Imus was reaching its peak this week, American novelist Kurt Vonnegut died at the age of 84. With Slaughterhouse Five, Cat's Cradle, and Breakfast of Champions, Vonnegut was part of a generation of writers known for democratizing language, using common American speech to describe massive cultural changes during the 60's and 70's. Did he help sew the seeds of today's unrestrained public dialogue? Jerome Klinkowitz, a friend of Vonnegut's, wrote about him in books including, Vonnegut in Fact and, The Vonnegut Effect.