--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [Kurt] Vonnegut was a writer whose great…" description: "\"[Kurt] Vonnegut was a writer whose great gift was that he always seemed to be talking directly to you. He wasn't writing, he wasn't showing off, he was..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/michael-dirda-3414_admire_kurt-vonnegut-was-a-writer-whose-great-g_2525625.jpg" --- # \[Kurt\] Vonnegut was a writer whose great gift was that he… ![“[Kurt] Vonnegut was a writer whose great gift was that he always seemed to be talking directly to you. He wasn't writing, he wasn't showing off, he was just telling you, nobody else, what it was like, what it was all about. That intimacy made him beloved. We can admire the art of John Updike or…” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/michael-dirda-3414_admire_kurt-vonnegut-was-a-writer-whose-great-g_2525625.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/michael-dirda-3414_admire_kurt-vonnegut-was-a-writer-whose-great-g_2525625.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/michael-dirda-3414_admire_kurt-vonnegut-was-a-writer-whose-great-g_2525625.jpg) > “\[Kurt\] Vonnegut was a writer whose great gift was that he always seemed to be talking directly to you. He wasn't writing, he wasn't showing off, he was just telling you, nobody else, what it was like, what it was all about. That intimacy made him beloved. We can admire the art of John Updike or Philip Roth, but we love Vonnegut.” [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Vonnegut writes with a personal, direct voice that feels intimate, making readers feel personally addressed and understood. **In simple terms:** Vonnegut speaks directly to the reader, creating intimacy. Key Takeaway Value personal connection in storytelling. Themes intimacy voice literary style Mood reflective appreciative Type literary personal When to use this quote - book clubs - creative writing classes - literary analysis - personal essays Key Concepts direct address personal narrative empathy Questions to Reflect On - How does direct address affect your engagement? - What makes intimacy in writing compelling? A Different Perspective Some readers may find the style overly informal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Admire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admire/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Beloved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beloved/) [Great gifts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-gifts/) [Intimacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intimacy/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/john-updike/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kurt-vonnegut/) [Love Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-vonnegut-1294128/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Philip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philip/) [Showing off](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/showing-off/) [Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking/) [Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vonnegut/) [Vonnegut Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vonnegut-writer-1294126/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-great-559593/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [ I think the essence of \[Kurt\] Vonnegut's humanism lay in his emphasis on human kindness as, so to speak, our saving grace. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-think-the-essence-of-kurt-vonnegut-s-humanism-lay-in-his-emphasis/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [ Нe \[Kurt Vonnegut\] felt that life was largely a crap shoot and that we simply need to muddle on as best we can, being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/e-kurt-vonnegut-felt-that-life-was-largely-a-crap-shoot-and-that-we/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Whatever Kurt Vonnegut's ultimate status will be in the annals of literature, he was important to a lot of people right now. That's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/whatever-kurt-vonnegut-s-ultimate-status-will-be-in-the-annals-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [ I think that his \[Kurt Vonnegut's\] appeal, though, will always be chiefly to adolescents. His sense of the world matches that of young people,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-think-that-his-kurt-vonnegut-s-appeal-though-will-always-be-chiefly/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My theory is that Kurt had a lot of residual pain from his childhood. And when you pile that on top of his experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-j-shields/my-theory-is-that-kurt-had-a-lot-of-residual-pain-from-his-childhood/) [Charles J. Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-j-shields/) > [“Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before... He is full of murderous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr-2/beware-of-the-man-who-works-hard-to-learn-something-learns-it-and/) [Kurt Vonnegut, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr-2/) > [“Billy Pilgrim: "You guys go on without me. I'll be alright." Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/billy-pilgrim-you-guys-go-on-without-me-i-ll-be-alright/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ Finally, one night we were smoking pot \[with Michael O'Donoghue\] and talking about the people that are invariably in high school, whether you go… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/finally-one-night-we-were-smoking-pot-with-michael-o-donoghue-and/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [As Richard Pryor was to Eddie Murphy, that's what Kurt Vonnegut was to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/as-richard-pryor-was-to-eddie-murphy-that-s-what-kurt-vonnegut-was-to/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [ “\[...\] as Kurt Vonnegut pointed out \[...\] the literary novel has become extraordinarily privatistic of late. It's as if the big issues (Does God… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/as-kurt-vonnegut-pointed-out-the-literary-novel-has-become/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) > [I read a lot of short fiction, like Kurt Vonnegut and Raymond Carver and Wells Tower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/i-read-a-lot-of-short-fiction-like-kurt-vonnegut-and-raymond-carver/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [ \[Kurt\] Vonnegut once said, if you ever want to know who somebody is... Like you look at Richard Nixon, or Adolf Hitler, or Ralph… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/kurt-vonnegut-once-said-if-you-ever-want-to-know-who-somebody-is-like/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [In seventh grade, with some vague sense that I wanted to be a writer, I crouched in the junior high school library stacks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/in-seventh-grade-with-some-vague-sense-that-i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-i/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [Everybody should read 'Slaughterhouse-Five' by Kurt Vonnegut. This book is about the hypocrisy of war, told in satire, and is hard-hitting and truthful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalki-koechlin/everybody-should-read-slaughterhouse-five-by-kurt-vonnegut-this-book/) [Kalki Koechlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalki-koechlin/) ## More by Michael Dirda > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I sometimes lie awake at night and try to imagine what would be the best period in history to spend one's seventy-odd years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-sometimes-lie-awake-at-night-and-try-to-imagine-what-would-be-the/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [To my mind, 'Dear Brutus' stands halfway between Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's 'Into the Woods'. Like them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/to-my-mind-dear-brutus-stands-halfway-between-shakespeare-s-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [The goal of a just society should be to provide satisfying work with a living wage to all its citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/the-goal-of-a-just-society-should-be-to-provide-satisfying-work-with/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Most lyric poetry is about love, whether yearned after, fulfilled, or wistfully regretted; what isn't tends to consist of laments and cris du coeur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/most-lyric-poetry-is-about-love-whether-yearned-after-fulfilled-or/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [“Books, by their very nature and variety, help us grow in empathy for others, in tolerance and awareness. But they should increase our skepticism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/books-by-their-very-nature-and-variety-help-us-grow-in-empathy-for/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My gift, if that's not too grandiose a term, is one for describing novels, biographies, and works of history in such a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-term-is-one-for-describing/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Once we know the plot and its surprises, we can appreciate a book's artistry without the usual confusion and sap flow of emotion, content…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/once-we-know-the-plot-and-its-surprises-we-can-appreciate-a-book-s/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My wife tells me I should check out 'Downton Abbey', but I gather that series might be almost too intense for my temperate nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-wife-tells-me-i-should-check-out-downton-abbey-but-i-gather-that/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [A reviewer's lot is not always an easy one. I can remember flogging myself to finish Harold Brodkey's 'The Runaway Soul' despite the novel's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/a-reviewer-s-lot-is-not-always-an-easy-one-i-can-remember-flogging/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I once read that in vaudeville, it was often the straight guy who got paid more than the comic because that's the tougher job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-once-read-that-in-vaudeville-it-was-often-the-straight-guy-who-got/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [From the late 19th to the early 20th century, the December issue of almost any general-interest magazine regularly featured a holiday horror or two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-century-the-december-issue-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Neither my mom nor my dad ever bought me any comic books. Certainly not for Christmas. I suspect that doing so would have violated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/neither-my-mom-nor-my-dad-ever-bought-me-any-comic-books-certainly/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [For me, the two weeks between Christmas and Twelfth Night have come to be reserved for desultory reading. The pressure of the holiday is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/for-me-the-two-weeks-between-christmas-and-twelfth-night-have-come-to/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I've always liked an easygoing, colloquial style. I like the kind of reviewer who is essentially a fellow reader, an enthusiast, a fan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-ve-always-liked-an-easygoing-colloquial-style-i-like-the-kind-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) [Explore all 131 Michael Dirda quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## More Admire quotes > [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I admire Serena Williams, because, I mean, who doesn't admire Serena Williams?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-konta/i-admire-serena-williams-because-i-mean-who-doesn-t-admire-serena/) [Johanna Konta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-konta/) > [How proud I am to be compared to Oprah. I really admire her. She's a minority woman and she's done all this by herself...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-saralegui/how-proud-i-am-to-be-compared-to-oprah-i-really-admire-her-she-s-a/) [Cristina Saralegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-saralegui/) > [I admire President Obama's ability to trust strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/i-admire-president-obama-s-ability-to-trust-strangers/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [I really admire people's interactions with technology that aren't tech-centric but use it as a tool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-polachek/i-really-admire-people-s-interactions-with-technology-that-aren-t/) [Caroline Polachek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-polachek/) > [During my first years in the Sierra, I was ever calling on everybody within reach to admire them, but I found no one half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/during-my-first-years-in-the-sierra-i-was-ever-calling-on-everybody/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Shaw's works make me admire the magnificent tolerance and broadmindedness of the english.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/shaw-s-works-make-me-admire-the-magnificent-tolerance-and/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [It could be my British need for discipline that makes me admire the American appetite for freedom and passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-winwood/it-could-be-my-british-need-for-discipline-that-makes-me-admire-the/) [Steve Winwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-winwood/) > [I believe in a world where there are no heroes, and I've read and know humanity a lot. There are moments that I admire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-believe-in-a-world-where-there-are-no-heroes-and-i-ve-read-and-know/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I think it's really good and helpful to have the people you most admire in some other discipline than what you work in. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/i-think-it-s-really-good-and-helpful-to-have-the-people-you-most/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [Part of what we admire about a painting or a piece of music is the order which the artist has imposed upon what would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-storr/part-of-what-we-admire-about-a-painting-or-a-piece-of-music-is-the/) [Anthony Storr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-storr/) > [I respect and admire the Premier League.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-koeman/i-respect-and-admire-the-premier-league/) [Ronald Koeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-koeman/) > [“Admire and appreciate your man and he will be happy on your side”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-alfiori/admire-and-appreciate-your-man-and-he-will-be-happy-on-your-side/) [Linda Alfiori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-alfiori/) > [“The thing I admire most about you is no matter how hard, or how much the world has tried to beat you, break you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-gill/the-thing-i-admire-most-about-you-is-no-matter-how-hard-or-how-much/) [Nikita Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-gill/) [Browse all 2,369 Admire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[Kurt] Vonnegut was a writer whose great gift was that he always seemed to be talking directly to you. He wasn't writing, he wasn't showing off, he was just telling you, nobody else, what it was like, what it was all about. That intimacy made him beloved. We can admire the art of John Updike or Philip Roth, but we love Vonnegut.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Dirda" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/kurt-vonnegut-was-a-writer-whose-great-gift-was-that-he-always-seemed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Admire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/kurt-vonnegut-was-a-writer-whose-great-gift-was-that-he-always-seemed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/michael-dirda-3414_admire_kurt-vonnegut-was-a-writer-whose-great-g_2525625.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/michael-dirda-3414_admire_kurt-vonnegut-was-a-writer-whose-great-g_2525625.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/michael-dirda-3414_admire_kurt-vonnegut-was-a-writer-whose-great-g_2525625.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[Kurt] Vonnegut was a writer whose great gift was that he always seemed to be talking directly to you. He…” — Michael Dirda", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael Dirda", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "[Kurt] Vonnegut was a writer whose...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/kurt-vonnegut-was-a-writer-whose-great-gift-was-that-he-always-seemed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/kurt-vonnegut-was-a-writer-whose-great-gift-was-that-he-always-seemed/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```