{"id":6963,"date":"2015-12-15T10:20:18","date_gmt":"2015-12-15T14:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/?p=6963"},"modified":"2022-03-23T11:06:45","modified_gmt":"2022-03-23T15:06:45","slug":"science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/","title":{"rendered":"Science and Fiction in the House of Magic"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_6964\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6964\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6964 size-full\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg\" alt=\"Author Ginger Strand\" width=\"300\" height=\"270\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6964\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ginger Strand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Say Vonnegut and most everyone fills in the blank: Kurt. But there was another Vonnegut, and when Bernard built silver-iodide generators and seeded clouds to create rain, he was the brother the government began watching. If the military could control the weather, well, that could be the next super weapon.<\/p>\n<p>In her new book, <strong><em>The Brothers Vonnegut: Science and Fiction in the House of Magic<\/em><\/strong>, author <strong>Ginger Strand \u201987<\/strong> explores the relationship between the two brothers and how each struggled with matters of morals and ethics involving their work.<\/p>\n<p>Bernard Vonnegut was a leading scientist in a research lab at General Electric in mid-1950\u2019s Schenectady, New York. His younger brother, Kurt, worked in GE\u2019s public relations department, often writing press releases about the scientific discoveries Bernard had made in the lab. When one of Bernard\u2019s discoveries had the potential to change weather, the military took notice. The Army oversaw Bernard\u2019s work, calling it Project Cirrus, and the brothers shared perspectives on science being used to harm rather than benefit humankind. For Kurt, these were the themes that worked their way into his many novels.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat, for me, was the interesting story that emerged in my research,\u201d Strand says. \u201cDuring their time working together at GE, they began to exchange ideas and talk about the ethical dilemmas Bernard as a scientist was facing. This was the era after the development of the nuclear bomb. There was a lot of talk about scientists and their responsibility for the use of their inventions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When Kurt Vonnegut wrote about what he saw going on at GE, his work was classified as science fiction. Strand says he found that baffling. To his understanding, he was writing social satire.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring the day, Kurt would write peppy press releases about GE, but at night and on weekends, he would go home and write short stories,\u201d Strand says.<\/p>\n<p>Success, whether wanted or in some respects unwanted, came to Bernard for his work in the laboratory, but for Kurt, in literature, it did not come easily. He collected hundreds of rejection letters. He struggled to learn to write well. He often felt himself in the shadow of his brother\u2019s genius, although neither brother let that get in the way of their close relationship. Eventually, he would produce 14 novels, three short story collections, five plays, five non-fiction books, and become known as a literary icon.<\/p>\n<p>Ginger Strand is the author of three previous books, including <em>Killer on the Road: Violence and the American Interstate<\/em>. She has written for a wide variety of publications, including<em> Harper\u2019s Magazine<\/em>, <em>This Land<\/em>, <em>The Believer<\/em>, <em>Tin House<\/em>, <em>The New York Times<\/em>, and <em>Orion<\/em>, where she is a contributing editor. (<em>Text by Zinta Aistars<\/em>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Say Vonnegut and most everyone fills in the blank: Kurt. But there was another Vonnegut, and when Bernard built silver-iodide generators and seeded clouds to create rain, he was the brother the government began watching. If the military could control the weather, well, that could be the next super weapon. In her new book, The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":137,"featured_media":6964,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[232],"tags":[31,171],"post_formats":[],"class_list":["post-6963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","tag-alumni","tag-alumni-publications"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Science and Fiction in the House of Magic - News and Events<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Say Vonnegut and most everyone fills in the blank: Kurt. But there was another Vonnegut, and when Bernard built silver-iodide generators and seeded clouds\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Science and Fiction in the House of Magic - News and Events\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Say Vonnegut and most everyone fills in the blank: Kurt. But there was another Vonnegut, and when Bernard built silver-iodide generators and seeded clouds\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News and Events\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KalamazooCollege\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-12-15T14:20:18+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-03-23T15:06:45+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"270\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Zinta Aistars\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@kcollege\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@kcollege\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Zinta Aistars\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/\",\"name\":\"Science and Fiction in the House of Magic - News and Events\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-15T14:20:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-03-23T15:06:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d3d83fa137e9db1a17cbc56b6810b490\"},\"description\":\"Say Vonnegut and most everyone fills in the blank: Kurt. But there was another Vonnegut, and when Bernard built silver-iodide generators and seeded clouds\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg\",\"width\":\"300\",\"height\":\"270\",\"caption\":\"Ginger Strand\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Science and Fiction in the House of Magic\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/\",\"name\":\"News and Events\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d3d83fa137e9db1a17cbc56b6810b490\",\"name\":\"Zinta Aistars\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/705a752bacb5e1e75edebfaf8b60cb2e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/705a752bacb5e1e75edebfaf8b60cb2e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Zinta Aistars\"},\"description\":\"Zinta is a frequent contributor to Kalamazoo College publications. She is owner and founder of Z Word, LLC , writer, book reviewer, and host of WMUK radio show Between the Lines.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.zintaaistars.com\/\"]}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Science and Fiction in the House of Magic - News and Events","description":"Say Vonnegut and most everyone fills in the blank: Kurt. But there was another Vonnegut, and when Bernard built silver-iodide generators and seeded clouds","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Science and Fiction in the House of Magic - News and Events","og_description":"Say Vonnegut and most everyone fills in the blank: Kurt. But there was another Vonnegut, and when Bernard built silver-iodide generators and seeded clouds","og_url":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/","og_site_name":"News and Events","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KalamazooCollege","article_published_time":"2015-12-15T14:20:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-03-23T15:06:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":"300","height":"270","url":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Zinta Aistars","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@kcollege","twitter_site":"@kcollege","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Zinta Aistars","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/","url":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/","name":"Science and Fiction in the House of Magic - News and Events","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg","datePublished":"2015-12-15T14:20:18+00:00","dateModified":"2022-03-23T15:06:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d3d83fa137e9db1a17cbc56b6810b490"},"description":"Say Vonnegut and most everyone fills in the blank: Kurt. But there was another Vonnegut, and when Bernard built silver-iodide generators and seeded clouds","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg","width":"300","height":"270","caption":"Ginger Strand"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Science and Fiction in the House of Magic"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/","name":"News and Events","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d3d83fa137e9db1a17cbc56b6810b490","name":"Zinta Aistars","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/705a752bacb5e1e75edebfaf8b60cb2e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/705a752bacb5e1e75edebfaf8b60cb2e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Zinta Aistars"},"description":"Zinta is a frequent contributor to Kalamazoo College publications. She is owner and founder of Z Word, LLC , writer, book reviewer, and host of WMUK radio show Between the Lines.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.zintaaistars.com\/"]}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Zinta Aistars","author_link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/author\/zinta\/"},"guten_post_layout_featured_media_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg","300","270",false],"large":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false],"ab-block-post-grid-landscape":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false],"ab-block-post-grid-square":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false],"pl-blogpost-landscape":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false],"pl-blogpost-square":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false],"guten_post_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false],"guten_post_layout_portrait_large":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false],"guten_post_layout_square_large":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false],"guten_post_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false],"guten_post_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false],"guten_post_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false],"campus-posts-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg",300,270,false]},"category_info":"<a aria-label=\"archive of category Alumni\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/category\/alumni\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Alumni<\/a>","tags_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/alumni\/\" rel=\"tag\">alumni<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/alumni-publications\/\" rel=\"tag\">alumni publications<\/a>","social_share_info":"<a data-share=\"facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/\" class=\"pl-facebook-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-facebook-f\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><a data-share=\"twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/\" class=\"pl-twiiter-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><a data-share=\"linkedin\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/science-and-fiction-in-the-house-of-magic\/\" class=\"pl-linkedin-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-linkedin-in\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a>","wordExcerpt_info":"<figure id=\"attachment_6964\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6964\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-6964 size-full\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/ingerStrand.jpg\" alt=\"Author Ginger Strand\" width=\"300\" height=\"270\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6964\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ginger Strand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Say Vonnegut and most everyone fills in the blank: Kurt. But there was another Vonnegut, and when Bernard built silver-iodide generators and seeded clouds to create rain, he was the brother the government began watching. If the military could control the weather, well, that could be the next super weapon.<\/p>\n<p>In her new book, <strong><em>The Brothers Vonnegut: Science and Fiction in the House of Magic<\/em><\/strong>, author <strong>Ginger Strand \u201987<\/strong> explores the relationship between the two brothers and how each struggled with matters of morals and ethics involving their work.<\/p>\n<p>Bernard Vonnegut was a leading scientist in a research lab at General Electric in mid-1950\u2019s Schenectady, New York. His younger brother, Kurt, worked in GE\u2019s public relations department, often writing press releases about the scientific discoveries Bernard had made in the lab. When one of Bernard\u2019s discoveries had the potential to change weather, the military took notice. The Army oversaw Bernard\u2019s work, calling it Project Cirrus, and the brothers shared perspectives on science being used to harm rather than benefit humankind. For Kurt, these were the themes that worked their way into his many novels.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat, for me, was the interesting story that emerged in my research,\u201d Strand says. \u201cDuring their time working together at GE, they began to exchange ideas and talk about the ethical dilemmas Bernard as a scientist was facing. This was the era after the development of the nuclear bomb. There was a lot of talk about scientists and their responsibility for the use of their inventions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When Kurt Vonnegut wrote about what he saw going on at GE, his work was classified as science fiction. Strand says he found that baffling. To his understanding, he was writing social satire.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring the day, Kurt would write peppy press releases about GE, but at night and on weekends, he would go home and write short stories,\u201d Strand says.<\/p>\n<p>Success, whether wanted or in some respects unwanted, came to Bernard for his work in the laboratory, but for Kurt, in literature, it did not come easily. He collected hundreds of rejection letters. He struggled to learn to write well. He often felt himself in the shadow of his brother\u2019s genius, although neither brother let that get in the way of their close relationship. Eventually, he would produce 14 novels, three short story collections, five plays, five non-fiction books, and become known as a literary icon.<\/p>\n<p>Ginger Strand is the author of three previous books, including <em>Killer on the Road: Violence and the American Interstate<\/em>. She has written for a wide variety of publications, including<em> Harper\u2019s Magazine<\/em>, <em>This Land<\/em>, <em>The Believer<\/em>, <em>Tin House<\/em>, <em>The New York Times<\/em>, and <em>Orion<\/em>, where she is a contributing editor. (<em>Text by Zinta Aistars<\/em>)<\/p>\n","comment_info":"No Comments","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/137"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6963"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10712,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6963\/revisions\/10712"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6963"},{"taxonomy":"post_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_formats?post=6963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}