Kurt Vonnegut

In Entertainment today, we learn about one of the outstanding writers of
　　modern American literature, Kurt Vonnegut, who died on the 11  of April,
　　aged 84.
　　We hear extracts from an interview with Dr Sarah Churchwell who teaches
　　American literature at the University of East Anglia. She talks about why
　　Vonnegut's work is so admired, and why you might like to read it.
　　Kurt Vonnegut was initially considered to be a Science Fiction writer but the
　　world of literature really began to sit up and take notice in 1969 when he
　　published Slaughterhouse Five. This novel combines time travel fantasy with
　　Vonnegut's own experiences in the German city of Dresden during the Second
　　World War – he was a captured American solider when Dresden was destroyed.
　　Like many of Vonnegut's novels, Slaughterhouse Five, contains a repeated
　　phrase: 'so it goes' – it's an expression of resignation, of accepting something
　　you don't like but cannot change, and it helps convey a quiet but very powerful
　　belief in the utter pointlessness of war.
　　Slaughterhouse Five is Vonnegut's best-known book, although he wrote 14
　　novels and many essays and short stories. Here's Dr Sarah Churchwell
　　describing Vonnegut's impact and 'legacy' (his lasting importance) in
　　American literature.
　　As you listen, try to catch the plural noun Sarah uses for something that you
　　say or write which shows your admiration for someone. She says these are
　　'springing up all over the place right now' for Vonnegut - they are appearing
　　quickly and in large numbers, like flowers in spring.
　　Dr Sarah Churchwell
　　'I think there's no question that he influenced a great many of the people who are writing
　　today – they've testified to that fact in, you know, numerous tributes that are springing up all
　　over the place right now, very rapidly. I saw, earlier today, that his Wikipedia entry had over
　　250 edits since he died so people are really jumping in to talk about him – there's no question
　　how much he influenced people.
　　I think that his legacy was probably that he brought a certain kind of American satire back
　　into fashion and that he reminded America that an important part of democracy was to
　　criticise your government.'
　　Amber:  Did you catch it? Sarah says that many ('numerous') 'tributes' are being
　　written for Vonnegut. For example, people are writing about him in Wikipedia,
　　a free online encyclopaedia which is written by users.
　　Listen again and try to catch the expression Sarah uses twice to emphasise her
　　view that Vonnegut was an influential writer.
　　Dr Sarah Churchwell
　　'I think there's no question that he influenced a great many of the people who are writing
　　today – they've testified to that fact in, you know, numerous tributes that are springing up all
　　over the place right now, very rapidly. I saw, earlier today, that his Wikipedia entry had over
　　250 edits since he died so people are really jumping in to talk about him – there's no question
　　how much he influenced people.
　　I think that his legacy was probably that he brought a certain kind of American satire back
　　into fashion and that he reminded America that an important part of democracy was to
　　criticise your government.'
　　Amber:  Sarah says 'there's no question …' that Vonnegut was an influential writer.
　　She also explains that his 'legacy' was that he made a certain kind of 'satire',
　　of criticising things in a humorous way, popular again – he brought it 'back
　　into fashion'. She says he also 'reminded America that an important part of
　　democracy was to criticise your government.'