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The Successful Posthumous Career of Kurt Vonnegut - Business ... Nov 3rd 2012, 04:31 Getty Images / Thos Robinson The Late Movies: Dogs on Wheels 5 U.S. Cities That Were Destroyed—and Completely Rebuilt Running The NYC Marathon: Bad Idea Or Worst Idea? Kurt Vonnegut was one of the most influential American writers of the 20th century. All signs point to the author holding the same place in the 21st century, despite the fact that he died April 11, 2007. The late Vonnegut has accomplished more dead than most of us will alive, from social media celebrity to indie film success. We'd expect nothing less from the ironic author who wrote in "Slaughterhouse Five," "How nice—to feel nothing, and still get full credit for being alive." 1. RT @Kurt_Vonnegut Vonnegut's a Twitter star. The @Kurt_Vonnegut Twitter account (not verified, natch) tweets the late writer's quotes and has 169,666 followers and counting. Meanwhile, he only follows @TheMarkTwain. (The two writers probably would've followed each other in real life, if they'd had the chance. Their work is frequently compared. Vonnegut called Twain an "American saint" and even named his first son after him.) Like any major celebrity, Vonnegut also has a few other Twitter accounts dedicated to him, including @Zombie_Vonnegut. If you think Vonnegut's funny in 140 characters, you should read one of his books. @Kurt_Vonnegut  2. Check Out the Vonnegut Library Vonnegut said, "The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries." In fall 2010, his hometown of Indianapolis opened the Vonnegut Memorial Library in his honor. The building is part library/ part museum and showcases a replica of Vonnegut's writing studio and some of those famous rejection letters he talked about. Writer Corey Michael Dalton recently lived, worked, and slept in the front window for "Locked Up with Vonnegut," part of Banned Books Week. Guests can type messages on the late writer's typewriter, which are then tweeted from the Twitter account @kurtstypewriter. 3. All Eyez on Kurt Vonnegut Vonnegut's the Tupac of America literature—the posthumous hits just keep coming. His latest book, "We Are What We Pretend To Be: The First and Last Works," contains one of Vonnegut's first novellas and the establishing chapters of his last novel. Three other collections have been published since his death: a collection of short stories, drawings, and essays called "Armageddon in Retrospect" in 2008; the unpublished short story collections "Look at the Birdie" in 2009; and "While Mortals Sleep" in 2011. Back in April, Vonnegut's writings from his college newspaper days were published in the Amazon e-book, "Kurt Vonnegut: The Cornell Sun Years 1941–1943." What's next? "50 Shades of Kilgore Trout"? 4. Digital Luddite Before the release of "Look at the Birdie," some of Vonnegut's unpublished short stories were made available as e-books. Now you can access all of his work via e-reader. Vonnegut was a proud Luddite who wrote in longhand and used a typewriter long after most writers switched over to a computer. We wonder if the book-loving technology critic would have found the digitalization of his work—and books, in general—ominous, or a good use of "damn fool computers." 5. The Third Adaptation's a Charm Vonnegut's 1961 short story "Harrison Bergeron" is set in 2081 when all Americans are forced to be equal in not only rights, but also abilities. No one's smarter, richer, or ahem, more prolific than anyone else. The dystopic work has been adapted for the screen three times. Vonnegut praised the short film version "Harrison Bergeron" released a year before his death. He might've liked the latest reworking even better: the 2009 short film "2081" is the closest adaptation of "Harrison Bergeron" yet. The sci-fi film runs 25 minutes and cost only $100,000 to produce, yet it's one of IMDB's most popular short films. SEE ALSO: Media conglomerates and celebrities who have donated to Sandy victims > This story was originally published by mental_floss. Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-successful-posthumous-career-of-kurt-vonnegut-2012-11

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