KurtVonnegutusedtoliketosay,Practicinganartformisawaytogrowyoursoul.Hewouldscrewuphislipsintoaprunefaceafterhesaidthisbecauseofhowimportanthebelievedthisideatobe.PitytheReaderistheveryembodimentofthatidea,abookaboutwritingandlifeandwhythetwogotogether.Itincludesrarephotosandreproductions,Vonnegut’sownaccountinhisownwordsofhowhebecameawriterandwhyitmatters,andpreviouslyuntoldstoriesbyandaboutVonnegutasteacherandfriend.Itturnsouthewasgeneroustoafaultaboutstudents’writing,idiosyncratic,abittorturedandalwayscreativeasateacher,andhereinthisbookthatportraitbecomesourgatewayintogettingtoknowKurtVonnegutbetterthanweeverhavebeforeasahumanbeing.VonnegutrecountsthathisfavoriteworkofartamongallthosehischildrenproducedsofarisaletterhisdaughterNanettewrotetoadisgruntledcustomer,afterhehadtormentedanewwaitressattherestaurantwhereshehadjuststartedworking,andthenhesharestheletterwithus.Thusheillustrateshisfirstwritingrule:Findasubjectyoucareabout.Thisbookisfullofsuchrare,intimatelyteachablemoments,andtheyadduptosomethingspecial.PitytheReaderindeed.
