“Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five“

Fifty years ago to the day, Kurt Vonnegut’s best-known, most critically acclaimed novel was published. Slaughterhouse-Five raises several topics we will explore: “just” wars, aerial bombing, censorship, free will, religion, and humankind’s place in the universe.

Wayne Laufert has been a fan of Kurt Vonnegut ever since one of his teachers in high school suggested he read Slaughterhouse-Five. Wayne now runs Vonnegut Baltimore, a book club in its ninth season, and is writing a book about Vonnegut for the American Humanist Association. His article about Slaughterhouse-Five in the current issue of the AHA’s magazine, The Humanist, is the basis for today’s talk. Wayne has been a Baltimore Ethical Society member since 2013, and he co-chairs our Membership Committee with Janey Solwold.