In 2006, a group of students at Xavier High School in New York City were given an assignment by their English teacher, Ms. Lockwood, that was to test their persuasive writing skills: they were asked to write to their favourite author and ask him or her to visit the school. It’s a measure of his ongoing influence that five of those pupils chose Kurt Vonnegut, the novelist responsible for, amongst other highly-respected books, Slaughterhouse-Five; sadly, however, he never made that trip. Instead, he wrote a wonderful letter. He was the only author to reply.
The iconic and much missed screen, stage and voice actor James Earl Jones joined us at Letters Live in New York City back in 2018, to read Vonnegut's inspirational letter in his own inimitable style.
Letter to Xavier High School by Kurt Vonnegut. Copyright © Kurt Vonnegut Estate, 2006, used by permission of The Wylie Agency (UK) Limited
