Dan Wakefield – författare

-The complete short stories of Kurt Vonnegut---

Fueled by an insider's view of Indiana and the state's often surprising connections to the larger world, IN Writing is revelatory. It is Indiana in all its glory: sacred and profane; saints and sinners; war and peace; small towns and big cities; art, architecture, poetry and victuals. It's about Hoosier talent and Hoosier genius: the courageous farmer-soldiers who ardently try to win the hearts and minds of 21st century Afghan insurgents; the artisans whose work pulses with the aesthetics of far-away homelands; and the famous modernist poet who had to leave to make his mark. It's about places that speak to a wider world: Columbus and its remarkable architecture; New Harmony and its enduring idealism; Indianapolis and its world-renowned Crown Hill cemetery. IN Writing makes visible the unexpected bonds between Indiana and the world at large.

"...a passionate and tormented novel about the summer of 1954 as it transpired in the lives of two young Korean War veterans returning to their Indianapolis homes...it is possible that the current publishing season will produce no book more urgently felt." -New York Times Book Review, August 9, 1970 "A brilliant book." -John Ciardi "Wonderful, sad and funny; a scathing portrait of middle America through the eyes of a new fictional character who will inevitably be compared to Portnoy and Holden Caulfield." -Gay Talese Noted author Dan Wakefield's most famous novel seethes with pent-up frustration and confusion and nearly every episode bubbles with hilarity. This novel of the 1950s so perfectly captures its time and place that it transcends the specific and becomes universal-a true classic of American literature. Now a major motion picture.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BYNewsweek/The Daily Beast • The Huffington Post • Kansas City Star • Time Out New York • Kirkus ReviewsThis extraordinary collection of personal correspondence has all the hallmarks of Kurt Vonnegut’s fiction. Written over a sixty-year period, these letters, the vast majority of them never before published, are funny, moving, and full of the same uncanny wisdom that has endeared his work to readers worldwide.   Included in this comprehensive volume: the letter a twenty-two-year-old Vonnegut wrote home immediately upon being freed from a German POW camp, recounting the ghastly firebombing of Dresden that would be the subject of his masterpiece Slaughterhouse-Five; wry dispatches from Vonnegut’s years as a struggling writer slowly finding an audience and then dealing with sudden international fame in middle age; righteously angry letters of protest to local school boards that tried to ban his work; intimate remembrances penned to high school classmates, fellow veterans, friends, and family; and letters of commiseration and encouragement to such contemporaries as Gail Godwin, Günter Grass, and Bernard Malamud.   Vonnegut’s unmediated observations on science, art, and commerce prove to be just as inventive as any found in his novels—from a crackpot scheme for manufacturing “atomic” bow ties to a tongue-in-cheek proposal that publishers be allowed to trade authors like baseball players. (“Knopf, for example, might give John Updike’s contract to Simon and Schuster, and receive Joan Didion’s contract in return.”) Taken together, these letters add considerable depth to our understanding of this one-of-a-kind literary icon, in both his public and private lives. Each letter brims with the mordant humor and openhearted humanism upon which he built his legend. And virtually every page contains a quotable nugget that will make its way into the permanent Vonnegut lexicon.   • On a job he had as a young man: “Hell is running an elevator throughout eternity in a building with only six floors.” • To a relative who calls him a “great literary figure”: “I am an American fad—of a slightly higher order than the hula hoop.” • To his daughter Nanny: “Most letters from a parent contain a parent’s own lost dreams disguised as good advice.” • To Norman Mailer: “I am cuter than you are.”   Sometimes biting and ironical, sometimes achingly sweet, and always alive with the unique point of view that made him the true cultural heir to Mark Twain, these letters comprise the autobiography Kurt Vonnegut never wrote.Praise for Kurt Vonnegut: Letters   “Splendidly assembled . . . familiar, funny, cranky . . . chronicling [Vonnegut’s] life in real time.”—Kurt Andersen, The New York Times Book Review   “[This collection is] by turns hilarious, heartbreaking and mundane. . . . Vonnegut himself is a near-perfect example of the same flawed, wonderful humanity that he loved and despaired over his entire life.”—NPR   “Congenial, whimsical and often insightful missives . . . one of [Vonnegut’s] very best.”—Newsday  “These letters display all the hallmarks of Vonnegut’s fiction—smart, hilarious and heartbreaking.”—The New York Times Book ReviewFrom the Hardcover edition.

Even an East Coast academic can’t resist Hollywood’s siren allure in this hilarious novel of the dangers that come with fame and fortune Literature professor Perry Moss has slowly amassed it all: a steady job at Haviland College in southern Vermont, a successful writing career, and a beautiful wife, Jane. But everything changes when a television exec contacts Perry about turning one of his short stories into a network series, and he and Jane leave the comforts of the Northeast to give it a shot in Hollywood. The pilot episode a hit, Perry becomes infatuated with his glamorous new lifestyle of swimming pools, sultry actresses, and cocaine-fueled parties. He’s willing to do anything for success in Tinseltown—even if it threatens to poison his marriage and send his wife packing.   National bestselling author Dan Wakefield, who is no stranger to Hollywood—he created the NBC series James at 15 in 1977—fills Perry’s vividly illustrated escapades with insider nods and quirky asides that make for a gripping read. With Wakefield’s signature blend of wit and compassion, Selling Out balances laugh-out-loud humor with great emotional depth.  

The rhythms of jazz and beat poetry punctuate this sweeping, firsthand account of New York City’s 1950s literary scene from the Bowery to Spanish Harlem National bestselling author Dan Wakefield first came to New York City in 1952 with the intention of receiving a proper literary education on the ivied campus of Columbia University. An equally enlightening experience, he quickly found, was hiding in the smoky bars and cafés of Greenwich Village frequented by the most talented writers of the fifties, including James Baldwin, Joan Didion, and Allen Ginsberg. Wakefield recounts drinking at the White Horse Tavern, Dylan Thomas’s Village haunt, as well as the offices of Esquire and the Nation, capturing rare, intimate moments of spirited camaraderie between some of the most influential artists of their generation.   Like Hemingway’s recollections of 1920s Paris in A Moveable Feast, New York in the ’50s showcases a city in its artistic heyday, replete with Wakefield’s remembrances of brushing shoulders with literary icons such as Jack Kerouac and Norman Mailer, and watching Thelonious Monk play jazz at the Five Spot Café. Wakefield’s experience as a journalist and chronicler of Americana allows him to capture the subtleties of a decade of unparalleled artistic expression.    

The comic national bestseller of love and loss set amid the sexual revolution of the 1970s When Phil Potter decides to divorce his wife, Jessica, after a few difficult years, he imagines he’s in for a wild jaunt through the sexually liberated 1970s. But his new start—Phil has also left behind his job in PR for a teaching gig at a junior college—is more solitary drinking and TV dinners than raucous orgies. Even the women he does manage to connect with are equally disaffected with their own divorces or failing marriages, and Phil begins to understand the harsh, though often darkly funny, realities of starting over and searching for love the second time around.   Capturing both the excitement and struggles of feminism and the sexual revolution, Starting Over depicts the pleasures and pitfalls of dating in the seventies with humor and a deep understanding of how relationships work—or, more commonly, don’t work. Replete with spot-on cultural references and rendered under Wakefield’s careful journalistic eye, Starting Over is a stunning reminder of the hardships of love in the modern age.  

Two friends return home from the Korean War to find their world—and themselves—irrevocably altered in this novel hailed by Kurt Vonnegut as “gruesomely accurate and enchanting” and “wildly sexy” Willard “Sonny” Burns and Tom “Gunner” Casselman, Korean War vets and former classmates, reunite on the train ride home to Indianapolis. Despite their shared history, the two young men could not be more different: Sonny had been an introverted, bookish student, whereas Gunner had been the consummate Casanova and athlete—and a popular source of macho pride throughout the high school. Reunited by the pains of war, they go in search of finding love, rebuilding their lives, and shedding the repressive expectations of their families.   As Sonny and Gunner seek their true passions, the stage is set for a wounded, gripping account of disillusionment and self-discovery as seen through the lens of the conservative Midwest in the summer of 1954. Rendered in honest prose, national bestseller Going All the Way expertly and astutely captures the joys and struggles of working-class Middle America, and the risks of challenging the status quo. Author Dan Wakefield crafts this enduring coming-of-age tale with fluidity, grace, and deep humanity.    

A slacker hero embarks on a rollicking cross-country journey of love-ins and acid trips in this rich portrait of the 1960s When his foxy professor/girlfriend kicks him out of her apartment, perennial college student Gene Barrett sets off on a road trip in search of a place he can call home. He ventures from Boston to Maine to Iowa City, ultimately making his way to the “last resort” of California’s Venice Beach. Experimenting with LSD, hash, and heroin, and encountering rock stars, draft dodgers, and natural food store proprietors living off the land, Gene zigzags through a cross-section of 1960s American counterculture.   More than a freewheeling jaunt through the sixties, though, Home Free sheds light on the universal desire for love and belonging. Amidst the haze of drugs and free-loving hippies, Gene is forced to look inward and face his deeply human flaws—because eventually, his life will depend on it. With national bestselling author Dan Wakefield’s trademark fusion of gritty, journalistic prose and richly evocative language, Gene’s story is an engaging, somber meditation on self-awareness, responsibility, and growing up.    

A moving tale of young love, family values, and growing up during wartime from bestselling author Dan Wakefield At the height of World War II, Artie Garber turns eleven years old in his hometown of Birney, Illinois. When his older brother, Roy, joins the US Marines, Artie is left to defend the home front—as well as Roy’s high school sweetheart, Shirley. Without the guidance of his beloved big brother, Artie resorts to reading advice in Collier’s on how to identify spies and search for German aircraft over the lush fields of Illinois. As Artie works to protect Shirley—a lost cause, despite the cheerleader’s best efforts—he must come to grips with his own burgeoning sexuality as he steps cautiously toward adulthood.   Rendered in stunning, peeled-back prose, Under the Apple Tree realistically depicts one boy’s loss of innocence and the devastating effects of war felt far beyond the battlefield.    

Christianity in America has become almost synonymous with right-wing fanaticism, conservative politics and , courtousy of Mel Gibson , a brutally sadistic version of the religious experience. Millions of devout Christians, like Dan Wakefield, are appalled by this distortion of their faith, which only three decades ago stood for peace, equality, healing, and compassion for society's outcasts , the issues that made up the Ministry of Jesus. How did it come to pass that the Jesus of the New Testament, the Jesus who preached the Sermon on the Mount, has in effect been hijacked by right-wingers and the Republican Party? How is it that mainline Christian denominations and leadership, both Catholic and Prostestant, have remained remarkably silent on the issues of the war in Iraq, the civil rights erosion of the Patriot Act, the growth of poverty and the fact of over 40 million people without health insurance? The Hijacking of Jesus tells the whole sorry tale, from the Goldwater campaign of 1964 to George Bush's stunning re-election in 2004.

Come awake to a more creative life—by realizing clarity of mind, body and spirit.

Creativity is basic to the very fiber of our being, and not—as many suspect—solely the privilege of a gifted few. When we silence the voice of creativity that lives within us, we confine our spirit. Award-winning author Dan Wakefield helps us to examine our reasons for not creating—debunking the myths—and shows us the path to a fulfilling, creative life.

Drawing on examples from religion, philosophy, and literature, Wakefield teaches us that the key to unleashing our own inner creativity is in clarity of mind, body, and spirit. Releasing the Creative Spirit gives us practical guidance to demystify the creative process and to help each of us achieve this clarity by:

Breaking the Myths—Explode the myths that creativity is only for the artistic elite, that creators must suffer, and that science and business can not be creative pursuits. Emptying—Learn ways to recognize and move beyond the tired routines in your life that deaden the senses and soul. Filling Up—Experience new sensations through simple practices that revive natural perceptions and unlock hidden creative resources. Creating—Try hands-on, practical exercises to explore the mystery of creativity in your life from a spiritual perspective.

This passionate, personal guide draws on examples from the experiences of many creative people—Elaine Pagels (professor), Tom Wolfe (novelist), John Coltrane (jazz musician), Harold Kushner (rabbi), Danielle Levi-Alvares (yoga teacher), Stephen Hawking (physicist), and Phil Jackson (basketball coach), just to name a few—who each demonstrate one or more of the characteristics of someone who creates from the spirit. Creative People…

Develop clarity as the source of creativityTake responsibility for their lives and work Regard age as an opportunity See obstacles as an invitation to create new solutions, techniques, and skills Recognize the body/mind/spirit connection Find surprising new ways to perform routine tasks …and much more

This fresh exploration of the creative spirit includes hands-on exercises to help you unlock your creative powers, inviting you to experience the artistic grace and pleasure that can exist in our everyday lives. You may discover, as many others have, that with creativity comes more joy, more laughter, and more accomplishment than you previously thought possible.

Spirituality is full of rules. You need to find your own way straight through them.Will tattoos and convertibles keep you from finding "true" spiritual fulfillment?

Some people claim that you cannot truly achieve spiritual fulfillment if you’re not a vegetarian. Some say you’ll never find the path if you don’t learn yoga. And some would insist that any display of vanity—cosmetic surgery! hair mousse!—is a sign that inner peace is way out of your reach.

With great candor and humor (much of it irreverent!), Dan Wakefield’s Spiritually Incorrect shows that there are as many ways to find spiritual fulfillment as there are individual seekers. Part memoir, part essay, part whimsical illustration from his own life, Wakefield’s reflections break down the barriers that lie in the way of spiritual fulfillment, showing you that rules were made to be broken, and how it’s possible—and imperative—for you to discover a rewarding spiritual life that fits your own personality, your own path.

In this age of political correctness and watching what we say, award-winning author Dan Wakefield dares to ask the risky (and sometimes hilarious) questions about spirituality:

Why is poverty sacred, wealth profane? Can a coffee house be a sacred space? Does yoga make you a Hindu? Can a man pray in public and still be "macho"? Does eating a steak really taint your soul? Who in our lives and our modern day world deserves to be canonized as a saint?

Wakefield’s creative exploration of these questions is a quest to free the spiritual world from pretension, anxiety, and the seemingly endless rules that can dictate how you identify (or don’t) with religion. Humorous stories from his own spiritually incorrect journey to God punctuate Wakefield’s ultimate revelation that spirituality is not about conforming to a set of rules, but rather discovering the practices that uniquely work for you.

The first and only YA biography of the great American novelist and humanist comes out on the 100th anniversary of his birth.Kurt Vonnegut, author of Slaughterhouse Five, Breakfast of Champions, Cat's Cradle, and many other brilliant novels and short stories, is one of our greatest American writers, often using science fiction, humor, and a humanist view of society, religion, politics, and human nature in his writing to show us the absurdity and the loveliness of life on earth. Born in 1922, Vonnegut's life was full of great fortune and great despair: his family was wealthy, but lost everything in the market crash of 1929; he was the youngest son in a loving family, until his mother fell into a depression and committed suicide; he joined the army in WWII with great pride for our country, but experienced instead a world of destruction and horror. These and many others were the experiences that made him a writer. But how did he channel the highs and lows of his life into great writing?Dan Wakefield, a friend and mentee of Vonnegut's for decades and a fellow Hoosier, distills the facts including Kurt's novels, essays, interviews, letters and personal experiences, into a beautiful telling of the making of a writer. Using the second person "You," it is as though Wakefield is a friend walking through Kurt's life alongside him, a guide for readers to his extraordinary life. Here is an American life, a burgeoning artist's life to inspire anyone who has read Vonnegut's work or who themselves aspire to write.

Come awake to a more creative life—by realizing clarity of mind, body and spirit.Creativity is basic to the very fiber of our being, and not—as many suspect—solely the privilege of a gifted few. When we silence the voice of creativity that lives within us, we confine our spirit. Award-winning author Dan Wakefield helps us to examine our reasons for not creating—debunking the myths—and shows us the path to a fulfilling, creative life.Drawing on examples from religion, philosophy, and literature, Wakefield teaches us that the key to unleashing our own inner creativity is in clarity of mind, body, and spirit. Releasing the Creative Spirit gives us practical guidance to demystify the creative process and to help each of us achieve this clarity by:Breaking the Myths—Explode the myths that creativity is only for the artistic elite, that creators must suffer, and that science and business can not be creative pursuits.Emptying—Learn ways to recognize and move beyond the tired routines in your life that deaden the senses and soul.Filling Up—Experience new sensations through simple practices that revive natural perceptions and unlock hidden creative resources.Creating—Try hands-on, practical exercises to explore the mystery of creativity in your life from a spiritual perspective.This passionate, personal guide draws on examples from the experiences of many creative people—Elaine Pagels (professor), Tom Wolfe (novelist), John Coltrane (jazz musician), Harold Kushner (rabbi), Danielle Levi-Alvares (yoga teacher), Stephen Hawking (physicist), and Phil Jackson (basketball coach), just to name a few—who each demonstrate one or more of the characteristics of someone who creates from the spirit. Creative People…Develop clarity as the source of creativityTake responsibility for their lives and workRegard age as an opportunitySee obstacles as an invitation to create new solutions, techniques, and skillsRecognize the body/mind/spirit connectionFind surprising new ways to perform routine tasks…and much moreThis fresh exploration of the creative spirit includes hands-on exercises to help you unlock your creative powers, inviting you to experience the artistic grace and pleasure that can exist in our everyday lives. You may discover, as many others have, that with creativity comes more joy, more laughter, and more accomplishment than you previously thought possible.

Come awake to a more creative life—by realizing clarity of mind, body and spirit.Creativity is basic to the very fiber of our being, and not—as many suspect—solely the privilege of a gifted few. When we silence the voice of creativity that lives within us, we confine our spirit. Award-winning author Dan Wakefield helps us to examine our reasons for not creating—debunking the myths—and shows us the path to a fulfilling, creative life.Drawing on examples from religion, philosophy, and literature, Wakefield teaches us that the key to unleashing our own inner creativity is in clarity of mind, body, and spirit. Releasing the Creative Spirit gives us practical guidance to demystify the creative process and to help each of us achieve this clarity by:Breaking the Myths—Explode the myths that creativity is only for the artistic elite, that creators must suffer, and that science and business can not be creative pursuits.Emptying—Learn ways to recognize and move beyond the tired routines in your life that deaden the senses and soul.Filling Up—Experience new sensations through simple practices that revive natural perceptions and unlock hidden creative resources.Creating—Try hands-on, practical exercises to explore the mystery of creativity in your life from a spiritual perspective.This passionate, personal guide draws on examples from the experiences of many creative people—Elaine Pagels (professor), Tom Wolfe (novelist), John Coltrane (jazz musician), Harold Kushner (rabbi), Danielle Levi-Alvares (yoga teacher), Stephen Hawking (physicist), and Phil Jackson (basketball coach), just to name a few—who each demonstrate one or more of the characteristics of someone who creates from the spirit. Creative People…Develop clarity as the source of creativityTake responsibility for their lives and workRegard age as an opportunitySee obstacles as an invitation to create new solutions, techniques, and skillsRecognize the body/mind/spirit connectionFind surprising new ways to perform routine tasks…and much moreThis fresh exploration of the creative spirit includes hands-on exercises to help you unlock your creative powers, inviting you to experience the artistic grace and pleasure that can exist in our everyday lives. You may discover, as many others have, that with creativity comes more joy, more laughter, and more accomplishment than you previously thought possible.

Spirituality is full of rules. You need to find your own way straight through them.Will tattoos and convertibles keep you from finding "true" spiritual fulfillment?Some people claim that you cannot truly achieve spiritual fulfillment if you’re not a vegetarian. Some say you’ll never find the path if you don’t learn yoga. And some would insist that any display of vanity—cosmetic surgery! hair mousse!—is a sign that inner peace is way out of your reach. With great candor and humor (much of it irreverent!), Dan Wakefield’s Spiritually Incorrect shows that there are as many ways to find spiritual fulfillment as there are individual seekers. Part memoir, part essay, part whimsical illustration from his own life, Wakefield’s reflections break down the barriers that lie in the way of spiritual fulfillment, showing you that rules were made to be broken, and how it’s possible—and imperative—for you to discover a rewarding spiritual life that fits your own personality, your own path. In this age of political correctness and watching what we say, award-winning author Dan Wakefield dares to ask the risky (and sometimes hilarious) questions about spirituality: Why is poverty sacred, wealth profane?Can a coffee house be a sacred space?Does yoga make you a Hindu?Can a man pray in public and still be "macho"?Does eating a steak really taint your soul?Who in our lives and our modern day world deserves to be canonized as a saint?Wakefield’s creative exploration of these questions is a quest to free the spiritual world from pretension, anxiety, and the seemingly endless rules that can dictate how you identify (or don’t) with religion. Humorous stories from his own spiritually incorrect journey to God punctuate Wakefield’s ultimate revelation that spirituality is not about conforming to a set of rules, but rather discovering the practices that uniquely work for you.