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Kurt Vonnegut

A lot has already been written about author Kurt Vonnegut, who passed away last week.

On the Breakfast program of ABC Radio National this morning an insight into the author from his erstwhile neighbour and friend, John Irving, himself a noted best-selling writer.

"Kurt Vonnegut, one of America's most important writers of the 20th century, died last week after suffering a fall. He was 84 years old.

As a soldier in the US liberating forces during the Second World War, Vonnegut was captured by the Germans and held in a former slaughterhouse in Dresden. A quarter of a century later, he wrote about that experience in a novel that defined a generation.

Published in 1969, Slaughterhouse Five became an instant bestseller.

One fellow writer who Kurt Vonnugut knew well is John Irving. He studied creative writing with him before becoming his friend and then neighbour.

John Irving is the author of many bestsellers including The World According to Garp, and he joined us this morning from his home in Vermont."

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