Vonnegut Museum, Seven Stories to Cohost Virtual Graduation Parties

In celebration of the graduating class of 2020, the Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library and Seven Stories Press will cohost a series of live graduation events on Tuesdays in May. Each event will feature a roundtable reading of one of the many commencement speeches Kurt Vonnegut delivered during his lifetime that are newly collected in the paperback edition of If This Isn’t Nice, What Is?, edited by Dan Wakefield.

The first event was held May 5th at 7:00 pm, with author Jacqueline Woodson, actor Tony Shalhoub, and comedian Lewis Black, along with graduating high school senior Ricco Schuster reading from the commencement address, “The Terrible Disease of Loneliness Can Be Cured!” Poet and performance artist Manon Voice and musicians Charlie Ballantine and Amanda Gardier also performed. Black read the names of attendees who are graduating seniors during the program. Tickets and other donations went toward supporting the Vonnegut Library. A portion of the proceeds from sales of If This Isn’t Nice, What Is? during the event were also donated to the Vonnegut Library. 

The May 12 event will feature Russell Banks, David Brancaccio, and the book’s editor, Dan Wakefield, among others. May 19 will feature Paul Auster and Kurt’s son Mark Vonnegut, with more to come. Visit vonnegutlibrary.org or sevenstories.com for updated information about the forthcoming graduation events. For further information, to make a donation, or to order a copy of If This Isn’t Nice, What Is?, please contact Julia Whitehead at (317) 652-1954 or info@vonnegutlibrary.org or Ruth Weiner at (914) 309-8570 or ruth@sevenstories.com.