Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons (Opinions) is a collection of essays, reviews, short travel accounts, and human interest stories written by Kurt Vonnegut from c. 1966-1974. An essay is a short work that treats of a topic from an authors personal point of view, often taking into account subjective experiences and personal reflections upon them. ... A review is a piece of writing that discusses the authors opinion on a piece of publication, such as a movie, video game, musical composition, or novel. ... Travel literature is a record of the events, sights and personal feelings which a traveller experiences as they go from place to place. ... A human interest story is a type of news story that is concerned with the activities of a few named people. ... Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ...

Vonnegut explains the title in the introduction: "Dear Reader: The title of this book is composed of three words from my novel Cat's Cradle. A wampeter is an object around which the lives of many otherwise unrelated people may revolve. The Holy Grail would be a case in point. Foma are harmless untruths, intended to comfort simple souls. An example: "Prosperity is just around the corner." A granfalloon is a proud and meaningless association of human beings. Taken together, the words form as good an umbrella as any for this collection of some of the reviews and essays I've written, a few of the speeches I made." Cats Cradle (ISBN 038533348X) is a 1963 science fiction novel by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. ... In the fiction of Kurt Vonnegut, a wampeter is an object which is the focus of a karass; that is, the lives of many otherwise unrelated people are centered around a wampeter (e. ... In Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish, plate, cup or vessel used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers. ... Foma is the name of a Czech Photographic film factory and trademark of its production( [[1]] ). Foma (with a stress on the second syllable) is a Russian form of the name Thomas. ... --Bokonon A granfalloon, in the religion of Bokononism invented by Kurt Vonnegut in his 1963 novel Cats Cradle, is defined as a false karass. That is, it is a group of people who outwardly choose or claim to have a shared identity or purpose, but whose mutual association is...

Contents:

• Science Fiction - "I have been a soreheaded occupant of a file drawer labeled “Science Fiction” ... and I would like out, particularly since so many serious critics regularly mistake the drawer for a urinal."

• Brief Encounters on the Inland Waterway (1966) - recounts a journey from Massachusetts to Florida on the Kennedy yacht crewing for their captain, Frank Wirtanen (whose name had been borrowed for the character of an American intelligence officer in Mother Night).

• Hello, Star Vega
• Teaching the Unteachable
• Yes, We Have No Nirvanas
• Fortitude
• There's a Maniac Loose Out There
• Excelsior! We're Going to the Moon! Excelsior!
• Address to the American Physical Society
• Good Missiles, Good Manners, Good Night
• Why They Read Hesse
• Oversexed in Indianapolis
• The Mysterious Madame Blavatsky
• Biafra: A People Betrayed
• Address to Graduating Class at Bennington College, 1970
• Torture and Blubber
• Address to the National Institute of Arts and Letters, 1971
• Reflections on My Own Death
• In a Manner that Must Shame God Himself - "The two real political parties in America are the Winners and the Losers. The people don’t acknowledge this. They claim membership in two imaginary parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, instead."

• Thinking Unthinkable, Speaking Unspeakable
• Address at Rededication of Whaton College Library, 1973
• Invite Rita Rait to America!
• Address to P.E.N. Conference in Stockholm, 1973
• A Political Disease
• Playboy Interview

A characteristic of this short nonfiction is that Vonnegut frequently includes himself directly, as he starts to do in his novels from the 1960s. He may write reportage, but he is open about who is reporting and how he feels about what he is reporting. One of the most interesting aspects of this material for the reader is the emergent relationship between observer-writer and subject. By revealing his attitudes to the subject he reveals much of himself. Vonnegut's association with the short story was far from over, however, and he prepared and introduced a new collection, Welcome to the Monkey House (1968), which included eleven of the twelve stories from Canary in a Cat House and fourteen others. State nickname: Bay State Other U.S. States Capital Boston Largest city Boston Governor Mitt Romney (R) Official languages English Area 27,360 km² (44th)  - Land 20,317 km²  - Water 7,043 km² (25. ... State nickname: Sunshine State Other U.S. States Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Governor Jeb Bush (R) Official languages English Area 170,451 km² (22nd)  - Land 137,374 km²  - Water 30,486 km² (17. ... John, Robert, and Edward Kennedy The Kennedy family is a prominent Irish Catholic family in American politics and government descending from the marriage of Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. ... Mother Night is a novel first published in 1961 and written by the American author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party [1]), is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... The Democratic Party is one of two major political parties in the United States. ... The 1960s, or The Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... Welcome to the Monkey House is an assortment of short stories written by Kurt Vonnegut. ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...