Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library

Known for writing satirical American classics and anti-war fiction such as Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut’s life and legacy are celebrated at the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library. It is located in downtown Indianapolis, where the author was born in 1922.

The museum is a must-see destination for literary fans who want to get a close-up look at artifacts like a typewriter Vonnegut used to compose his novel Slapstick, his glasses, the Purple Heart he was awarded for his service in World War II, his clarinet and even some of his favorite jazz albums.

While exploring the exhibits, visitors can learn fun anecdotes from throughout the author’s life, like that his first wife demanded he read Russian literature as part of her dowry (He read The Brothers Karamazov on their honeymoon.) or that his fee for writing a preface for Anne Sexton was two bottles of gin. Copies of his cheeky correspondence with fellow writer Norman Mailer include his assertion that he was “cuter” than Mailer.

A constantly running video of Vonnegut making a commencement address in 1978 illustrates the writer’s dark humor laced with an underlying moral seriousness. By far, the most sobering exhibit details his survival as a prisoner of war during the firebombing of Dresden when he was sheltered underground in a former meat locker, a horrifying experience that eventually helped inform the writing of Slaughterhouse-Five.

Colorful artwork is scattered across all three floors of the museum, and interactive displays are available for visitors to engage with as well. They can duplicate Vonnegut’s writing experience by sitting on a very low chair while hunched over a typewriter placed on a coffee table, surely a very uncomfortable task for a writer like Vonnegut, who was over 6 feet tall. 543 Indiana Ave., Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, 317/423-0391, vonnegutlibrary.org