epilogue
Kurt Vonnegut,
The Sirens of Titan
Music & Literature
HUFFINGTON
09.23.12
memories and relationships as
they relate to me. It’s a solar system with people as planets, memories as moons and me as the sun.
It’s a tactic that works, but largely
by ignoring what I believe to be a
pretty fundamental truth — the
Universe is infinitely huge and
mysterious, and none of these said
frustrations and overreactions are
really that important.
In turbulent times, that reminder has been a reliable comfort, and
it’s been a useful boundary in determining what’s worth writing
about and what’s petty, narcissistic
bullshit. But that line frequently
needs the dust swept off it, as it
fades in the face of unanticipated
problems and real emotions.
In the past year or so, I’ve come to understand this distinction much better through Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.’s The
Sirens of Titan. By crediting all of human evolution and
history to something seemingly inconsequential, ridiculous, yet entirely logical, Vonnegut has completely transformed my notion of significance. He’s made it nearly impossible to think of my daily concerns as more than the
microscopic byproduct of an elaborate cosmic joke. But
rather than allow that notion to render everything meaningless, it’s helped me develop a better perspective, to approach writing with patience instead of urgency, and to
seek out meaning in the massive as well as the minute.
Peter Silberman sings and plays guitar in Brooklyn-based
band The Antlers. Their most recent album is Undersea.