Kurt Vonnegut, the famous American author, is the grandfather of WHS English teacher Zachary Vonnegut, who has grown up with the influence of his grandfather.

“He had a great deep laugh. I will always remember that laugh.”

While most Americans remember Kurt Vonnegut as one of the greatest American authors of all time, Zachary Vonnegut remembers his grandfather, Kurt Vonnegut, who died in 2007, for his laugh.

Although Kurt Vonnegut is the writer of Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat’s Cradle as well as many other books, Zachary Vonnegut, an English teacher at Wayland High School, was not influenced to pursue his career by his grandfather.

“I decided to become an English teacher at the end of college,” Vonnegut said. “I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. I was taking courses that were interesting to me, not stuff that I could use for a job. I was talking to a friend, and he told me that he was becoming an English teacher, and I became jealous. There was no reason I couldn’t become one too.”

Despite not having an impact on his career, Vonnegut believes that his grandfather did have an influence on starting his interest in reading.

“I think he made me more interested in books. It became evident to me as I was growing up that he was sort of a big deal, and he was a big deal because he had written books,” said Vonnegut.

Vonnegut’s grandfather was such a prominent author that his fame became a distraction for Zachary Vonnegut during college.

“It was the biggest deal in college. I would be in classes with 100 people, and the teacher would stop and make a big deal out of it. I would be at parties and people would corner me, and then it became clear that they were just fans of my grandfather,” Vonnegut said.

Over the years, Vonnegut has gotten used to his grandfather’s fame.

“I’m used to seeing my grandfather’s work in stores,” said Vonnegut. “I have even taught some of his work. It doesn’t seem weird to me at all at this point.”

Even though they are blood related, Vonnegut’s favorite author is not his grandfather.

“I’m not the Kurt Vonnegut fan who loves everything that he wrote,” said Vonnegut. “I feel guilty about saying that, but it’s the truth.”

Vonnegut wasn’t very close with his grandfather but does remember him.

“He wasn’t really that involved as a grandfather,” Vonnegut said. “I didn’t ever see him other than family reunions, but I do have great memories of him from those family reunions. He was a great story teller in his books but was also great in person. I have his books, and that’s another way to get to know him better, so I don’t feel that deprived.”