The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library is inviting high school and college graduates and their families to a virtual celebration of the Class of 2024.
The museum is continuing its annual tradition this year with an event from 6-7 p.m. May 7 on Zoom featuring comic and museum board chair Lewis Black. Tickets are “pay what you can” (from free to $100), and registration is available on the museum’s event page.
Black — an actor, writer and the longest-running contributor on The Daily Show — will read a commencement speech written by Kurt Vonnegut. Dwight Simmons, a board member and comedian, will join Black.
“Facing the world today is no small feat, but with a dash of humor and a pinch of Vonnegut’s wisdom, I’m here to remind the Class of 2024 that they’ve got what it takes to write their own unique chapters,” Black said in a news release.
Families can submit their graduates’ names and schools to be read by Black during the celebration by emailing info@vonnegutlibrary.org or by sharing it in the chat box during the live event.
The celebration also will feature a tribute to Hoosier author Dan Wakefield, who died this spring at age 91. Wakefield was a friend of Vonnegut’s and wrote the introduction to a collection of his commencement speeches compiled in “If This Isn’t Nice, What Is? The Graduation Speeches and Other Words to Live By.”
The museum will have copies of the publication on sale in its shop leading up to graduation.
The online event is organized in partnership with Seven Stories Press.
Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.
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