By ryan November 17, 2000
From a student at Cornell to a world-renowned author, Kurt Vonnegut ’44 has returned to his New York literary roots. Wednesday, he was named the new State Author by the New York State Writers Institute. According to the Institute, Vonnegut has “left an indelible print on our literary landscape, inspiring generations of imitators, but no equals.” “It is a most agreeable honor, with my 78th birthday only a few days away, that New York State should declare so publicly that I, although born in Indianapolis, am one of its own,” Vonnegut said in a statement. Vonnegut is best-known for his world-famous novels, which include “Slaughterhouse Five,” “Cat’s Cradle,” “Breakfast of Champions” and “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.” Modern Library recently ranked “Slaughterhouse Five” as the 18th best novel of the 20th Century. As State Author of New York, Vonnegut joins an impressive list of past recipients that includes Norman Mailer and E.L. Doctorow. By winning the award, Vonnegut will receive $10,000 and “shall promote and encourage fiction within the State and shall give two public readings within the State each year,” according to the Institute, which tapped Vonnegut upon the recommendation of two advisory panels of distinguished authors. Although a native of Indiana, Vonnegut credits New York as the birthplace of his accomplished literary career. At Cornell, Vonnegut was a columnist for The Sun from 1941-43. He also served as a Sun editor during his years in Ithaca. He did not graduate from Cornell, but instead entered the U.S. Army as a private at the height of World War II in 1943. Of his time on the Hill, Vonnegut once wrote, “I never got close to getting a degree, and would have quit or been thrown out, if it weren’t for the war.” As a soldier, the author was captured during the Battle of the Bulge. After then spending time as a prisoner of war in Germany, an experience that would later serve as the basis for “Slaughterhouse Five,” Vonnegut eventually returned to New York in 1947, when he took a job with General Electric in Schenectady and also worked as a volunteer firefighter in the village of Alplaus. “G.E. was the inspiration for my first novel, ‘Player Piano,’ and Alplaus for my fifth, ‘God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater,” Vonnegut said. Literary critics have consistently lavished Vonnegut with praise in recent years. Jay MacInerny once described Vonnegut as “a satirist with a heart, a moralist with a whoopee cushion, a cynic who wants to believe. His fiercest social criticism is usually disguised in parable.” Author John Updike called the author an “imaginer, as distinguished from a reporter or a self-dramatizer.” Gov. George E. Pataki will officially present Vonnegut with the award, which is given out every two years, at a January ceremony. “I think it’s wonderful,” Prof. Molly Hite, English, said. “He’s a wonderful writer.” Archived article by Aron Goetzl
By ryan November 17, 2000
If you want to understand who men’s and women’s head polo coach David Eldredge ’81 is, come to a contest at the Oxley Equestrian center. During intermission, his personality is best represented. In the fifteen-minute span, he finds time to give his squad instruction, groom the arena, talk with fans and visit with his wife and two daughters. A unique breed, he makes time to coach a nationally-ranked program, take care of his own arena, interact with his fans and above all to be a loving father. That’s what polo is all about to Eldredge — family. His admitted obsession with the game came from his own father, who played for Cornell in the 1940’s when the squad was still administered by the cavalry. Eldredge rode his first horse at the tender age of three and just three years latter, barely able to hold a mallet, he began to play polo. He took such a liking, more aptly a love affair, with the game, he would make the nearly four-hour trip once a week from his home town of Sharon Springs to East Hill to play in a midweek evening club. Later that night, after the four chukkers had elapsed, he would get back in the car with his father, return home and attend school the next morning. Now coaching, he brings this type of contagious fever and unrelenting desire to his students. But, before you can fully understand Eldredge’s coaching career, you have to turn back the clock a bit. Eldredge had played the sport throughout high school, picking up games whenever he could, in the absence of an established school program. Polo was so ingrained in him by the time graduation came around he had no choice but to pursue the activity at a collegiate level. “Riding horses is a disease. It’s in your blood. It’s hard to get it out. For some of us it never gets out,” he explained. In his first year at Cornell, he played as an alternate. It didn’t take him long to gain the respect of his teammates and for the rest of his three years in the carnellian and white, he was captain of the team. In 1981, when he entered the job market, he found himself surrounded by uncertainty. Armed with a degree in Agricultural Engineering, he was struck by the economy of the time–farm machine companies were in the doldrums, frightening even the bold Eldredge. Seemingly with little alternate option available, he joined the Cornell coaching ranks, under his own teacher Danny Scheraga. When the elder vacated his spot, his prot