Loree Rackstraw
Encyclopedia
Loree Rackstraw is an American literary critic and memoirist. She taught English at the University of Northern Iowa
from 1966–1996, and she is the author of Love As Always, Kurt: Vonnegut As I Knew Him (2009).
. She received an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Grinnell College
in 1953, and an MFA in English at the University of Iowa
. While at the University of Iowa, one of her instructors in 1965-1966 was Kurt Vonnegut
, with whom she began a friendship that lasted more than forty years and which is documented in Love As Always, Kurt: Vonnegut As I Knew Him.
In 1966, Rackstraw began a thirty-year career in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Northern Iowa, where she taught courses in fiction writing, literature, mythology and humanities. She also served as a fiction editor and reviewer for the North American Review
and was a long-time member of the College Hill Neighborhood Association in Cedar Falls, Iowa
.
In 2009, Rackstraw published Love As Always, Kurt: Vonnegut As I Knew Him, a literary memoir detailing her long-term friendship with Kurt Vonnegut, as well as her responses, as a literary critic, to his work. After their time together in Iowa City, Vonnegut and Rackstraw remained frequent correspondents and often visited one another. Rackstraw also regularly reviewed Vonnegut’s work in her official capacity at the North American Review and published a number of academic articles on his work in books and journals including Kurt Vonnegut: Images and Representations (2000) and The Vonnegut Chronicles: Interviews and Essays (1996).
Jerome Klinkowitz finds that this relationship had a significant impact on the work of both Rackstraw and Vonnegut:
“It had to have been the impression Kurt’s work made that prompted Loree’s investigations of feminist thought. And because she was thinking this way and was in frequent contact with Kurt by mail and phone similar trends in his own fiction developed. Would he have written Galápagos without her? I’m sure there’d be no Circe Berman in Bluebeard without Loree, and perhaps no Bluebeard at all.”
Rackstraw appears in chapter 62 of Kurt Vonnegut's semi-autobiographical novel, Timequake
, at a clambake held in honor of Vonnegut's recurring character, Kilgore Trout
.
Loree Rackstraw’s papers have been held since 1996 in the University of Northern Iowa Special Collections and University Archives.
University of Northern Iowa
The University of Northern Iowa is a college located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 120 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, and Social and Behavioral sciences, and graduate college.UNI has...
from 1966–1996, and she is the author of Love As Always, Kurt: Vonnegut As I Knew Him (2009).
Biography
Loree Rackstraw was born Lora Lee Pugh on June 27, 1931 in Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. She received an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Grinnell College
Grinnell College
Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, U.S. known for its strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of pioneer New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College....
in 1953, and an MFA in English at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
. While at the University of Iowa, one of her instructors in 1965-1966 was Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
, with whom she began a friendship that lasted more than forty years and which is documented in Love As Always, Kurt: Vonnegut As I Knew Him.
In 1966, Rackstraw began a thirty-year career in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Northern Iowa, where she taught courses in fiction writing, literature, mythology and humanities. She also served as a fiction editor and reviewer for the North American Review
North American Review
The North American Review was the first literary magazine in the United States. Founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others, it was published continuously until 1940, when publication was suspended due to J. H. Smyth, who had purchased the magazine, being unmasked as a Japanese...
and was a long-time member of the College Hill Neighborhood Association in Cedar Falls, Iowa
Cedar Falls, Iowa
Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States, and it is home to one of Iowa's three public universities, the University of Northern Iowa. The population was 39,260 in the 2010 census, an increase from the 36,145 population in the 2000 census...
.
In 2009, Rackstraw published Love As Always, Kurt: Vonnegut As I Knew Him, a literary memoir detailing her long-term friendship with Kurt Vonnegut, as well as her responses, as a literary critic, to his work. After their time together in Iowa City, Vonnegut and Rackstraw remained frequent correspondents and often visited one another. Rackstraw also regularly reviewed Vonnegut’s work in her official capacity at the North American Review and published a number of academic articles on his work in books and journals including Kurt Vonnegut: Images and Representations (2000) and The Vonnegut Chronicles: Interviews and Essays (1996).
Jerome Klinkowitz finds that this relationship had a significant impact on the work of both Rackstraw and Vonnegut:
“It had to have been the impression Kurt’s work made that prompted Loree’s investigations of feminist thought. And because she was thinking this way and was in frequent contact with Kurt by mail and phone similar trends in his own fiction developed. Would he have written Galápagos without her? I’m sure there’d be no Circe Berman in Bluebeard without Loree, and perhaps no Bluebeard at all.”
Rackstraw appears in chapter 62 of Kurt Vonnegut's semi-autobiographical novel, Timequake
Timequake
Timequake is a semi-autobiographical work by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. published in 1997. Vonnegut described the novel as a "stew", in which he alternates between summarizing a novel he had been struggling with for a number of years, and waxing nostalgic about various events in his life.-Plot...
, at a clambake held in honor of Vonnegut's recurring character, Kilgore Trout
Kilgore Trout
Kilgore Trout is a fictional character created by author Kurt Vonnegut. He was originally created as a fictionalized version of author Theodore Sturgeon , although Trout's consistent presence in Vonnegut's works has also led critics to view him as the author's own alter ego...
.
Loree Rackstraw’s papers have been held since 1996 in the University of Northern Iowa Special Collections and University Archives.
Selected Publications
- Love As Always, Kurt: Vonnegut As I Knew Him. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2009. Print.
- “The Paradox of 'Awareness' and Language in Vonnegut's Fiction.” Kurt Vonnegut: Images and Representations. Eds. Marc Leeds and Peter J. Reed. Praeger, 2000. 51-66. Print.
- “Dancing with the Muse in Vonnegut's Later Novels.” The Vonnegut Chronicles: Interviews and Essays. Eds. Peter J. Reed and Marc Leeds. Greenwood Press, 1996. 123-43. Print.