Biographical Sketch from Venus on the Half-Shell (1974)

Kilgore Trout was bom in 1907 of American parents on the British island of Bermuda. Trout attended grammar school there until his father's job with the Royal Ornithological Society terminated. The family moved to Dayton, Ohio, where Trout graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1924. Thereafter, he wandered around the country, workng at menial low-paying jobs and writing science-fiction in his spare time. His only known residences during, this period are Hyannis, Mass., Indianapolis, Ind., and Ilium and Cohoes, N.Y.

He has been married and divorced three times and has one child, Leo, a veteran of Vietnam.

As of 1974, Trout has written one hundred seventeen novels and two thousand short stories. Yet until recently he was little known. This regrettable situation is due to Trout's extreme reclusivity and his indifference to the publication of his stories. He was ill-advised in his choice of publishers, the chief one, World Classics Library, being a firm specializing pornographic novels and magazines. This ensured that his works would be distributed only to stores specializing in this genre. Yet Trout's work, with one exception,* contained no explicitly erotic content. Without Trout's permission or knowledge, World Classics Library put lurid covers on his novels and used his short stories as fillers in ''girlie'' magazines.

In the past few years, however, his fiction has come to the attention of some notable critics and writers in
both mainstream and science-fiction. It has been praised for its high imagination and Swiftean satire. Professor Pierre Versins, for instance, in his massive study, Encyclopgdie de l'Utopie, des Voyages Extraordinaires, et de la Science Fiction, Editions l'Age d'Homme, S.A., Lausanne, Switzerland, 1973, says of Trout, ''A thesis on the too neglected works of this author would be most welcome.''

This is true, but the task of collecting his entire corpus of works is formidable. Even the wealthiest and most indefatigable of collectors cannot boast that they have all of Trout's stories. Venus on the Half-Shell is so rare that its only known possessor required payment of several thousand dollars for its purchase by Dell Publishing Company.

However, as one prominent writer has predicted, Trout's career is on the upswing. Dell is proud to be the first to launch Kilgore Trout into the literary-mainstream. That the author is no longer indifferent ,to his brain-children is shown by his insistence on rewriting Venus on the Half-Shell, updating it somewhat, and expanding the character of Chworktap.

*The Son of Jimmy Valentine, his only nonscience-fiction novel. Negotiations are being conducted to make this available for the first time in general bookstores.

Reviews of Venus on the Half-Shell
Of course Kurt Vonnegut did not write Venus on the Half-Shell but back when the book was released many reviewers argued that he did. Sample these published reviews to hear why Vonnegut did write Venus.

Publisher's Weekly (12/16/74)
Washington Post (03/02/75)
National Observer (05/17/75)

Kilgore Trout Links
	Kurt Vonnegut on being a Science-fiction writer
	Kilgore Trout interviews Kurt Vonnegut
	Philip José Farmer's position on Troutian authorship
	Marek Vit's excellent Kilgore Trout page featuring an enthusiastic collection of fan-penned Kilgore Trout stories
	A Swedish Science Fiction-Fantasy Archive's measurement of the Troutian canon
	A collection of Theodore Sturgeon links
	Check out all the cool covers that Venus has had through all kinds of editions/printings

The Known Works of
Kilgore Trout Titled Tales
(Excluding Timequake)

• 2BR02B
• ''Asleep at the Switch''
• The Barring-gaffner of Bagnialto, or This Year's Masterpiece
• The Big Board
• ''The Dancing Fool''
• The First District Court of
  Thank-You
• Gilgongo!
• The Gospel from Outer Space
• The Gutless Wonder
• ''Hail to the Chief''
• How You Doin'?
• Maniacs in the Fourth Dimension
• The Money Tree
• Now It Can Be Told
• Oh Say Can You Smell?
• The Pan-Galactic Memory Bank
• ''Pan-Galactic Straw-Boss''
  became ''Mouth Crazy''
• Pan-Galactic Three-Day Pass
• Plague on Wheels
• The Planet Gobblers
• SF-1, A Selective Bibliography
• The Smart Bunny
• The Son of Jimmy Valentine
• ''This Means You''
• Venus on the Half-Shell

What have I missed? Write me to direct
me to the locations of other Troutian tales as well as your summaries of the untitled works of Kilgore Trout.

Vonnegut on Kilgore Trout
In a 1987 interview Vonnegut is asked, ''Is it true that [Kilgore Trout] is inspired by Theodore Sturgeon, the sci-fi writer?''

KV: ''Yeah. In fact, it said so in his obituary in the [New York] Times... Sturgeon got a nice big obituary in the Times.... I was delighted that it said in the middle of it that he was the inspiration for the Kurt Vonnegut character of Kilgore Trout.''

In a later interview...

CR: ''Well, I know someone named Phillip José Farmer wrote a book 'by' Kilgore Trout and I know some of the critics yelled at you for letting him do it.''

KV: ''That's about a third of the story. This Farmer wanted to forge on and write a whole series of books 'by' Trout -- and I understand he's capable of knocking out a pretty decent Vonnegut book every six weeks. I hardly know Mr. Farmer. I've never met him and most of our contacts have been indirect, so I asked him, please, not to do it. And I asked my publisher, please, not to publish any more of his Trout books because the whole thing had become very upsetting to me. I understand he was really burned up about my decision. I heard he had made more money in that one 'Kilgore Trout year' than he had ever made before -- in case you're too polite to ask, I didn't get any of the money.''

Philip Jose Farmér's Perspective

Philip José Farmer himself responds to Vonnegut's remarks

Excerpt from Edgar Chapman's The Magic Labyrinth of Philip José Farmer where Farmer's side of the story is told. Well done though not Vonnegut friendly.

Breakfast of Champions
Vonnegut: ''Trout was the only character I ever created who had enough imagination to suspect that he might be the creation of another human being. He had spoken of this possibility several times to his parakeet.''

Trout-Vonnegut Interview
In 1974 Greg Mitchell skillfully incarnated Kilgore Trout interviewing Vonnegut for Crawdaddy. The piece is informed by an interview Mitchell conducted with Vonnegut so the Vonnegutian responses are authentic.

Interview selections

Embracing Trout? Consider these selections from Amazon.com

Venus on the Half-Shell by Kilgore Trout/Phillip José Farmer (Lightyear Press, 1996) Of course it is not by Vonnegut but it is a must for Vonnegut fans. Library binding. Ships in 24 hours from Amazon.com.

The Magic Labyrinth of Philip José Farmer by Edgar L. Chapman (Borgo Press, 1985) Contains an excellent defense of Phillip José Farmer's authorship of Venus on the Half-Shell. Hardcover. Special order from Amazon.com. Excerpt

Conversations with Kurt Vonnegut edited by William Rodney Allen (University Press of Mississippi, 1988) An absolutely indispensible collection of interviews including Kilgore Trout's questioning of Vonnegut. Ships in 2-3 days from Amazon.com.

KILGORE TROUT:  Home Page · Trout/Vonnegut Interview PHILIP JOSÉ FARMER'S TROUT: Defense of Farmer VENUS REVIEWS: National Observer · Publishers Weekly · Washington Post

© 1997-2005 Chris Huber, Durham NC (USA)  ·  Last Updated 02/05/05

Also by Chris Huber: Whyaduck Productions  ·  Which Circle?