Quote by Kurt Vonnegut
I became a so-called science fiction writer when someone decreed that I was a science fiction writer. I did not want to be classified as one, so I wondered in what way I'd offended that I would not get credit for being a serious writer. I decided that it was because I wrote about technology, and most fine American writers know nothing about technology. I got classified as a science fiction writer simply because I wrote about Schenectady, New York. My first book, Player Piano, was about Schenectady. There are huge factories in Schenectady and nothing else. I and my associates were engineers, physicists, chemists, and mathematicians. And when I wrote about the General Electric Company and Schenectady, it seemed a fantasy of the future to critics who had never seen the place.
Summary
In this quote, the author Kurt Vonnegut reflects on his classification as a science fiction writer. He expresses his surprise and disappointment at being labelled as such, as he believed he was a serious writer. Vonnegut attributes this classification to his inclusion of technological elements in his work, particularly his portrayal of the industrial city of Schenectady. He suggests that because most American writers lack knowledge about technology, his exploration of this theme seemed like a fantastical depiction of the future to critics who were unfamiliar with the realities of Schenectady.
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