Councilman proposes naming Indianapolis street for Vonnegut

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A celebrated author who hails from Indianapolis could soon have a street named for him.

Councilman John Barth wants to rename a section of Senate Avenue in downtown Indianapolis for author Kurt Vonnegut. The street cuts between the Statehouse and state government offices and is dotted with parking lots and a few businesses, including the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library.

Indianapolis already sports a four-story-high mural of Vonnegut on Massachusetts Avenue. It declared 2007 the "Year of Vonnegut," which included a year's worth of readings and forums designed to encourage people to visit libraries and to read. The library opened four years ago.

Yet it still lacks a street named for the author of "Slaughterhouse-Five," ''Cat's Cradle" and nearly two dozen other books.

Vonnegut left Indianapolis shortly after graduating from Shortridge High School in 1940. But the Hoosier capital is mentioned in several of his works, and he returned periodically for lectures and visits before his death in 2007.

Barth told The Indianapolis Star (http://indy.st/1BdEwCR ) that naming a street for the writer would help the city better celebrate the people who have come from Indianapolis.

"I don't think in general we do nearly a good enough job of celebrating our culture or the successes of our citizens," Barth said. "We also need to do more in our neighborhoods to help define them, and part of that is about celebrating the great people who have come out of this city."

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Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com