Susan Van Kirk, author — Mr. Vonnegut and Me and a teaching life in Monmouth

She taught English in Monmouth for 44 years, her new memoir Mr. Vonnegut and Me is her 11th book, and one of her best stories involves a student who sneezed 100 times every time she gave a speech. Susan Van Kirk joined Galesburg's Morning News on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. Listen to the full interview above. Topics covered in this interview: The story behind the title — who Mr. Vonnegut is and why he ended up in a book challenge at Monmouth High School What the memoir is really about — 15 human interest stories from a classroom full of teenagers The sneezing student who went on to earn a PhD and train CEOs in public speaking What's new in this second edition — a rewritten introduction and follow-ups with former students decades later Where those students ended up — including an engineer at Nvidia in Silicon Valley 44 years in the classroom — what drew her to teaching and what kept her there The Galesburg teacher who inspired her to teach in the first place Two mystery series, 10 novels, and no writer's block The night she played electric guitar in a fraternity rock band at age 61 What's next — two novellas and another Endurance Mystery in the works   Susan Van Kirk will be signing copies of Mr. Vonnegut and Me (And Other Incredible Tales from a Teaching Life) — along with her mystery novels — this Saturday, May 16, from noon to 2 p.m. at Wordsmith Bookshoppe in Galesburg. Copies are also available at Market Alley Wine and Flowers R Us in Monmouth. [caption id="attachment_700092" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Author Susan Van Kirk visited the WGIL studios on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (WGIL)[/caption]