Garrison Keillor: Poet, actor, writer and story-teller
Benjamin Jackson
Issue date: 2/23/10 Section: Entertainment
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I've never actually seen Keillor in person. I grew up a captive listener of his radio program, A Prairie Home Companion. It wasn't until I started high school that I realized he was more than a radio personality, but an amazing writer, singer, and actor.
Keillor stepped onto the stage while singing some of the sonnets he had composed over the years, including those of past loves, his present marriage, and his pleading of "Oh Lord, please exist," in which he sang that he hoped his time on earth wasn't wasted on worship.
He reminisced back to his first visit to Florida, which involved the winning of a vehicle in a poker game and the short lived romance of a beautiful young woman that ended due to the loss of a tube of red lipstick.
The event featured stories from Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, the hometown of Keillor. These were similar to the news he delivers on A Prairie Home Companion.
Keillor is known for his stories. The way he speaks is slow yet paced in a way that keeps you entranced. The details in his tales have you tasting, smelling, and believing you are in that very moment.
He manages to lace hilarity into narratives, which is expected when coming from people, who "brought us up to believe that life is a struggle, and if you should feel really happy, be patient: this will pass" said Keillor.
Living on the edge was the theme of the evening: one of a man frozen to his roof after a nap who was afraid to ask for help out of humility. Keillor said "winter is nature's attempt to kill you."
Another of Wobegon citizens lost a finger. When he was on his way to the hospital, he hit a deer whose antlers almost blinded the man.
Keillor also taught a valuable lesson. When trying to calm problems with family, the peace offering must be homemade, and the incident that caused the trouble must never be brought up.
Keillor spoke about one of his own experiences from last year. He was visiting a massage parlor and experienced a terrifying slur of speech. When he finally reached the hospital, he was told that he had experienced a stroke.
A Prairie Home Companion can be heard every Saturday at six pm on WJCT 89.9 FM.
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