A couple of months ago, I taught at a writer's conference. One night, a few of the guys gathered around a television set to watch a little college football (I was hoping to catch some baseball as well). But before long, we were talking about books.
Two of the guys had a conversation about how much they enjoy Garrison Keillor's work. I am familiar with his name and his a few of his books, but I haven't read any of them. The guys said he had a radio show called "A Prairie Home Companion" on PBS and they told me to check it out. I checked iTunes over the weekend to see if it was available for download. It isn't, but I found another one of his radio shows called "The Writer's Almanac" and I'm so addicted to it.
It's a daily five minute show, during which Keillor talks about literature. If it's an author's birthday, or if it's the anniversary of an author's death, or if an author had a classic work released on that date in history, then Keillor gives a quick bio of the author, followed by the story behind the author's work. He usually ends the show by reading a thought-provoking poem.
I listened to one episode recently in which Keillor did a segment about C.S. Lewis (his birthday was last week). Keillor spoke eloquently about the way Lewis became a Christian. He transitioned into talking about Lewis' passion for protecting evacuee children while England was being bombed during WWII. One of those kids asked Lewis about a wardrobe he owned and that question led to one of the greatest adventure stories ever written: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.
Keillor's voice is hard to describe. If I had to do it, I'd tell you to imagine Thurston Howell III doing an imitation of William F. Buckley Jr. and that would give you an idea. Keillor has one of those voices that was made for radio. It's smooth, and enticing, and I can't wait to listen to the show each day. I'm so into the show now that I set my iTunes software to download the podcast every morning.
Then at some point each day, I push the play button and I feel refreshed as I become immersed in knowledge about literature and the many writers who set the stage for writers today. A big thanks goes out to the guys who told me about Keillor's work. I owe you! Now I need to buy one of his books and dive in.
