“Sometimes when you walk out that door after church,
you are inspired and expect things to look different—expect to walk out and be
in the New Jerusalem—and it’s a disappointment to see it’s still Lake Wobegon.
A vacant lot across the street, dogs running around, the Dieners’ house
unpainted and two broken-down cars in the backyard, and the back door of the
Sidetrack Tap—the scene of so much illness and unhappiness over the years. But
even here there is a star to follow and we may come through.”—Garrison Keillor,
Life Among the Lutherans, edited by Holly Harden (2009)
You can almost hear that unforgettable, legendary
voice even here, on the printed page, with this collection of radio monologues
from A Prairie Home Companion’s Garrison Keillor. Whether or not he
follows through on his plan to retire in 2013 or whatever timetable he has in
mind, I’m sure we’ll be hearing that voice, in some fashion or another, for a
long time to come.
And if we’re lucky, we’ll be able to hear more of
his editor on this volume. For more on the enormously talented writer Holly
Harden, see the profile of her on pages 28-31 in St. Olaf Magazine here.
(Garrison Keillor pictured here during a rainy 2007 outdoor
broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion.)
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