Three Dozen Poems From the Writer's Almanac

by Garrison Keillor (Editor / Narrator), William Shakespeare (Contributor), Julia Kasdorf (Contributor)

The favorite poems from Garrison Keillor's daily radio program The Writer's Almanac.Selections   Ge Mig En Dag (Scandinavian traditional) Abecedary (Thomas Disch) Old Mother Hubbard (traditional) Frankenstein (Edward Field) Names of Horses (Donald Hall) To One Who Asked Me Why I Love J.G. (Ephelia) What I Learned from My Mother (Julie Kasdorf) When Adam Was Created (anonymous)   Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day? (William Shakespeare) Casey Jones (anonymous) I Think to Live (Emily Dickenson) Fallacy of Experience (William Harmon) Crocodile (William Jay Smith) Spring (Mary Oliver) I Go Back to May, 1937 (Sharon Olds) Language of Crows (Louis Jenkins)

Genres: Poetry, Audiobook

60 pages, Audio CD

First published December 4, 1995

About the author

Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show A Prairie Home Companion (called Garrison Keillor's Radio Show in some international syndication), which he hosted from 1974 to 2016. Keillor created the fictional Minnesota town Lake Wobegon, the setting of many of his books, including Lake Wobegon Days and Leaving Home: A Collection of Lake Wobegon Stories. Other creations include Guy Noir, a detective voiced by Keillor who appeared in A Prairie Home Companion comic skits. Keillor is also the creator of the five-minute daily radio/podcast program The Writer's Almanac, which pairs poems of his choice with a script about important literary, historical, and scientific events that coincided with that date in history.
In November 2017, Minnesota Public Radio cut all business ties with Keillor after an allegation of inappropriate behavior with a freelance writer for A Prairie Home Companion. On April 13, 2018, MPR and Keillor announced a settlement that allows archives of A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer's Almanac to be publicly available again, and soon thereafter, Keillor began publishing new episodes of The Writer's Almanac on his website. He also continues to tour a stage version of A Prairie Home Companion, although these shows are not broadcast by MPR or American Public Media.

Reviews

[Danielle Palmer]

DNF. I wasn’t that crazy about the handful of poems I listened to, and I would’ve rather had a book to pour over and highlight than just listen to Keillor read these. I also wanted to know the titles and poets of each reading and that information was missing.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this from the library audible books to listen to in the car. I used to enjoy Garrison Keillor's poetry reading on the Writer's Almanac, and think he has a great voice for poetry. I enjoyed listening, but was disappointed in how they put various sound effects between the poems. Also, each poem was read without a title or poet's name--very disappointing in this regard, also.

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've missed poetry, and this had some delightful poems sprinkled throughout.

[Randy Tramp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something about poems that bring order to a person. Musical in nature, I loved this book, the poems, and the style to which Keillor read.

[Lang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice variety of poems

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun!! Reminded me of the writers almanac.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the selection of poems, but I didn't like the ambient interludes. Too loud and brash for me.

[Charlie Savidge · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t care for most of these, and I really am trying to bolster my book count for the year with this short one, but squash may also be the most relatable poem ever.

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice little collection of poems mainly geared toward older adults (a couple were children appropriate). Subjects primarily dealt with perseverance, or steadfast love, or aging and death.

The selection I encountered was in audio format, narrated by Garrison Keillor. If you are familiar with A Prairie Home Companion, you know that Mr. Keillor has a very unique cadence and inflection. This was a great match for some of the poems. However, every poem has its own cadence and tone... and Mr. Keillor has only one. So, no matter the inflectional needs of the material, you ALWAYS got A Prairie Home Companion... that gave a hit-and-miss appreciation to this book's format.

[Michael Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are good poems, and Keillor is a wonderful reader. But the collection is a kind of hodgepodge with no clear tie or thread. This audiobook does make for a pleasant, hour plus in the car, however.

[N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks Garrison Keeilor for knocking out teen me for ages. Good to listen to when you think too hard about politics.