A Life in Comedy

by Garrison Keillor

In April 2002, Garrison Keillor gave three live performances at the Yale Repertory Theatre, reading from a variety of his published and unpublished stories, novels, and essays. The award-winning radio personality and man behind the Lake Wobegon phenomenon presented his original musings on the life and times in which we live. Presenting one man, one mike, and a captive audience of fans both old and new, this audio recording captures the intimacy and the hilarity of those special performances.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Comedy

150 pages, Audio CD

First published September 17, 2002

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

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Garrison Keillor, so this was a great road trip companion. He tells stories about normal people, people like your mom and dad, or maybe your strange uncle (if you're overly normal) finding humor in the stages of life. He isn't a typical comedian, and is unafraid to end his stories on a thoughtful note, and is more literary than most. He loves adjectives, rhyming his tales, a great turn of phrase, but isn't a bit overly romantic with his words, either (I haven't heard the term "Buster" in a long time).

This recommend is pretty general, and could go for any of Keillor's work. In terms of this specifically, there is one section that has some content for those it would be an issue with ("A Summer Night"), but overall, try Keillor and see if you like him. He has a free podcast called "The Writer's Almanac, where in five minutes he recounts significant events connected to that day (Birthdays, historical event anniversaries), and reads a poem. Or try Prairie Home Companion, the radio broadcast that he's hosted for years, which is on NPR. He has a great speaking voice and out of his often humorous or literary essays, even his poetry, the stories always have humanity at the heart, and it is a compassionate heart at that.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Garrision Keillor, of Prairie Home Companion fame, is also on the country's best short story humor writers, right up there with Mark Twain. If you want to know and understand the Midwest, his unique and humorous story of lives lived and loved with inconsistently consistence is required reading and enjoying.

This CD has stories from Kiellor's performances at the Yale Repertory Theatre. He reads his stories both published and unpublished to a live audience. I guarantee that each will elicit a chuckle or two, along with laugh out loud moments interspersed with lyrical emotion and beautiful serenity and understanding. My favorite stories are The Midlife Crisis of Dionysus and Baby Baby. I like listening to him so much that I think I will have to download the book onto my phone or face huge library fines in my unwillingness to give it back! If you like humor, like to have a less stressful commute, and like stories that lyrically play the words like a stringed instruments, get this or anything else by Garrison Keillor. And drop me a line to let me know if you share my thoughts or not.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband and I listened to this book on a road trip up California's Central Valley. It is classic Garrison Keillor. We are big fans of Prairie Home Companion so it's no surprise that we loved this too.

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Important - 1
Accessible - 5
Must Read - 1
Well-written - 5
Kept my attention - 5

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly delightful!

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had read a few of these stories in other books. It was okay but not great.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to this while driving. Entertaining while at the same time some deep thoughts. Highly recommend. I listened to a couple of the CDs several times.

[Jason Roland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and heart-warming...like all of his other books.

[Kristal Stidham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always entertaining, though most of the religious references are lost on me.

[AnnMarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious! This is my first Garrison Keillor book and I listened to it.....loved it! I will surely look for more at the library!

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

MCPL 'Humor Me' Winter Reading Challenge
Short audio road trip listen.
As a Garrison Keillor fan I'm open to reading or listening to his storytelling abilities.