Garrison Keillor on B*sh visit to Minnesota

[dalaigh lllama]

The man's a national treasure. :rofl:

...The Current Occupant came to view the wreckage and to express, in that intense and aimless way of his, his hopes for a better life for us. And then, having raised our hopes, he did not resign from office after all...

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/08/08/keillor/

[OwnedByFerrets]

1. LMAO....he is a treasure!!

[TwilightGardener]

3. Yep.

[speedoo]

2. Oh he is a treasure!

I can just hear him saying that.

[snappyturtle]

4. Poignantly humorous....love him! I am ready to live in

Lake Wobegon!

[wicket]

5. He rocks!

:rofl:

[Captain Hilts]

6. Registration required. nt

[Nevernose]

7. Potentially offensive question: is Garrison Keillor gay?

I ask because his writing is, at times, so brilliant and so precise. Truman Capote and Oscar Wilde had the same thing going for them.

I mean, how can you not laugh at The Importance of Being Earnest? Is it the height of perfection? No. But it is like a razor blade.

Dan Savage has the same acerbic wit sometimes, too (emphasis on the wit). Is wit a gay thing?

This is from a guy who has no concept of "gaydar," and who honestly thought Freddie Mercury was straight because of the way he acted. In fact, I was a little surprised to find out that Liberace was gay, and only because someone had to tell me. While I was at his museum.

[spag68]

8. same reply I always give

to questions like this "WHO CARES"

[Nevernose]

12. Obvious answer: I do. Otherwise, I wouldn't have asked.

I was asking about gay writers. There's a lot of literature on the subject of queer studies, and a lot of literature that is studied by queers. Keillor's writing often reminds me, in a very positive way, of stuff that I've read by gay people.

[JanusAscending]

15. Excuse me...................

"QUEERS" ???????????????????????:grr: :thumbsdown: Shame on you !!

[Hell Hath No Fury]

26. Uh... the use of the word "queer"...

in that context is correct -- many colleges offer courses titles "queer lit" and bookstores have "queer lit" sections. I've seen it all the time here in SF. :shrug:

[ProudDad]

27. Don't know if this helps

"Keillor was born in Anoka, Minnesota, and raised in a family belonging to the Plymouth Brethren, a fundamentalist Christian denomination he has since left. He is six feet, four inches (1.93 m) tall and is of Scottish and Norwegian ancestry. Keillor is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. He is currently an Episcopalian, but has been a Lutheran; he often uses his religious roots in his material. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor's degree in English in 1966. While there, he began his broadcasting career on the student-operated radio station known today as Radio K.

Keillor has been married three times:

* To Mary Guntzel, from 1965 to 1976. The couple has one son, Jason, born in 1969.
* To Ulla Skaerved (a former exchange student from Denmark whom he famously re-encountered at a high school reunion), from 1985 to 1990. Keillor is mildly notorious for having dumped his long-time lover and PHC producer Margaret Moos to marry Skaerved. The marriage failed when Keillor had an affair with his Danish language teacher.
* His current wife, violinist Jenny Lind Nilsson (b. 1958), from his hometown of Anoka, whom he married in 1995. They have one daughter, Maia, born in 1998."


You'll have to ask him, though...


It's nice to know he's 1.93 Meters Tall though...

[Harry Monroe]

30. I agree

It is totally irrelevant whether he is or not!!!

[supernova]

10. No, GK is not gay

He's married to a woman and has a daughter.

[Demeter]

24. And a Son From His First Marriage

Daughter is from the third marriage, I think.

[Ilsa]

11. Married with kids. Never heard that he's bi or anyhing. nt

[Marr]

17. His wit reminds me more of Mark Twain.

He wasn't gay. There've been plenty of witty writers who weren't gay.

[eridani]

18. Also Will Rogers

"No, I don't belong to any organized political party. I'm a Democrat."

[Nevernose]

33. Well, obviously plenty of writers aren't gay

He definitely has the "folksiness" of Twain or, as someone else said, Will Rogers. (on edit, "regionalism" is the word I was looking for)

I wasn't suggesting he was gay or straight or anything else, and regardless of his sexual orientation, he's a great writer. I was just curious, because I know absolutely nothing about him personally, and knowing more about a writer's life often helps to illuminate that writer's writing.

[Demeter]

25. Garrison Keillor is a PERFORMER, a Professional Actor and Writer

and he's good at what he does, which is why he gets paid to do it and has an audience.

(You may draw your own conclusions about less gifted men here)

One does not have to have any particular sexual orientation or practice to have the gift of public presence.

[proud patriot]

9. LOL

:)

[Lifelong Protester]

13. I highly recommend his book, "Homegrown Democrat"

as one of the best statements of what it means to be, as he put it, from the heartland and democratic, small d. I saw him at a rally across the river, October, 2004. We were all so hopefull, and he gave a great talk. This rally took place under the Wabasha Bridge ramp (don't worry, brand new in 1995) and said "I'd rather be with you folks under a bridge tonight than at any country club with the Republicans".

He is truly a wit, a thinker, and a wordsmith.

He has a bookstore now, called "Good Books" on Selby Avenue in the old Blair Arcade building. Drop in if you are ever in St. Paul.

[Lisa]

14. can he ever think on his feet!

"I'd rather be with you folks under a bridge" -- I'm filing that one away for future reference. (My group of progressives has rallies in weird places too.)

[Lifelong Protester]

16. It was a classic and you should have heard the crowd roar

... and I imagine you can! In 2006, this same rally had Al Franken, the guy who is absolutely going to kick Normy Coleman's sorry ass in the senate race in 2008. I've been lucky, heard some good ones.

[dalaigh lllama]

19. Thanks for the book recommend

Looks like a trip to the library to pick up "Homegrown Democrat" is in order.

[bvar22]

22. I saw Keilor speak at the Labor Day Picnic

on Harriet Island in 2004. He appeared with Jim Hightower and Paul Wellstone. Granny D was there too. Wonderful afternoon.

[Lifelong Protester]

28. Wow, what a day that must have been!

Thanks for the picture of 'our' Paul. I saw him introduce Al Gore at the Minnesota State Fair in 2000, and it was AN EVENT, baby! I miss Paul so much.

[SharonAnn]

31. I believe Paul Wellstone died in late October of 2002. That's why Coleman's up for re-election.

[bvar22]

32. That was 2002.

oops.

[trof]

20. K&R. Go Garrison!

[raccoon]

21. I was wondering what he'd have to say about this. Thanks for posting. nt

[Blue_Tires]

23. ttt

[rosesaylavee]

29. Ha!

Thanks muchly for the gut laugh!

This almost makes up for all his Unitarian jokes... almost.