Storytellers

There is little I love more in this world than listening to good storytelling. I remember when I was just a little, little boy listening to Grandmom (my father’s mother) weaving stories about my cousins and I getting into some scrap of trouble, and how her dog, Shiner, would come to our rescue. I remember Pa (my mother’s father) sitting me on his lap and reading/telling me Uncle Remus’ stories about Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear, drawn from the folk tales that slaves use to tell on the plantations. I remember hearing in my elementary school, storytellers from the East Tennessee mountain tradition, spinning yarns with the twang of fiddles and dulcimers hanging in their voices. I loved it all, and each of these influences still surface in my own efforts at storytelling today.

One storytelling influence, however, stands out above the rest. When I was growing up, Saturday nights always meant my family listening to Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion. Keillor is one of the great storytellers the world has ever known. Every week on his radio show, he takes 15-20 minutes to talk about events in his (fictional) hometown of Lake Woebegone, Minnesota. His stories are populated by Norwegian bachelor farmers, Lutherans, and other good-hearted, stolid Midwestern types – after all, in Lake Woebegone “all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above-average.” Keillor’s stories are mellow and subtle in their humor, and they are full of warmth and feeling. I could sit for hours, listening to Garrison talk, and many of his monologues stick in my mind long, long after they spilled out of the radio.

A couple of years ago, I discovered that A Prairie Home Companion has on its website an archived collection of old shows, which stretches back to 1996. There is a segment-by-segment breakdown of each show, including “The News From Lake Woebegone,” which is where the magic happens. By following a link, you can listen to them on your RealPlayer. For anyone who has the time and patience to listen to them, I encourage you to check out the stories linked to below:

A great monologue, including the story of a family portrait taken in Garrison’s youth – [http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/programs/20020413/]

The achingly-beautiful tale of Prohibition-era parents who had to give up their daughter for adoption, and how the father later tried to seek her out - [http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/programs/20020302/]

How Lake Woebegone got that year’s Christmas tree, which was grown by a WWII veteran – [http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/programs/19971213/]