Books by Garrison Keillor

Presents a collection of poems each intended to evoke in listeners a moment of intellectual clarity.

Accompanied by the runaway slave Jim, the irrepressible Huck Finn sets out on a voyage down the Mississippi, encountering a host of colorful characters along the way, in a colorful rendition of Twain's classic tale. Read by Garrison Keillor. Book available.

Twain spent seven years writing HUCKLEBERRY FINN--the book Hemingway claimed is the basis for all American fiction. The story of Huck's and Jim's quest for freedom on a raft on the Mississippi provides a panoramic view of Southern society, which Twain saw as beset by greed, violence, and coldhearted brutality in the guise of virtue. At the end of the book, Huck definitively abandons the hypocrisy and cant on which he has been raised when he makes the shocking decision to go to hell rather than betray his friend Jim and send him back to slavery. The book has been banned from time to time, beginning with its publication in 1885, when it was deemed too subversive for children, until the late 20th century when, despite its compassionate attitude toward blacks and its violent denunciation of slavery, it has been branded racist because of Twain's use of dialect and "offensive" language. In addition to its message of tolerance and understanding, HUCKLEBERRY FINN continues to be read, talked about, and loved by readers of all ages because it's a cracking good coming-of-age story full of vivid characters and hilarious events --and because Twain's relentlessly clear-eyed angle of vision sees beneath the foibles and absurdities of humanity to the common ground that we all share.

Now available in paperback, Garrison Keillor's The Book of Guys spent nine weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. The beloved author of five previous bestsellers, including Lake Wobegon Days delivers a hilarious collection of 22 stories about all kinds of guys.

Puff leaves home for Europe, where she becomes "the Number One TV cat-food queen", and changes her name to Clarice. Soon she is living the good life on the beaches of Greece and France--until disaster strikes. Fortunately, a cat can always come home. Illustrated with vibrant colors, wickedly funny details, and slightly skewed perspectives, this offbeat tale will entertain readers of all ages.

A charming board book celebrates the relationship between a father and his little girl, following them throughout the day as they turn ordinary events into the extraordinary!

The daily routine of caring for his now-two-year-old daughter provided the inspiration for the Prairie Home Companion host's unique and hilarious collection of stories and songs on childhood and parenthood.

Part of a collection of monologues from A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION, these accounts by master storyteller Garrison Keillor deal with life in the small town of Lake Wobegon.

Features all the jokes from National Public Radio's A Prairie Home Companion joke shows on April 1, 2000 and April, 6, 2002, covering one-liners, lightbulb jokes, silly third-grade jokes, and classic chicken-crossing-the-road jokes. Performers include Garrison Keillor and Calvin Trillin.

Contains highlights from the radio personality's solo performances at Yale Repertory Theatre, during which he read from his published and unpublished works, including stories from "The New Yorker," chapters from his novels, news from Lake Wobegon, essays, letters, and poems.

The popular radio show host showcases some of his favorite poems, including the work of Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, Charles Bukowski, Donald Hall, Billy Collins, and Sharon Olds.

An eclectic anthology of poetic works, selected for their uplifting and honest themes, includes pieces by such writers as Raymond Carver, Emily Dickinson, and Robert Frost. Collected by the author of Homegrown Democrat. Reprint. 150,000 first printing.

This rerelease of the classic 1985 recording contains nine humorous monologues from the early years of A Prairie Home Companion, with musical accompaniment by the legendary Chet Atkins.

Brings together stories from all four of the New Testament gospels to chronicle the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of a man who was born in a stable but who transformed the world. Read by Garrison Keillor.

Includes eight complete episodes of the private-eye spoof from live radio broadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion, and stars Garrision Keillor as Guy and Walter Bobbie as Pete.

Short stories satirize all aspects of American society and popular culture.

Contains monologues from four years (1999-2002) of live radio broadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion. Read by the author.

In a deeply personal celebration of liberalism, the popular humorist and radio host examines the "politics of kindness," offering a series of nostalgic reminiscences, meditations, and observations on the core values--the defense of the powerless, the protection of the social compact, and maintaining government as a force for good--of the democratic ideal. Reprint. 75,000 first printing.

Garrison Keillor is a good liberal, and here he indulges himself in an entertaining rant about what's wrong with America, from corporate hot air to the war on drugs to the Bush Administration. (He calls the Department of Homeland Security the "Achtung Department.") Keillor traces his own liberal persona back to his excellent public education and the admirable Minnesota aunts who raised him.

For years, "Humor" has been the bestselling "single" from the "More News from Lake Wobegon" collection. Featuring some of Garrison Keillor's funniest monologues from live radio broadcasts of "A Prairie Home Companion", it's now available on CD for holiday gift-giving.

The creator of Lake Wobegon leads readers on a photographic tour of the real-life places that inspired his beloved imaginary Minnesota town.

A volume of whimsical essays culled from the famous Prairie Home Companion radio host's "Old Scout" syndicated newspaper column is a gift-appropriate anthology that counsels readers on how to navigate life's murkier waters. By the author of the Lake Wobegon series.

Based on the enormously popular "Prairie Home Companion", Keillor's show on public radio, this collection of stories of modern Midwestern life skyrocketed to the top of the bestseller lists in the mid 1980s, and remained there. In this small Minnesota town, "all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average." The book won the collective heart of the country, and critics found it impossible to refrain from quoting sizable portions of it in their reviews.

A young narrator chronicles his coming-of-age in Minnesota's Lake Wobegon, a fictitious small town where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.

During the summer of 1956, fourteen-year-old geek Gary struggles with the hormonal pains and obsessions of puberty as he experiences a passionate devotion to his rebellious cousin Kate and pursues his dream of becoming a writer, but when Kate gets into trouble with the local basketball star, Gary is forced to deal with the first pangs of a broken heart. Reprint.

These tales of everyday life in Lake Wobegon about rhubarb pie, the perils of prophecy, a miserable Thanksgiving, Florian and Myrtle's thrifty vacation, and the vapour lights of Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility, were all recorded on tour. They show an abiding restlessness among Lake Wobegon's residents, especially in March, the month God created to show people who don't drink what a hangover is like. But our women are strong, our children are all above average, and as for us men, well, we could look worse.

The contributions of thirty-five important contemporary authors--including Edward Abbey, Wendell Berry, Annie Dillard, Bobbie Ann Mason, and Garrison Keillor--highlight a superlative anthology that documents America's firm ties to its rural roots.

Revisit the beguiling comic world of Lake Wobegon. In the first collection of Lake Wobegon monologues, Keillor tells readers ore about some of the people from Lake Wobegon Days and introduces some new faces. "Leaving Home is a book of exceptional charm . . . delightful . . . genuinely touching".--The Wall Street Journal. Available in early December.

In this collection of stories about small-town life, Dale takes a step toward manhood and Darlene sets off for Minneapolis to begin a new life.

Having transformed the annual Fourth of July parade into a Lake Wobegon extravaganza, steadfast mechanic Clint Bunsen attracts the attention of the governor and the media before announcing his intention to run for Congress, an endeavor that is compromised by his drinking and rumors about an affair with a young woman. 200,000 first printing.

This latest Lake Wobegon collection features 11 wonderful stories recorded from live radio broadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion".

Leaving his wife to pursue an idealized life as a writer, Larry Wyler finds his early successes quickly deteriorating and returns home to write for an advice column, through which he learns unexpected life lessons. Reprint.

Meet Jimmy Valente--ex-wrestler, family man, and the new governor of Minnesota, BABY! A thinly disguised portrait of Jesse ("The Body") now ("The Mind") Ventura, the newly elected governor of Keillor's home state, "Me: By Jimmy (Big Boy) Valente" is a brilliantly funny, wicked and biting send-up of American politics. 36 illustrations.

More stories from Lake Wobegon, by its perennial chronicler, Garrison Keillor.

A previously unpublished story, originally written in 1876, chronicles the efforts of John Gray, a humble farmer in the mythical small town of Deer Lick, to marry off his daughter, Mary, to the heir to the town's wealthiest family, but the sudden appearance of a mysterious stranger not only derails Gray's plans but also leads to murder. First serial, Atlantic. Read by Garrison Keillor and Roy Blount.

More stories from Lake Wobegon, by its perennial chronicler, Garrison Keillor.

The "News from Lake Wobegon" was the original collection of Garrison Keillor monologues and one of the bestselling spoken word audios of all time. Each of the seasons are available individually on cassette, and now "Fall" and "Winter" are available for the first time ever on CD. Still classics, these stories capture the humorous, occasionally touching moments in the everyday lives of the people of Lake Wobegon. "Fall" includes "Giant Decoys", "Darryl Tollerud's Long Day", "Hog Slaughter", "Thanksgiving", and "The Royal Family".

The "News from Lake Wobegon" was the original collection of Garrison Keillor monologues and one of the bestselling spoken word audios of all time. Each of the seasons are available individually. Each features stories that capture the humorous, occasionally touching moments in the everyday lives of the people of Lake Wobegon. "Winter" includes "Guys on Ice", "James Lundeen's Christmas", "The Christmas Story Re-told", "New Year's from New York", and "Storm Home".

More stories from Lake Wobegon, by its perennial chronicler, Garrison Keillor.

Wallace P. Flynn likes cheese, and the worst it smells, the better! But Wallace P.'s penchant for putrid cheese soon gets him into trouble. Will he ever learn to change his wheys? Ann Wilsdorf's watercolor illustrations capture every hilarious detail of this outlandish story.

Part of a collection of monologues from A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION, these accounts by master storyteller Garrison Keillor deal with life in the small town of Lake Wobegon.

The quaint Minnesota town of Lake Wobegon may not exist, but it continues to expand all the time. Garrison Keillor, the famously laconic host of National Public Radio's A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION, spins another yarn about the simple life of Midwestern folk in PONTOON, his whimsical and deadpan comedic novel and the latest addition to Lake Wobegon lore. Octogenarian Evelyn Peterson seemed to be an upstanding member of the community: good, modest, and religious. Only after her death does her daughter, Barbara, discover that Evelyn lived a double life, flying off to Vegas with her lover, Raoul, to dance and carouse. To the scandal of the community, Evelyn's last wish was to be cremated, placed inside a bowling ball, and spread over Lake Wobegon from a pontoon boat, and Barbara is determined to carry out the crazy plan as a way to honor the side of her mother she never knew existed. Meanwhile, a pontoon boat plays a pivotal role in the life of an erstwhile inhabitant of Lake Wobegon, Debbie Detmer, a Los Angeles millionaire returning to her home town in hopes of holding an ostentatious pontoon boat wedding on the lake. Lake Wobegon may be a simple little town, but the situations its citizens get involved in are incredibly complex--and wonderfully funny.

A collection of comedy sketches and songs includes "The Francis S. Key Story," "Twelfth Street Tag," "Bob Wilson Month," "Am I Boring?," and "Moodism."

In this, "A Prairie Home Companion's" 25th year, Garrison Keillor and friends have compiled a "commonplace" book of amusing facts, recollections, scripts, behind-the-scenes photos, recipes, and commercials--and a whole alphabet of fun from "Autoharp" to "Zenith."

Selections from Garrison Keillor's long-running radio show, A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION.

An introduction to the popular radio program A Prairie Home Companion includes an episode of Guy Noir: Private Eye, ads from loyal sponsors, music, trademark sound effects, and a classic News from Lake Wobegon monologue.

Gathers the best jokes from the radio show's annual joke shows, in such categories as bar jokes, one-liners, musician jokes, North Dakota jokes, and puns.

A compilation of A Prairie Home Companion'spast four joke shows features Garrison Keillor and his guests Roy Blount, Jr. and Paula Poundstone presenting an entertaining mix of knockknocks, oneliners, North Dakota, reigious, animal, bar, and lightbulb jokes, along with the show's trademark "yo mama" insults. Simultaneous.

Part of a collection of monologues from A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION, these accounts by master storyteller Garrison Keillor deal with life in the small town of Lake Wobegon.

This first and only recording of the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band features Rich Dworsky (piano), Andy Stein (violin, saxophone), Pat Donohue (guitar) and Arnie Kinsella (drums), with guest Garrison Keillor contributing vocals on several tracks. Their repertoire is an irresistible mix of timeless jazz, blues, and pop standards.

Arvonne Fraser grew up on a farm in Minnesota during the Great Depression, and later became active in progressive politics. In her memoir, Fraser recalls her upbringing and the values that led her to join the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, and to her career in local government and the nonprofit sector. She also writes of her marriage to Don Fraser, who served in Congress and was mayor of Minneapolis, and the struggle to raise a family while living a life in public service. Of special interest is Fraser's account of her efforts promoting feminism on the international stage, which included working with the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

Gathers baseball stories by Damon Runyon, James Thurber, W.P. Kinsella, Paul Gallico, Garrison Keillor, Roger Angell, Shirley Jackson, and Thomas Wolfe.

"Prairie Home Companion" fans, Garrison Keillor is alive and well, with humor intact. The wry Minnesotan, transplanted to the land of subways and skyscrapers, is still dishing up his peculiar brand of warmth and wit. This new collection contains tales of love fumbled and recovered, satiric social comment, and letters on marriage and fatherhood.

From the creator of "A Prairie Home Companion" and bestselling author of Lake Wobegon Days comes the trade paper edition of the hilariously bawdy novel that is "irresistibly delicious . . . a satisfying romp with a yarnmaster who can make you howl" (Los Angeles Times Book Review). In the spring of 1926, the Soderbjerg brothers plunge into broadcasting to rescue their failing restaurant and go on to make radio history over the next quarter century.

John Tollefson, a son of Lake Wobegon, has moved East to manage a radio station at a college for academically challenged children of financially gifted parents in upstate New York. Having achieved this pleasant perch, John has a brilliant idea for a restaurant specializing in fresh sweet corn. And he falls in love with an historian named Alida Freeman, hard at work on a book about a nineteenth-century Norwegian naturopath, an acquaintance of Lincoln, Thoreau, Whitman, and Susan B. Anthony. Caught up in his own ambitions, John visits home in Minnesota to sit in the Sidetrack Tap and the Chatterbox Cafe and listen to the talk he has heard all his life, and in that familiar landscape he discovers what is truly important to him. It all comes down to the Lake Wobegon code: Cheer Up, Make Yourself Useful, Mind Your Manners, and Avoid Self-Pity.

Part of a collection of monologues from A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION, these accounts by master storyteller Garrison Keillor deal with life in the small town of Lake Wobegon.