A Prairie Home Companion Commonplace Book: 25 Years on the Air with Garrison Keillor

On July 6, 1974, in a small concert hall at Macalester College, A Prairie Home Companion debuted as a live radio show in front of an auspicious audience of about twelve people. It "was about as awful as a show could possibly be, and we have the tapes to prove it," recalls host Garrison Keillor. Thankfully, the show improved considerably over the years and today over two-and-a-half million listeners tune in each week to hear that friendly, familiar mix of music, humor, and storytelling.

The dictionary defines a "commonplace book" as a notebook in which one records quotations, poems, extracts, and memorabilia. In A Prairie Home Companion's 25th year, Keillor and friends compiled a commonplace book of amusing facts, recollections, scripts, behind-the-scenes photos, recipes, commercials?a whole alphabet of fun from "Autoharp" to "Zenith."

Heavily illustrated with over 100 photos, plus new, previously unpublished material by Garrison Keillor, it all adds up to a complete picture of a much-loved part of popular culture and one of America's favorite radio programs.

GARRISON KEILLOR is America’s favorite storyteller. For more than 35 years, as the host of A Prairie Home Companion, he has captivated millions of listeners with his weekly News from Lake Wobegon monologues. A Prairie Home Companion is heard on hundreds of public radio stations, as well as America One, the Armed Forces Networks, Sirius Satellite Radio, and via a live audio webcast. 
 
Keillor is also the author of several books and a frequent contributor to national publications including Time, The New Yorker, and National Geographic, in addition to writing his own syndicated column. He has been awarded a National Humanities Medal from the National Endowment of the Humanities. When not touring, he resides in St. Paul, Minnesota.