Since last May I've been "playing chicken" with Garrison Keillor (unbeknownst to him). As big a fan of his as I've been over the years, would I really be willing to lay down $40 to see his one man show in Oxford?
As March 18, the day of the performance, approached, the pressure mounted. What comments would he make about Miami University? What song would he have his audience sing? To find out, I would need to buy a ticket.
Finally, about 6 hours before the show, I flinched. I relented and purchased a ticket.
It turned out to be a great show, full of stories, sonnets, and songs. My favorite line was his reference to contemporary praise and worship anthems as "7/11 songs"---7 words repeated 11 times.
The monologue culminated with a retelling of the main plotline of his novel Pontoon.
I enjoyed that book, and it was fun to hear him rehearse the story personally.
I'll post a report at Grace and Knowledge.
Tags:
books, garrison keillor, humor, lectures
Posted at: 11:28 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
At Miami University spring break has come and gone. There are seven weeks of class left in the spring semester, then final exams.
One thing that I enjoy about this part of the academic year is that lots of campus lectures are typically scheduled for March and April.
This year is no exception. Garrison Keillor is coming this week, Salman Rushdie next week.
Sometimes two good lectures are scheduled at the same time. On April 2, there's going to be an AIA archaeology lecture in Oxford at 7:30 PM. At the same time, eminent Lincoln scholar Allen Guelzo will be speaking on the Hamilton campus about Lincoln as a philosopher. I"m leaning toward going to the Guelzo lecture. I've seen him speak on BookTV, and he's an excellent speaker.
But the lecture i'm most looking forward to is the one by Walter Kaiser, one of my favorite Bible scholars. He'll be giving a lecture called "Archaeology and the Bible: The Top 15 Finds" on March 28.
Tags:
archaeology, garrison keillor, lectures, walter kaiser
Posted at: 11:02 PM | Permalink
