Can Garrison Keillor make Lutherans funny?
(The National Post, February 5, 2002) Are Lutherans funny? That’s not a question that obsesses the Evangelical Lutheran Church. It appears on no theological agenda. In fact, it seems to be the concern of only one individual on Earth: Garrison Keillor, the host of A Prairie Home Companion on American public radio and the author of Lake Wobegon Days. Close study of his work reveals the grand ambition behind his career: He wants to make Lutherans a source of comedy. This strikingly original idea dominates much of his writing and talking. Once a reader or listener notices the theme, it seems to crop up in everything he does. “Lutheran” is Keillor’s best punchline, the Lutheran church the site of his best stories, the Lutheran ethos a favourite object of his satire. Keillor is the finest talent ever developed by listener-supported radio in the United States. He went to work for Minnesota Public Radio in 1969 and he’s done A Prairie Home Companion since 1974, except for a two-year hiatus in
