Blank on Blank — Season 1, Episode 56: Garrison Keillor on Humor

Episode synopsis

“My family was shocked when I came home with a volume of Hemingway … There was a price to be paid for being interested in fiction.” - Garrison Keillor in 1994. In this new episode we have a conversation with a true storyteller, the humorist, Garrison Keillor. This interview was recorded in front a live audience back in November of 1994 at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. On stage that night was Keillor, the host of A Praire Home Companion, and George Plimpton, the famed editor of the Paris Review. The thread of their conversation that night was: the qualities of humor. It’s been awhile since we dug into the archives of talks recorded at the 92Y over the years. What we loved about this conversation was something we hadn’t really thought about before: What is the obligation of humor? Enjoy

About Blank on Blank

Vintage interview tapes. New animations. The mission is simple: curate and transform journalists' unheard interviews with American icons. The future of journalism is remixing the past.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1Bono on His Dad's Final Days
• E2Surfer Kelly Slater on Problems in his Perfect Life
• E3Muhammad Ali On Going To Mars
• E4Dave Brubeck on Fighting Communism with Jazz
• E5Larry King on Getting Seduced
• E6Jim Morrison on Why Fat is Beautiful
• E7David Foster Wallace on Ambition
• E8Beastie Boys on Being Stupid
• E9Wilt Chamberlain on Tall Tales
• E10James Brown on Conviction, Respect & Reagan
• E11Maurice Sendak on Being a Kid
• E12Louis Armstrong on His Chops