The Writer's Almanac: Difference between revisions

'''''The Writer's Almanac''''' iswas a daily radio and on-line program and podcast of poetry and historical interest pieces, usually of literary significance. Begun in 1993,<ref>Marcia Songer, ''Garrison Keillor: A Critical Companion'' ([[Greenwood Publishing Group]], 2000), {{ISBN|978-0313302305}}, p. 11. [https://books.google.com/books?id=cgDNkYG5D2gC&lpg=PA11&dq=%22Writer's%20Almanac%22%20keillor&pg=PA11#v=onepage&q=%22Writer's%20Almanac%22%20keillor&f=false Excerpts available] at [[Google Books]].</ref><ref name="kipin">David Kipen, [http://articles.latimes.com/1993-04-18/books/bk-24129_1_garrison-keillor "Flat, Slow and Fetching"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', April 18, 1993.</ref> it iswas hosted by [[Garrison Keillor]] and iswas produced and distributed by [[American Public Media]]. Program sponsors includeincluded, among others, [[The Poetry Foundation]] (using funds from a large bequest from philanthropist [[Ruth Lilly]]),<ref>[http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2009-12-31-lilly-heiress_N.htm "Eli Lilly heiress Ruth Lilly dies at 94"], ''[[USA Today]]'', December 31, 2009.</ref> publisher of ''[[Poetry Magazine]]'' and The Mosaic Foundation of Rita and Peter Heydon.

Each program iswas five minutes long and beginsbegan with the phrase "And here is the Writer's Almanac..." Each daily program includesincluded vignettes about authors and other noteworthy people whose birthdays or significant events coincidecoincided with the date of the particular program, as well as excerpts of important events in history. The program continuescontinued with one or more poems usually chosen by Keillor, and endsended with Keillor's traditional sign-off, "Be well, do good work, and keep in touch." The program's theme music iswas a version of the Swedish song "Ge mig en dag", performed by [[Richard Dworsky]] on the piano.<ref>{{cite web |title=Everything Prairie Home: Richard Dworsky Prairie Home Companion Discography |url=http://www.richarddworsky.com/eph.html |accessdate=2008-03-08}}</ref> Earlier, the show's original theme music was from [[Antonín Dvořák]]'s [[Slavonic Dances|Slavonic Dance]], Op. 72, No. 8.<ref name="kipin"/>

Usually recorded two to three weeks in advance, Keillor typically recordsrecorded an entire week of programs at one time. Written by Betsy Allister, Joy Biles, Priscilla Kinter, Heather McPherson, and Holly Vanderhaar, the program iswas engineered and edited by Thomas Scheuzger, Noah Smith, and Sam Hudson. Production assistance iswas by Kathy Roach and Katrina Cicala.

In 2005 the program was briefly cancelled by Kentucky public radio station [[WUKY]] due to concerns about purportedly indecent content in some of the poems read on the program. The station reinstated the program after receiving an "outpouring of support" for the show.<ref>Joel Topcik, [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/15/arts/15arts.html?_r=0 "Arts, Briefly: Keillor Uncensored"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 15, 2005.</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FOkrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yAUGAAAAIBAJ&dq=writer's-almanac%20keillor&pg=5610%2C4123529 "Kentucky Station Reinstates Keillor Show After Fan Outcry"], [[Associated Press]] in ''[[Kentucky New Era]]'', August 16, 2005.</ref> This program iswas distributed in APM's ''Classical 24'' stream and a large percentage of stations that carry it air all or mostly Classical Music during other times.

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