The Plowboy Interview GARRISON KEILLOR

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I think that's why we get all these letters from people asking us to say hello to their friends and families. It's not that people get such a big kick out of hearing their names broadcast. It's because even when families are spread all over the country, cast to the winds, if they all listen to a live radio show at the same time, it makes it seem as if they're all somehow back together in the same room.

PLOWBOY: I've had that sense of community many times when listening to the show, but particularly tonight. Being here and seeing it live really gave me the feeling of being part of a giant family that encompasses people of all ages—from Alaska to North Carolina, from Vermont to Texas.

KEILLOR But none of that is our doing. It has nothing to do with what we do on the air. We try to provide people with a good enough excuse to sit together and listen to the radio. But it's really live radio itself that provides the powerful attraction.

Now, doing a show live is the most inconvenient method of production imaginable. There are 25 really good reasons why we ought to tape a 2-1/2 hour show on Friday night at eight o'clock and spend Saturday cutting it down to an hour and 59 minutes. But despite what it costs us, the liveness of the show is worth it—it's the basis of "A Prairie Home Companion" 's appeal.

PLOWBOY: You're being modest.

KEILLOR No, if we recorded it—even if we used the same material and had people do the same exact things—it would be utterly different. Oh, we'd do a smoother, more professional job and avoid the occasional disaster in which a lot of hard work goes for nothing because of a mistake. But those failures are also a sign of great honesty in the show.

PLOWBOY: I imagine the show's mistakes are a little disappointing to you, though.

KEILLOR Oh, I hate it when things fail. I was so far off-key on that one song I sang tonight, I was just wandering around there. That killed me.

PLOWBOY: You got back on key after two lines.

KEILLOR Four lines.

PLOWBOY: But who's counting? I'm beginning to get the impression that you're your own worst critic.

KEILLOR Well, when I make mistakes on a song I've sung since I was a child, it hurts. But, you know, I was brought up in a fundamentalist church, so I come by it naturally. We fundamentalists are able to handle being hard on ourselves better than most people can, because we've had great practice.

PLOWBOY: You do have a very strict religious background, don't you?

KEILLOR I grew up in the Plymouth Brethren Church. The Brethren were a tiny minority for whom life was strictly an upstream paddle. A great many things that the people of other creeds got to do were forbidden to us. I've felt that restriction as far back as I can remember. Still, being part of a minority—of whatever sort—is not the worst thing that can happen to somebody.

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