Mr. Blue
I've always liked Garrison Keillor, from his radio show "A Prairie Home Companion" to later works that I've reviewed on this site, such as The Book of Guys and Wobegon Boy. I was delighted when he began doing a regular column on Salon Magazine under the pseudonym Mr. Blue. It's an advice column for Lovers and Writers, and brings Keillor's wisdom to bear. Garrison Keillor will always be associated with small town life, but he brings a knowledge of city life into the mix as well, and it's a great combination.

It's always odd to review a website, since usually the reader can easily check it out for themselves. The URL is http://www.salonmagazine.com/col/keil/ and is updated every two weeks. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the column, ones that made it into my PalmPilot's quote journal, just so you get an idea of is charming style.

Cynicism in a writer is not just bad faith, it's a critical wound.

As for kissing on the first date, you should never date someone whom you would not wish to kiss immediately.

My love of haiku
Was small as a cicada
And then got smaller.
(My apologies to Isolde and all her admirers)

And remember that sleep is a form of meditation and a good night's sleep can solve difficult problems. It really can.

[On not feeling 'House-on-Fire' Love] I speak as one whose house has burned a few times, and while it is a glorious experience and while I pity anyone whose house doesn't at least have serious smoke damage, there is no connection between this and a sustained relationship.

Don't theorize about your own romances, friend. Be thrilled, be ecstatic, be desolate, but don't be an expert about you and the people you love and why it happened. With love, the pleasure is in the details, not in the theory. Love has to do with her eyes, the touch of her hand, her voice, her laughter, how it felt to stand next to her and feel her brush against you, how it felt to see her after a long absence. Love isn't a Problem to sit around and discuss. If your heart still longs for her, then you are in love, and her idea about why it didn't work out is something that may give her consolation but it doesn't mean anything to you or me.

So check it out, Mr. Blue at Salon


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