''The Writer's Almanac'' is a daily podcast and newsletter of poetry and historical interest pieces, usually of literary significance. Begun as a radio program in 1993,David Kipen
"Flat, Slow and Fetching"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', April 18, 1993. it is hosted by Garrison Keillor and was produced and distributed by

American Public Media American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and o ...

through November 2017. It is also available as a podcast. Past program sponsors include

The Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist Rut ...

(using funds from a large bequest from philanthropist

Ruth Lilly Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ar ...

), publisher of ''

Poetry Magazine ''Poetry'' (founded as ''Poetry: A Magazine of Verse'') has been published in Chicago since 1912. It is one of the leading monthly poetry journals in the English-speaking world. Founded by Harriet Monroe, it is now published by the Poetry Foundati ...

'' and The Mosaic Foundation of Rita and Peter Heydon. Each program is at least five minutes long and begins with the phrase "And here is the Writer's Almanac for nsert date here. Each program includes vignettes about authors and other noteworthy people whose birthdays or significant events coincide with the program's date, as well as excerpts of important events in history. The program continues with one or more poems chosen by Keillor, and ends with Keillor's traditional sign-off, "Be well, do good work, and keep in touch." The program's theme music is a version of the Swedish song "Ge mig en dag", performed by

Richard Dworsky ''A Prairie Home Companion'' is a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...

on the piano. The original theme music was from Antonín Dvořák's Slavonic Dance, Op. 72, No. 8. Written by Betsy Allister, Joy Biles, Priscilla Kinter, Heather McPherson, and Holly Vanderhaar, the program was engineered and edited by Thomas Scheuzger, Noah Smith, and Sam Hudson. Production assistance was by Kathy Roach and Katrina Cicala. In 2005 the program was briefly canceled by Kentucky public radio station

WUKY WUKY (91.3 MHz) is a listener-supported, public FM radio station in Lexington, Kentucky. Owned by the University of Kentucky (UK), it has an Adult Album Alternative radio format, airing more than 100 hours of music per week. Some news and infor ...

due to concerns about purportedly indecent content in some of the poems. The station reinstated the program after receiving an "outpouring of support" for it. The program was distributed in APM's ''Classical 24'' stream and many stations that carry it air all or mostly Classical music during other times. In November 2017, after allegations of inappropriate behavior by Keillor toward someone who worked for him on a freelance basis,

Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, YourClassical MPR and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest. MPR ha ...

terminated its contracts with him and his private media companies. This effectively ended the distribution and broadcast of ''The Writer's Almanac'' on public radio, as well as rebroadcasts of Keillor's ''A Prairie Home Companion.''Angie Andresen
"Statement from Minnesota Public Radio Regarding Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion"
''

'', November 29, 2017. In the spring 2018, Keillor restarted ''The Writer's Almanac'' on his website. In summer 2018, he added the option of subscribing to the newsletter version. In April 2018, Minnesota Public Radio posted a message stating its intent to re-establish the online archives of ''The Writer's Almanac'' and ''A Prairie Home Companion'': .

References

External links

''The Writer's Almanac'' website
for broadcasts released from 1993 through July 31, 2014
''The Writer's Almanac'' website
for broadcasts released from August 1, 2014 and November 2017 (overlaps with previous site for July 18-31, 2014 broadcasts)
''The Writer's Almanac'' website
for broadcasts starting on May 28, 2018 {{DEFAULTSORT:Writer's Almanac, The American Public Media programs Audio podcasts Arts podcasts 1993 radio programme debuts 2017 radio programme endings Book podcasts