Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Burger vs Keillor

I guess I should be shocked or surprised but I'm not. But reading Ken Burger's column today, I was struck by how smilier the story was to one I highlighted back in June. A story titled "Take In State Fair". Keillor's story was top shelf, Burger's was lame at best and took several points from Keillor's.



Keillor writes: "You hike toward where you recollect you parked your car this morning, and by a stroke of God's grace you actually find it, and your child does not have to watch a father roaming around pitifully, moaning to himself".

Burger writes: "Which is a skill you wish you had when you're walking around the parking lot, lost, trying to remember where you parked your car, with a sleepy little girl on your shoulders".

Keillor writes: "You've spent hours gratifying yourself on deep-fried cheese curds, deep-fried ice cream, testing one sausage against another, washing them down with authentic American sarsaparilla, sampling your child's onion rings, postponing the honey sundae for later, and now it is later, and the horticulture building and the honey-sundae booth are four blocks and a river of humanity away.

Burger writes: "And there's food, lots of food. Walking down the midway, you're immersed in the best and worst culinary concoctions known to man. Cotton candy, cheese fries, chili fries, fried bologna, deep-fried MoonPies, BBQ, sausages, hot dogs, elephant ears, fried turkey legs, deep-fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, funnel cakes, candy apples, roasted corn, egg rolls, calzones, pizzas, blooming onions, cheese sticks, peanuts, corn dogs and candy by the pound. "

But you be the judge:

Ken Burger's Story



http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/nov/03/theres-no-place-like-the-fair/

Garrison Keillor's Story



http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/07/state-fairs/keillor-text/1

Read them both and tell us what you think.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Smilier"? Jesus, Cedar! If you're going to delve into Lit Crit, then at least splurge on a spell-checker.

Anonymous said...

Hey cut Cedar some slack he's on a boat for Christ's sake.

We know he was thinking Similar as in like, the same and to copy.

vs Similer as Happy emicon.

Good catch CP, looks like Buger took a liking to Keillor's story in NatGeo!