Ya know...

...I've been told that I can, on those occasions when the stars align, string together a sentence or two of quality that, together, rise to a certain... place. (Clearly, that was not such a sentence.)

But every now and again I read something like Garrison Keilor's latest piece in Salon and I am reminded of how words can soar; I'm reminded of how high I (or anyone who writes) must set their bar if they are to attempt excellence. Like some of my pieces, it's a simple story of a party he attended; nothing more than a page from his life, really. But oh, what a page:

Garrison Keilor's article in Salon.com

Cheesy Confession: I may --MAY, mind you-- have gotten a little choked up while reading it. Spare, eloquent, profoundly moving-- and, unlike PK, he requires only 750 words or so to get the job done. (...how does he do it? How?? I write paragraphs that are longer than that.) (On a routine basis, as some of you know...)

Here's a sneak of one of my favorite passages in the piece-- his description of what good art can be:

"...a lavish gift of the heart that shames pretense by its outrageous generosity."

I am reminded of Oscar Wilde's assertion that anything truly worth reading is worth re-reading, so,

a lavish gift of the heart that shames pretense by its outrageous generosity.

If I ever happen to meet Mr Keilor I will thank him for that phrase alone. It made my day; it may in fact have made my month, but we'll see.

Read it. I promise it'll be the best five minutes you spend today.

PK


P.S.: for those interested --and speaking as we are of fine writing-- here's a piece by Boston alum Marj Galas, writing in Variety 411 about (ahem) Yours Truly:

Every Great Actor Should Have a Great Acting Coach.

I will say that that was the most accurately I have ever been quoted in print in my life. Thanks, Marj! (Full disclosure: Marj is on the "get PK to LA" Team, which may have held some editorial sway in the piece)