For three years, Dick Babcock at Chicago Magazine gave me free reign and an entire page for something we called "The Garner Report." They were all satirical graphics – what the mag biz calls "charticles" – riffing on local and national issues. Since they were so graphically detailed, I've only reproduced three of them, which I hope you can read.
A ROYAL REVENGE To commemorate Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee (and you probably didn't even send a card, did you?), the BBC commissioned this story to be read over the radio. This was one of the oddest requests I've ever had, but also the most ego-boosting, since the story was broadcast all over the world. No word on whether QEII herself ever heard it. HOME: WRITERS REMEMBER ROOMS OF THEIR OWN The redoubtable husband and wife team of Steve and Sharon Fiffer edited this collection of essays of writers remembering special rooms in their lives, both past and present. A portion of the proceeds from this project was donated to homeless charities. I was flattered to be asked to contribute, considering I was in the company of Henry Louis Gates, Tony Earley, Mona Simpson and Jane Smiley. For the essays, each writer got to choose one room in an imaginary house, resulting in the book's literal and figurative structure. I wrote about my father's workroom and his struggles as a handyman, in an essay entitled, "There Are Other Tools Besides the Hammer." |
Occasionally I get into a half-serious mood and work on my expository writing. What keeps it fun is that I often get to record them for broadcast. I've read most of these on WBEZ, Chicago's public radio outlet—many thanks to them for the opportunity, and for Dick Buckley, Ira Glass and Peter Sagal. Audio: Text:
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