Thanks, Terry, for saying all that, and for seconding Garrison Keillor, who has always seemed to me to be the only obvious candidate, for so many substantial reasons. But the last time I mentioned it in this list, I got some severe rebukes (like that listening to him is like watching paint dry!) I really can't understand why he is so underappreciated, especially among Twainiacs, of all people! So I restrained myself from entering the fray this time. Thanks for running interference (I kind of thought you might when I saw your post!). Ben ----- Original Message ----- From: "Terry Ballard" <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2012 9:53:57 PM Subject: Re: The 15th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor is . . . . . Put all of the winners in a single room and you wouldn't have a down payment on Twain's wit and sheer satircal power. To paraphrase the master, "It's the difference between lightning and the lightning bug." I'm solidly with Harold on this one. It's a crime that it never went to Vonnegut. It could still go to Garrison Keillor, but it won't. And so it goes. On Wed, Oct 31, 2012 at 8:12 PM, Harold Bush <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Ellen DeGeneres. really? ? ? ? > > Wow. All due respect, but I'm wondering what some older folks like Carol > Burnett must be feeling right about now. Surprising choice, given folks > like Letterman and Leno, or even Jon Stewart, have not gotten it yet.... > > Political correctness aside, I'm a bit confused about all this.... who, if > anyone in the "Twain scholarly community," are they consulting?? I DVR-ed > the event, and it is funny; but Wow! > > I recognize they are going for the ratings. But I thought -- originally, > with the awarding of the likes of Jonathan Winters and Carl Reiner, Bob > Newhart and Lily Tomlin -- that it was meant to be some sort of lifetime > achievement award. And the picture of the white-suit Twain on the website > seems to confirm this, along with the description of the award. > > But I feel bad for the likes of Carol Burnett, or even David Letterman, who > reinvented the talk-show format. > > Every year we hash this out a bit -- and maybe I'll get slammed for this > jeremiad -- but I just thought I would bring it up again and see if others > had any response. > > -hb > > -- > Harold K. Bush, Ph.D > Professor of English > Saint Louis University > St. Louis, MO 63108 > 314-977-3616 (w); 314-771-6795 (h) > <www.slu.edu/x23809.xml> > -- Terry Ballard Author and Leisure Studies Manager http://www.terryballard.org Author of the book "Google this" http://googlethisforlibraries.com "My memory has a mind of its own."