Garrison Keillor was born this day back in 1942, so happy birthday to the great Minnesota raconteur, poet, and all-around celebrator of the written word.

A few years back, a young writer sent a letter to Keillor asking for advice, what were his influences, and so on. Keillor’s response:

What influenced my writing was the King James Bible and the New Yorker magazine and which was the bigger influence, I’m not sure.