New Marlborough — The #MeToo movement has hit this tiny but spirited town of 1,500 in a very visible way, as an award-winning media figure with a history of sexual misconduct allegations is scheduled to make a public appearance Saturday night in the iconic New Marlborough Meeting House.
Garrison Keillor, the legendary former host of A Prairie Home Companion, the highly rated public radio variety show, is scheduled to appear with Simon Winchester, a Sandisfield resident and a British-American author and journalist, as part of the New Marlborough Village Association’s Music & More series.
The well-publicized event has attracted the attention of residents who object to their town hosting a man who was fired from Minnesota Public Radio. After Keillor was dismissed, a subsequent MPR news investigation revealed “a years-long pattern of behavior that left several women who worked for Keillor feeling mistreated, sexualized or belittled.” The Washington Post also cancelled Keillor’s weekly column. It is worth noting, however, that no criminal charges were filed.
Keillor’s booking by the village association was the cause of some consternation on the invitation-only Maggie’s List, a Google group started by town resident Debra Herman. Maggie’s List is closed to journalists but The Edge has spoken to some members who were willing to share their thoughts on the 77-year-old Keillor’s appearance. Some on Maggie’s List have urged a boycott of the now-sold-out event.
Michele McAuley Shalaby is a former chair of the board of selectmen and is currently vice chair of the town finance committee. She wrote a Sept. 30 email to village association board members Gerald Seligman and John Schreiber in which she lamented that she has been feeling “very uncomfortable with the upcoming event with Garrison Keillor,” adding that the feeling intensified recently after she spoke with other women who shared her unease.
“Most people with whom I have spoken are of a younger generation than the typical Music & More attendees,” Shalaby wrote. “They are of the generations who have observed and endured inappropriate, abusive behavior but have gained empowerment and reduced their tolerance. Alleluia for that!”
Shalaby complained that “men of ego, hubris and entitlement continue to behave in such ways while being elevated in business and society with little consequence.” She cited President Donald Trump as an example and Keillor as another.
“It is hurtful and uncomfortable for the American electorate to elevate such a person as Donald Trump,” Shalaby continued. “In a closer and more personal way, [it] is hurtful and uncomfortable for a New Marlborough organization to elevate a person such as Garrison Keillor. And I was a dedicated fan of Prairie Home Companion!”
In an interview, Shalaby said, on learning of Keillor’s appearance, she immediately felt uneasy but was unsure what action to take and came to the initial conclusion that maybe it was just her. In her email, Shalaby said she has since found “quite a bit of support for a cancelation.”
“I spent time talking to people and realized how many felt,” Shalaby said. “I also shared my email with many people. Many responses said exactly that: ‘I’m the only one who felt like this?'”
Alexandra Eidenschenk, a 12-year town resident who is also a member of Maggie’s List, has called for a boycott of Keillor’s appearance, which she called “shocking and disturbing.”
“His behavior is so offensive that several women have made allegations,” Eidenschenk said in an Edge interview. “I don’t like him having a voice in town.”
Eidenschenk confirmed that there has been some pushback to her call for a boycott but that, in general, she is “very happy with the response.”
“We often feel like we can’t speak out for fear of public ridicule,” Eidenschenk said. “We have to start speaking out.”
In a Maggie’s List post calling for the boycott, Eidenschenk wrote: “I understand people’s curiosity (Simon Winchester intends to ask him about the sexual harassment accusations) but your attendance implies support, not just to Keillor himself but to the Music & More committee (made up of men, I might add) who invited him in spite of opposition. This is an excellent opportunity for New Marlborough residents to stand up in support of women.”
Eidenschenk later issued a correction acknowledging that the village association, which is sponsoring the Music & More event, is not an all-male panel. But she added that, “Personally, I think the fact that women are on the committee makes the Garrison Keillor invitation even more puzzling and disturbing.”
“I really wonder if the committee had wanted to invite an anti-Semite or homophobe, would there have been outrage?” Eidenschenk asked this reporter. “It feels a little like sexual harassment of women is one of the last acceptable forms of discrimination.”
One of the women on the Music & More board is Louise Yohalem, who, after a request for comment, emailed a statement to The Edge. Click here to read it and to see a list of board members.
The email acknowledged the serious concerns related to Keillor’s appearance and added, “We respect and care deeply about your opinions, and … we understand why some people are upset about this Saturday’s event.”
“In response to those concerns, our board has had a robust discussion about whether to cancel the Garrison Keillor program, ultimately voting to go ahead as scheduled,” the email continued. “Our decision to do so does not diminish the serious nature of the accusations made against Mr. Keillor.”
The board declared that it “is not a political organization” and regrets “that what we hoped would be an opportunity to hear Mr. Keillor talk about his many contributions to the cultural life of this country has become a politicized and polarizing event.” The email added that, “Our challenge as a Board is to reach consensus when there is a diversity of opinion.”
Eidenschenk said she hopes Winchester “does not show up.” Winchester told The Edge that Keillor has offered to meet with those who object to his appearance for an hour so before the start of the conversation in the meeting hall.
“I take full responsibility for inviting Garrison Keillor to the Berkshires, and expect the two of us to have the wide-ranging — but also frank and robust and no-holds-barred — conversation that he promised when I first issued the invitation,” Winchester said in an email. “For those who have so reflexively reacted against his coming appearance, I very much hope this will generate more light than heat.”
“He gets to come to town and be treated like a celebrity,” Shalaby said of Keillor. “It is hurtful that men who act horribly toward women continue to be elevated in society.”
Winchester’s conversation with Keillor begins at 4:30 p.m. in the meeting house at 154 Hartsville-New Marlborough Road. There will be a reception afterwards in the meeting-house art gallery. Tickets for the event were sold out several days ago.
