Garrison Keillor rips Bob Dylan in his latest book

Star Tribune photo by Leila Navidi

In his latest book, Garrison Keillor has plenty of praise for Robert Bly, Prince and Bill Holm. But he's less than kind to another fellow Minnesotan.

"Now and then people ask me why we didn't have Dylan on the show," the former host of "Prairie Home Companion" writes in "Living With Limericks," which was published last week. "Because I don't care to be associated with him, that's why."

"I think that 'My Back Pages' is one of the worst songs ever written," he continues. "I could name others. It's no wonder he took a pseudonym, so as to avoid bringing shame on the Zimmerman family."

Because it's a book of poems, Keillor can't resist sharing one he penned in "honor" of the Nobel Prize winner:

There is a songwriter named Bob
Who makes some people's hearts throb
They find a thrill in
Listening to Dylan
And for me it's more like a job.

It's safe to assume that Keillor won't be covering any Dylan tunes when he reunites with several "Prairie Home" companions Nov. 30 for a Christmas show at the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis.