Events Coming up on 44th Street

The Small Press Center is hosting events that will appeal to all fans of the Round Table. The Dorothy Parker Society is going to attend them, and then we’ll move things to the Algonquin Hotel and it’s famous Blue Bar for drinks. It is sponsored by The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York; their building is a short walk to the Gonk.

Here is the rundown:

All events are hosted in the General Society building at 20 West 44th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues) in New York City. For more information, please call the Society at 212.840.1841.

To request a brochure for “Labor, Literature and Landmarks”, email [email protected]. Admission is $15 per lecture, $5 for students, and $60 for a series of 5 lectures.

Tuesday, February 10, 2004, 6pm
Thomas Kunkel, Dean, Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland
“Harold Ross: The Square Peg at the Round Table”
“How did a tall, gangly, gap-toothed fellow from Colorado become the founding editor of the New Yorker, the nation’s most urbane literary magazine? It took some doing and therein lies an irresistible and multifaceted story, one that Kunkel tells with flair” — Booklist. Pulitzer-nominated biographer of “Genius in Disguise: Harold Ross of the New Yorker”, and editor of “Letters from the Editor” examines the role Ross played at the Round Table.
$15 or $5 for students.

Tuesday, March 9, 2004, 6pm
Nat Benchley, Actor and Writer
“Robert Benchley: Benchley Despite Himself”
Taking his cue from his grandfather Robert’s style (or anti-style) and tone, Nat Benchley leads his audience on a semi-organized romp through the glory period of literate American humor, from post-World War I New York to Post-World War II Hollywood.
$15 or $5 for students.

Tuesday, April 13, 2004, 6pm
Marion Meade, Biographer
“Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell is This?”
Dorothy Parker, queen of the Round Table, was one of the sharpest and darkest wits America ever produced. With her wisecracking verses and stories, she shocked her contemporaries in the twenties and her humor remains legendary eighty years later. Biographer Marion Meade revisits her lively, highly regarded biography to explore what made (and still makes) this funny woman so funny.
$15 or $5 for students.