Don Chatham
"Algonquin Round Table: the Epitome of a Decadent, Significant Decade (1920-1230)
Luncheon buffet (in the main dining room on
six) opens at 11:30 am. Program (in a different room, to be announced)
12:30-1:30
Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, Alexander Woolcott, Harold
Ross, George Kaufman, Robert Sherwood, Edna Ferber (and
others) lunched at the Algonquin Hotel every day for 10 years, and
along the way their irreverence, their stinging wit and their brilliant
interactions influenced American literature. Caxtonian Don Chatham,
Associate Executive Director of the American Library Association,
has long been fascinated by this noisy, impertinent, impecunious,
but, oh-so-clever gathering. Come and hear: how did such a group
get together? How did the American public learn what was going
on? How the members carried “togetherness” to an extreme: secluded
island trips, poker nights, etc. Many members produced major works
of literature. What was the Round Table’s influence? Why did some
members (on hindsight) express embarrassment at their previous participation
in the Round Table?
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