The Algonquin Hotel is not going to let the centennial of the first luncheon of the Algonquin Round Table pass without notice. The national literary landmark has planned an entire summer of events to celebrate the Vicious Circle, which began as a welcome home roast for critic Alexander Woollcott in June 1919. To mark the occasion, the hotel is having a special $19.99 lunch menu every day until Labor Day, live music on Thursdays and Continue Reading →
For the Great American Read in New York, PBS WNET Thirteen interviewed me at the Algonquin Hotel to talk about the 1920s literary scene in the city. The show is part of the Metrofocus series. I spoke about the history of the Algonquin Round Table and the many writers and friends who gathered at the landmark hotel. Next year, 2019, is the centennial of the group’s founding. Correspondent Naeem Douglas did a marvelous job on Continue Reading →
The first public walking tours of 2018 will be in January and February. The walks are led by Kevin C. Fitzpatrick, author of The Algonquin Round Table New York and A Journey into Dorothy Parker’s New York. Algonquin Round Table Tour Mondays, meet at the Algonquin Hotel 10:45, walks begin at 11:00. 29 January 5 February 12 February 26 February Advance tickets required, click here to book. Dorothy Parker’s Upper West Side Wednesdays, meet at Continue Reading →
All of my book research is starting to cross over, and I am reminded of this today because it is the ninty-eighth anniversary of the death of Goldwin Starrett, the young architect of the Algonquin Hotel, in 1918. It was only this month that I started really reading a lot more about the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919, a global disaster that killed 21.5 million worldwide, with 675,000 deaths in the United States. I’m currently writing Continue Reading →
My first public walking tour of 2016 will be on April 30 at Noon at the Algonquin Hotel. The Algonquin Round Table comes alive in the only New York walking tour devoted to the famed literary group. The 2-hour walk celebrates Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman, Harpo Marx, Edna Ferber, Franklin P. Adams, Heywood Broun, Harold Ross, Robert Sherwood, Marc Connelly and the rest of the Vicious Circle. Advance tickets on sale now. Continue Reading →
Today is the birthday of John V.A. Weaver, a member of the Algonquin Round Table you probably never heard of, unless you read my book The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide. Weaver was born on this date in 1893 in Charlotte, North Carolina (just a month older than Dorothy Parker, another poet in the Vicious Circle). I found his life fascinating and a lot of fun to write about. Practically nobody has Continue Reading →
This is Anita Loos, who wrote Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in 1925. I just digitized & posted a 1952 radio interview from The Algonquin Hotel with Anita that I uncovered. It’s on soundcloud.