Algonquin Round Table (pt. I)
In June 1919, a few of New York’s literati met at the Algonquin Hotel at lunchtime to welcome Alexander Woollcott back from the war. It was so much fun, they met again the day after and the day after that. They kept it up for more than ten years, until many of the group left the city. This was the Algonquin Round Table.
Membership ebbed and flowed, but stalwarts included Dorothy Parker (writer), Robert Benchley (humorist), Robert Sherwood (playwright), George S. Kaufman (playwright), Harold Ross (editor, The New Yorker), Marc Connelly (playwright), and Woollcott (critic). Drop-ins included Edna Ferber, Harpo Marx, Herman J. Mankiewicz, Noel Coward, and Deems Taylor.
This week (and the next), Leigh and P. T. explore the wit and works of members of the Round Table. Join us for a discussion of the group that defined humor and sophistication for post-war New York — with this week featuring the works of Parker and Benchley.
