Bridgewater, Va-Author, Washington Post columnist and humorist, Alexandra Petri, will be featured as an Endowed lecturer on Nov. 15, 2023 starting at 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Cole Hall.
Petri is an author, playwright and columnist. After graduating from Harvard in 2010, she became an intern at the Washington Post. Petri soon became a columnist for the Post and now works on the Post’s ComPost blog.
Petri’s recent books include “AP US History: Important American Documents” and “A Field Guide to Awkward Silences.” Other works include a book of essays called “Nothing is Wrong and Here is Why,” and “She-Hulk: Acts of Evil” comic.
The plays Petri has written include “Inherit the Windbag,” “Equinox,” “to tell my story: a hamlet fanfic,” and “hook-ups.” With co-writer Jack Mitchell, Petri is currently writing P. G. Wodehouse’s “A Damsel in Distress” into a musical.
In 2020, Petri was interviewed by Mosaic Theatre Company in regards to her play “Inherit the Windbag”, and when asked about transitioning the 1968 debates to modern day, she spoke a lot about the topic.
“I think ’68 was a year when lots of things broke,” said Petri. “The fascinating thing is how many of the debates they were having then are the same as the ones we’re having now, just in a different verbal guise. Questions of racial justice, so-called law and order, American imperialism, wealth disparity-these are all still with us.”
In 2022, Petri was a Thurber Prize finalist. She also received the National Press Club’s Angele Gingras award for humor writing, the Shorty Award for parody Twitter account, and she is also an O. Henry International pun-off champion. Petri also made it on the Rolling Stone’s list of The Funniest People Right Now.
In recent issues for the Washington Post, Petri has written opinion articles about “The Barbie Movie,” Halloween costumes and movies, and weekly Q&A live streams. She has also written about the politics on Capitol Hill and election results.
Petri has also written articles and podcasts for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Washingtonian, Washington City Paper, and more.
“Journalism is like a hot bath, nobody takes those anymore, but it used to be big in 1920,” said Petri in an interview with Libby Coleman and Petey Menz in the Harvard Crimson. “I think it’s still exciting.”
