Authors as Theater

Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein, authors of Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar, made an appearance at Northeastern’s Snell Library on Wednesday to promote their recent Aristotle and an Aardvark go to Washington. It was definitely a good way to spend my lunch hour. They’re very entertaining, assuming you like narrative humor and don’t mind a little remedial philosophy tossed in. They’ve been friends for 50(+?) years, since they were both philosophy majors in college, and they are clearly having a blast collaborating and making these appearances. They riffed off each other, told bad jokes and good jokes, and shared the spotlight really gracefully for almost an hour. Tom’s more often the straight man of the pair:

TC: We’re working on a new book about death.
DK: [Beat] It’s our last.

but they both have a great sense of timing and a perfectly dry presentation. When I’m their age, I want to be that happy and enjoy that sort of collaboration. Role models, that’s who I met.