Poynter Fellowship Co-Hosts Talks by Theater Critic, Author

The Poynter Fellowship in Journalism is co-sponsoring public events featuring two speakers this week.

Yale College alumnus Peter Marks ‘77, theater critic for The Washington Post, will speak at a Saybrook College master’s tea on Wednesday, Feb. 17, at 4 p.m. at the master’s house, 90 High St.

Marks, who joined the staff at the Post in 2002, previously worked for a decade at The New York Times, where he served as the off-Broadway drama critic. At The Times, he also was a theater reporter, and covered media in the 2000 presidential campaign.

Publishing executive and author Bob Merry will speak at two events on Thursday, Feb. 18. He will be the guest at a Saybrook College master’s tea at 3:30 p.m., and at 5 p.m. will discuss “Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay and the Underlying Conflict of American Politics” in Rm. 211, Hall of Graduate Studies, 320 York St.

Merry, who previously served as president and editor-in-chief of Congressional Quarterly Inc. for 12 years, is the author of “Taking on the World: Joseph and Stewart Alsop — Guardians of the American Century” and “Sands of Empire: Missionary Zeal, American Foreign Policy and the Hazards of Global Ambition.”