Dishwasher Pete
Dishwasher Pete is the pen name for Pete Jordan, the writer and publisher of the now defunct Dishwasher perzine. He's also the author of the book DISHWASHER: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States that was published May 1st, 2007 by Harper.
For twelve years Pete moved from state to state with the goal of washing dishes in all 50 states of the US and writing about it. When Dishwasher Pete's story reached the mainstream, he was invited to appear on Late Night with David Letterman. As a joke he instead sent Jess Hilliard, who Letterman believed to be Pete, making for one of the more infamous moments in zining. The story was retold in issue #12 of Dishwasher.
Pete has also contributed to the NPR radio show This American Life on following episodes:
- Episode #56 "Name Change"
- Episode #74 "Conventions"
- Episode #102 "Roadtrip"
- Episode #109 "Notes on Camp"
- Episode #115 "First Day"
Some of Pete's writing appears on the Open Letters website:
DISHWASHER: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States is Dishwasher Pete's book compiling much of the writing from his zine and more. His MySpace profile reveals he's currently living in Amsterdam, Netherlands, but he's been known to make occasional stops in Portland, OR on his travels, where he spends time behind the counter at Reading Frenzy. He's planning a book tour of the U.S. starting May 16, 2007.
