Williams' husband, Timothy Noah, collected some of her best writing into a book published last year.

Event: Olsson’s Celebration of Marjorie Williams

Where: Olsson’s Books and Records, Dupont Circle

Nearly two years after her death from liver cancer, Marjorie Williams’ place in Washington journalism hasn’t been filled. It won’t be.

At a reading on Tuesday night hosted by her husband Tim Noah, a writer for Slate who compiled his wife’s work after her death into the book The Woman at the Washington Zoo, it was easy to see why.

From her piercing yet utterly human political profiles such as the one of Barbara Bush published in Vanity Fair in 1992 to the personal essays from the op-ed page of the Post such as “Entomophobia” in which she grappled with motherhood and mortality, Williams was that rare writer who with a reporter’s curiosity, a psychologist's analysis, a mother’s mix of expectation and empathy, and a novelist’s flare pushed open the big closed doors of her city—our city—and the deepest doors of herself, and let us inside.

For this reason she was feared by the powerful, whose political pomp and polish she pierced through in piece after piece. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former lieutenant governor of Maryland who enthusiastically read the Bush profile Tuesday night, said, “I often told Marjorie that I was glad we were friends because that meant she couldn’t write about me.”

But she was also loved by the people, who read and re-read her Post columns.

The writing that she left behind continues to be a guidebook to Washington in the 1990s, and the memoir, “Struck by Lightning,” which her colleague at the Post Liz Kastor read from Tuesday, should be, perhaps more so than any other medical account, required reading for doctors about how to and how not to treat patients.

Two years later, without her words, Washington feels too weighty, stagnant, closed. Tuesday night at Olsson’s, for an hour and a half, the door once again cracked open.

What: The City Tavern Club's Monte Carlo night.

Where: The City Tavern Club on M Street in Georgetown.

When: Saturday, November 11, 9 p.m. - 1 a.m.

Price of Admission: $55 for members, $70 for non-members.

Who: Young, affluent Washingtonians made up the bulk of the crowd, but a DC black tie event isn't complete without the obligatory office-seeker on hand. David Kranich, the recently defeated Republican mayoral candidate, not only made an appearance but stayed until the night ended.

Scene: Despite the historically rich backdrop of the City Tavern Club, the night was surprisingly unstuffy. Members and nonmembers crowded around tables of craps, roulette, and black jack, celebrating wins (and losses) together. The patio on the third floor turned into a makeshift smoking lounge, but the great weather was a draw for everyone. Around midnight, people "cashed in" their chips for raffle tickets to win one of the many glamorous prizes, including gift certificates to Citronelle, weekend getaways, polo lessons, and a variety of shopping sprees.

Gossip of the night: A few disgruntled party-goers speculated that the raffle was rigged when they walked away empty-handed.

The after-party: Smith Point, of course. Where else do the social-climbers of the City Tavern Club go?

Food: Cold hors d'oeuvres that were only okay.

Drinks: The martini bar was special, but most people seemed drawn to glasses of red wine.

Ratings:

Bold Face Guests: 2 (out of 5)
Swankiness: 4 (out of 5)
Food/Drinks: 3 (out of 5)
Overall Exclusiveness: 4 (out of 5)

Total score: 13 (out of 20)

What: Washington Metropolitan Scholars "A Chance to Shine" Higher Education Gala

Where: Kennedy Center South Gallery

When: Friday, November 10, 2006, 6 p.m. until 10ish.

Who:  The event honored the President and CEO of WMS Avis Robinson, along with BET founder Bob Johnson and the CEO of the Washington Post Company, Donald Graham.  Former Los Angeles Times editor Patricia Bauer was there, as was Cornell University Associate Provost Doris Davis and Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson (a.k.a. Avis' husband). WUSA Channel 9 anchor Bruce Johnson emceed the event, but by far the biggest celebrity was former Fugees member and "Hips Don't Lie" rapper Wyclef Jean.

Also in attendance were two success stories from WMS scholarships: Tshaka Cunningham and Valerie Russell. Cunningham received his scholarship in 1992 and went pre-med at Princeton and today is a doctor studying HIV and AIDS at the NIH. Russell is currently a sophomore at Columbia University. 

Food: The pre-reception included a variety of appetizers, including salmon spring rolls, beef, and camembert cheese with chestnut purée. At 7 p.m., an a capella performance signaled the start of dinner, and after guests made their way to tables the meal started with a mixed green salad with walnuts, goat cheese, pear and pear vinaigrette. The main course included beef tenderloin and poached main lobster with caramelized yellow potatoes and grilled asparagus and corn with white balsamic and tarragon reduction.  This was followed by an even more delicious desert of apple tart with cinnamon ice cream, candied pecans and caramel sauce.

Beverage of choice:  Although there were two full open bars, most guests kept up the festive spirit by drinking glasses of Domaine Michelle champagne, Ravenswood Chardonney or Merlot.  

Scene:  The purpose of this gala was to recognize a number of people involved with Washington Metropolitan Scholars, a group that helps high-achieving African-American high school students attend top-rate colleges by paying their undergraduate tuition fees. There was definitely a sense of celebration in the air at this cocktail-attire reception, dinner, honors program, and concert. Women were decked out in everything from sequined tops to leapord print dresses as they mingled with the wealthy donors and guests of honor with their families. Fresh-faced and eager-to-please catering staff lined the room with open bottles of champagne ready to refill at a moment's notice as everyone ate dinner and enjoyed remarks by all the special guests, including the congenial Bob Johnson, who had the whole crowd cracking up throughout his speech.

After the dinner and honors program, music piped through the gold-curtained gallery while catering staff cleared the tables and made room on the dance floor in anticipation of Wyclef Jean's performance and the booty-shaking it would inevitably inspire. Before long, the sparkly-guitar wielding hip hop artist—always ready to lend his talent for a good cause—took the stage with his band and sister, who provided stellar vocals on a couple songs. Wyclef opened the performance with Guantanamera and played a variety of crowd-pleasing favorites including "No Woman No Cry," "Redemption Song," Fugee throwback "Ready or Not," "Staying Alive," and his latest big hit with Shakira, "Hips Don't Lie." He made no mystery of his politics, saying at several points "If you're happy that the Dems have taken over, put your hands up!" and urging the crowd to "Vote for Wyclef in the next election."  Guests of all ages and races shared the dance floor with such enthusiasm that Wyclef actually singled out the one guy in the back of the room was not dancing and forced him onstage for a lesson in getting down.

Evening Highlight: A tie between the choreographed dance that Wyclef shared with his huge, mountain-man security guard, and the ecstatic waiter who got pulled up onstage to dance and exchange jackets with Wyclef, who ended up letting him keep the yellow track jacket he had been wearing. It's rare that a party can get almost the entire room dancing, from the wait staff to the grandmas and security guards.

Ratings:
Bold Face Guests: 3 (out of 5)
Swankiness: 4 (out of 5)
Food/Drinks: 4 (out of 5)
Overall Exclusivity: 4 (out of 5)

Total Score: 15 (out of 20)

Event: Maxine Kumin poetry reading at the Library of Congress. The fourth reading of the Library of Congress literary season organized by Donald Hall, the poet laureate for 2006-2007.

Date: November 9, 2006

Midway through her reading at the Library of Congress, Maxine Kumin, the 81-year-old Pulitzer-prize winning poet, interrupted her introduction of some new poems, saying “I don’t know what’s happened to me.”

What followed was a flurry of verses filled with more fire bombs than New England blizzards, more references to Iraq than her home in New Hampshire, and more “damn you’s” than praises.

Kumin, who served as the U.S. consultant in poetry (a post now called poet laureate) from 1982-84, has long found in her New England life a theater for the greater conflicts in the world, lamenting in one poem from 1972 that the woodchucks she set out in futility to exterminate wouldn't consent "to die unseen gassed underground the quiet Nazi way." But the political statements in that bold poem and others were no more than slight undercurrents beneath the beautiful language, pastoral imagery and country vernacular that Kumin mastered at home on her horse farm.

In the new batch, however, she has set aside restraint, turning her poems into full-fledged polemics and rantings about war, American culture and the toll of it all on the natural world.

The poetry suffers severely behind such angst. Many of us poetry-lovers duck into readings in Washington to escape the world of power and politics and to go deeper, to rediscover the things we’ve overlooked or forgotten at home and in our hearts.

Sitting in the reading, in a crowd of 100 or so, listening to the walker-supported grandmother of American poetry call on her soul, which once celebrated this land, to be turned to compost and buried in the soil of the country she “once loved” it was hard not to wonder—what’s happened, that even our poets can’t stay off of the soapbox?

[For more info about the Library of Congress and upcoming poetry readings visit their site.]

What: The Red & Blue Bipartisan Election Bash

Where: The Kalorama home of Gloria Dittus, she of Dittus Communications fame, the house being the former residence of Ambassador Sol Linowitz, who negotiated the Panama Canal Treaty.

When: 7 p.m. until late

Who: Overall the guest list consisted of Hill staffers, lobbyists, lawyers, some media, close friends of Gloria, and naturally, a gaggle of Dittus employees. Some of the bigger names in attendance at the party were former Congressman Bob Walker, who is now with Wexler & Walker, and Cal Dooley, also a former congressman and the event co-host, who was there with his wife Linda. Peggy Hudson, BP vice president was another co-host of the event. Dittus client Robert Holleyman of the Business Software Alliance attended, as did Joe Kelliher, chair of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and his wife, Karen.

Food: A spread of finger foods included spring rolls, cocktail shrimp, quiche, chicken wings, deviled eggs, mini pizza bagels, and kielbasa. There was also a chicken, shrimp and scallop pot pie casserole, ham or pot roast for the really hungry guests.

Beverage of choice: According to one bartender manning one of the many open bars scattered throughout the house, the most popular drink of the night was vodka tonic.  

Scene: Although the dress was somewhat formal, the comfort of meandering around the Dittus household, complete with dog underfoot, seemed to put all the 200+ guests at ease.  The schmoozing was just as important as the politics, and a 50/50 crowd of young professionals and the more established members of the power class were socializing and having a good time -- undoubtedly due, in part, to the chattiness that free booze always seems to bring on at a party.  Many guests gathered around the TVs at peak excitement points to discuss what was currently happening on the election front.

Election activities: Upon entrance, each guest received an “Official Election Watch Score Booklet” and golf pencil to keep track of the night’s races.  Each room was rigged with a big screen TV, so no matter what room you migrated to, you could keep your scorecard updated -- although nobody seemed to actually be using it.

Highlight of the night: Getting to meet the hostess and social butterfly extraordinaire, Gloria...even if it was only for three seconds.

Ratings:
Bold Face Guests: 1 (out of 5)
Swankiness: 3 (out of 5)
Food/Drinks: 5 (out of 5)
Overall Exclusivity: 3 (out of 5)

Total score: 12 (out of 20)

What: Election night results party.

Where: Smith Point in Georgetown.

When: November 7, 8 p.m. - 1 a.m.

Price of Admission: For one night, there was no list at the door. Entrance was free.

Price of Acceptance: Secret Republican handshake.

Who: The guest list this night wasn’t unlike most. Party-goers at the fraternity-style watering hole included young conservatives in their mid-20s,mostly men. No bold face names (though the Bush twins have been known to frequent the place when in town), but the crowd was filled with people who hope to be bold face names by 2020.

Scene: Imagine a college bar. Now imagine white, preppy, Republican trust fund babies. Put the two together and you have a night at Smith Point. Cover that in the brittle shell of a struggling GOP and you’ve got the election night party at Smith Point. For the conservative crowd, it was a tense night alleviated only by the continued consumption of alcohol. Some men peeled their eyes away from the televised election coverage long enough to flirt with the few ladies in the bar, but moods were, overall, in the pits. The party died down around 12:30 a.m., about the time the DJ played the very telling Journey hit “Don’t Stop Believing.”

What to Wear: If it doesn’t have a popped collar, silk tie, or four-inch heels, your wardrobe will be subject to ridicule. No doubt the guy wearing three layers of shirt (a pink pin-stripped long-sleeved shirt under a pink plaid short-sleeved shirt under a pink sweater vest) put some thought into his ensemble. On second thought, maybe he didn’t.

Food: Republicans don’t eat; they drink.

Beverage of Choice: Bud Light seemed the general favorite with gin and tonics a close second.

Bold Face Guests: 1 (out of 5)
Swankiness: 2 (out of 5)
Food/Drinks: 2 (out of 5)
Overall Exclusivity: 2 (out of 5)

Total Score: 7 (out of 20)

What: DCCC and DSCC Election Night Party

Where: The Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill

When: November 7 to the morning of November 8

Who: The big-wigs of the Democratic party, a smattering of 20-something hill staffers and interns, scads of reporters, and a huge contingent of election-night party crashers. House Democrats Steny Hoyer, Jim Clyburn, Rahm Emanuel, and new House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi celebrated the taking-back of the House while, upstairs, Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid rallied the troops for a long night of close Senate races.

Scene: This mid-term blowout was packed with all of the bravado, energy and entertainment you’d expect from a minority party resolved to take back a sizable chunk of power from the GOP. The Boss didn’t play, but a Bruce Springsteen cover band rocked out to “Glory Days” and other fist-pumping, emblematic anthems. Partiers moved back and forth between ballrooms to catch glimpses of politicians and to curtail liquor shortages. As the numbers rolled in on big screens across the hotel, waves of excitement broke across the sea of blue.

How to crash a political party: This one proved that when victory’s in the air and champagne’s flowing, hotel bouncers let their guard down. By night’s end, the dance floor in the Senate ballroom was packed with stragglers grinding to Joan Jett and Outkast. Next election, find the party with the momentum, dress up senatorially, wait a couple hours, and give it a go. What do you have to lose?

Food: Your standard hors d'ouerves. Chicken on a stick and hummus were big hits.

Drinks: Most of the spirit was in the crowd, not the drinks, but they were helped along by lots of Killian's Irish Red, chardonnay and champagne.

Ratings:

Bold Face Guests: 4 (out of 5)
Swankiness: 3 (out of 5)
Food/Drinks: 3 (out of 5)
Overall Exclusivity: 2 (out of 5)

Total score: 12 (out of 20)