Jordan, Pete 1967(?)–

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Jordan, Pete 1967(?)–

(Dishwasher Pete)

PERSONAL:

Born c. 1967; married; wife's name Amy Joy.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Portland, OR, and Amsterdam, Netherlands. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Co-owner and operator of a bicycle shop in Amsterdam, Netherlands; also worked as a dishwasher.

WRITINGS:

Dishwasher: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Pete Jordan is a writer, a frequent contributor to National Public Radio's All Things Considered, and owner and mechanic of a bicycle shop in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. For twelve years, from 1989 to 2001, Jordan occupied one of the lower employment rungs as a dishwasher in various restaurants around the United States. Adopting the nickname of Dishwasher Pete, Jordan self-published a hugely popular 'zine in which he wrote about his experiences in and out of dishrooms and kitchens in resorts, neighborhood eateries, ethnic eateries, communes, social clubs, and dinner trains. As Jordan related his adventures in suds-busting, his work became more iconic and evolved into a cultural phenomenon. In Dishwasher: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States, Jordan updates and revises the stories of his experiences, recounting his quest to leave his mark on dishwashing history and the cultural consciousness of America.

For Jordan, as well as for many of the fans of his 'zine and radio appearances, dishwashing was a lowly job, but it also had its share of freedom and unusual dignity. "As loathsome as the job seems to many people, among my friends it was empowering to do the crap work nobody else wants to do, and sort of remain anonymous or not take it too seriously. Just putting in your hours and leaving at the end of the day, and picking up your check," Jordan remarked to interviewer Bill O'Driscoll in the Pittsburgh City Paper. He describes the life of the dishwasher, the ability to walk off the job without guilt at a moment's notice, and the likelihood of being able to quickly pick up another similar job, sometimes within minutes of quitting one. He describes the relative freedom of being a dishwasher; the access to free food, whether swiped from the kitchens or plundered from the uneaten leftovers on patrons' plates. He also reports on a number of famous persons who once paid their rent with money earned from dishwashing, from former president Gerald Ford to Fifties rock 'n' roll icon Little Richard, and describes how dishwashers were important participants in the development of labor unions. Even when the responsibilities of marriage and making a living find their way into his life, Jordan retains his cheerfully low-key attitude.

Jordan's "writing is lucid and earnest," and his "passion for dishwashing and, even more so, for blowing-in-the-wind traveling, is infectious," observed a Publishers Weekly critic. A Kirkus Reviews contributor called the book an "enjoyable manifesto celebrating rootless irresponsibility, with rueful acknowledgement of the pitfalls therein." Bookslut reviewer Drew Nellins remarked that Dishwasher is not a "work of genius or a peek inside the mind of one of our greatest men. It's just an honest and fun account of a strange period in the life of a living oxymoron: a hard-working slacker."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Jordan, Pete, Dishwasher: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2007.

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, May 23, 2007, Robert K. Elder, "The Soapy Adventures of Dishwasher Pete: Read How Our Hero Traveled the U.S. ‘Busting Suds’ for Twelve Years," interview with Pete Jordan.

Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2007, review of Dishwasher, p. 208.

Library Journal, April 15, 2007, Janet Ingraham Dwyer, review of Dishwasher, p. 97.

New York Times, May 23, 2007, Charles McGrath, "Everything and the Kitchen Sink: The Memoir of a Dishwasher," review of Dishwasher, p. E1.

Pittsburgh City Paper, May 17, 2007, Bill O'Driscoll, "Zine Hero Dishwasher Pete Dishes on His New Book," interview with Pete Jordan.

Portland Mercury (Portland, OR), May 31, 2007, Chas Bowie, "Elbow Deep," interview with Pete Jordan.

Publishers Weekly, March 26, 2007, review of Dishwasher, p. 83.

Reference & Research Book News, August 2007, review of Dishwasher.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 29, 2007, Regina Hackett, "Author Brings a Shine to Lowly Work in Dishwasher."