Mr. Joe Blundo

Columnist Emeritus, The Columbus Dispatch
Author, Does That Make Sense? The Best of Joe Blundo

Title: The English Language: A Joyous Mess

Mr. Joe Blundo is a longtime columnist and author whose writing has become a fixture in the cultural fabric of Columbus. For over 25 years, his column “So to Speak” ran in The Columbus Dispatch, where he chronicled life’s small absurdities, lampooned politicians and profiled everyday people with humor, curiosity, and insight. He joined the paper in 1978, and launched “So to Speak” in 1997, publishing more than 3,000 columns, earning widespread readership and gaining national recognition, including the 2002 humor writing award from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.

Mr. Blundo’s work celebrates the offbeat, the overlooked, and the deeply human—from Abe Lincoln impersonators to family milestones to the puzzling identity of Columbus itself. His columns, known for their clarity, wit, and warmth, were collected in Does That Make Sense?, published by The Ohio State University Press in 2019 and in Dancing Dads, Defective Peeps and Buckeye Misadventures, published by Orange Frazer Press in 2004.

Now retired from the Dispatch, Mr. Blundo continues to write through his online platform at Substack.com, sharing sharp and often satirical observations about life, politics, and family.

He is this year’s Welburn Lecturer, a keynote established in memory of Linda Mary Welburn. Her legacy gift to SRHSB reflects an extraordinary commitment to advancing research and advocacy in hydrocephalus and spina bifida. The Welburn Lecture celebrates voices that bring people together—patients, families, scientists, and advocates—through humor, storytelling, and shared purpose.

Mr. Blundo’s writing reminds us of the meaning found in everyday experience, and the connections that form when we pay attention.