Dorothy Parker

American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist (1893-1967)

Dorothy Parker (August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist. She was best known for her epigrams, wit, wisecracks, and her eye for 20th century fads and conceits.

Dorothy Parker
Born(1893-08-22)August 22, 1893
Long Branch, New Jersey, United States
DiedJune 7, 1967(1967-06-07) (aged 73)
New York City, New York, United States
Heart attack
OccupationAuthor, poet, critic, screenwriter
NationalityAmerican
GenrePoetry, satire
Literary movementAmerican modernism
Notable worksEnough Rope, Sunset Gun, A Star Is Born
Notable awardsO. Henry Award
1929
SpouseEdwin Pond Parker II (1917-1928)
Alan Campbell (1934-1947)
Alan Campbell (1950-1963)
Website
www.dorothyparker.com

From an unhappy childhood, Parker rose to fame, both for her writing in The New Yorker and as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table.[1] After the breakup of the circle, Parker went to Hollywood to do screenwriting. She got two Academy Award nominations for this, but her involvement in left-wing politics put her on the Hollywood blacklist in the 1950s.

She disliked her reputation as a "wisecracker". Nevertheless, her writing and reputation for her sharp wit have endured.

Sayings of Dorothy

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Caption written for Vogue 1916
  • Men seldom make passes
    At girls who wear glasses.
First printed in New York World, (16 August 1925)
  • Excuse my dust.
Her proposed epitaph for herself, quoted in Vanity Fair (June 1925)
  • A lady ... with all the poise of the Sphinx though but little of her mystery.
About a child actress in her review of same, "Just Around Pooh Corner" in The New Yorker (14 March 1931)
  • The 'House Beautiful' is, for me, the play lousy.
Review of "The House Beautiful" by Channing Pollock, New Yorker (21 March 1931)
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References

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  1. The Algonquin Round Table was a literary circle which used to lunch at the Algonquin Hotel in midtown Manhattan.

Other websites

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  Media related to Dorothy Parker at Wikimedia Commons