Dorothy Parker Quotes
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Dorothy Parker, Witty Writer
Dorothy Parker was a witty writer, and it shows in these Dorothy Parker quotes. Dorothy Parker was born Dorothy Rothschild on August 22, 1893 in New Jersey, but grew up on the Upper West side in New York.
Dorothy Parker wrote poems, short stories, screenplays, and reviews or critiques of movies, books, and just about thing she felt like. Her writing of more than a few witty lines are repeated fondly every day. A few instances of her sharp wit showed up when she was still young:
- Her mother died when Dorothy was almost 5 and her father remarried a few years later. Dorothy called her stepmother "the housekeeper."
- Dorothy was asked to leave her Catholic school when she described Christ's conception as "spontaneous combustion."
Dorothy only went to school till age 14, when she left to take care of her father who was ill. She worked playing piano at a dance school. She wrote throughout her life and was active in left-wing causes such as the Spanish Civil War, organizing screenwriters, and bequeathed her literary estate to Dr. Martin Luther King. Dorothy Parker died in 1967 at age 73 in New York City.
Source: Jewish Virtual Library
Photo of Dorothy Parker in her twenties. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Dorothy Parker wrote poems, short stories, screenplays, and reviews or critiques of movies, books, and just about thing she felt like. Her writing of more than a few witty lines are repeated fondly every day. A few instances of her sharp wit showed up when she was still young:
- Her mother died when Dorothy was almost 5 and her father remarried a few years later. Dorothy called her stepmother "the housekeeper."
- Dorothy was asked to leave her Catholic school when she described Christ's conception as "spontaneous combustion."
Dorothy only went to school till age 14, when she left to take care of her father who was ill. She worked playing piano at a dance school. She wrote throughout her life and was active in left-wing causes such as the Spanish Civil War, organizing screenwriters, and bequeathed her literary estate to Dr. Martin Luther King. Dorothy Parker died in 1967 at age 73 in New York City.
Source: Jewish Virtual Library
Photo of Dorothy Parker in her twenties. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Table of Contents
- Dorothy Parker
- Dorothy Parker's Writing Career
- Books by Dorothy Parker
- Is Dorothy Parker Your Cup of Tea?
- Dorothy Parker's Love Life
- The Algonquin Round Table
- Movies and Books About The Algonquin Round Table
- Dorothy Parker Poems
- Dorothy Parker and the Movies
- Suicide and Dorothy Parker
- Share Dorothy with Family and Friends
- Books About Dorothy Parker
- Links to Dorothy Parker Web Sites
- Love Dorothy Parker? Love this lens?
- Inventory
- Please leave a message about your thoughts on Dorothy Parker.
- Squid Angel Blessings for Dorothy Parker Quotes
- My Bio
Dorothy Parker
Sharp-Witted American Short-Story Writer and Poet, 1920
Men seldom make passes
At girls who wear glasses.
~ Dorothy Parker, Not So Deep
as a Well (1937), "News Item"
Dorothy Parker's Writing Career
Dorothy Parker worked as a writer her entire life. She sold her first poem to Vanity Fair in 1914 at age 21. She worked for or sold her writing (poems, short stories, and reviews) to the following major magazines:
- Vogue
- Vanity Fair
- The New Yorker
- Life
- McCall's
- The New Republic
In 1926, she published her first book of poetry, Enough Rope. Additional works include Laments for the Living, 1930; Death and Taxes, published in 1931; After Such Pleasures, 1933; Not So Deep as a Well; 1936; and Here Lies, 1939. Compilations of her work include The Portable Dorothy Parker, which was published in 1976.
- Vogue
- Vanity Fair
- The New Yorker
- Life
- McCall's
- The New Republic
In 1926, she published her first book of poetry, Enough Rope. Additional works include Laments for the Living, 1930; Death and Taxes, published in 1931; After Such Pleasures, 1933; Not So Deep as a Well; 1936; and Here Lies, 1939. Compilations of her work include The Portable Dorothy Parker, which was published in 1976.
When Dorothy Parker was challenged to use the word 'horticulture' in a sentence, she said:
"You can drag a horticulture, but you can't make her think."
Books by Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker's Books of Poems and Short Stories
If all the girls who attended the Yale prom were laid end to end,
I wouldn't be a bit surprised.
~ Dorothy Parker
Is Dorothy Parker Your Cup of Tea?
She has a way with words. Do you like it?
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By the time you swear you are his, shivering and sighing,
And he vows his passion
is infinite and undying-
Lady, make a note of this:
One of you is lying.
~ Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker's Love Life
She Married Three Times But Twice to the Same Man
In 1917, 24-year-old Dorothy Rothschild married Edwin Parker, who was a Wall Street stockbroker. She joked that she married to escape her Jewish name. He served in World War I, which separated the couple, which probably didn't help their relationship. They separated some more and were divorced in 1928.
She had affairs with Charles MacArthur, Robert Benchley, Seward Collins, and Alexander Woollcott. In 1934, Dorothy Parker married Alan Campbell then they divorced in 1947. He had an affair during World War II while in Europe and her drinking caused problems. They remarried in 1950 and remained married, though separated for a few years in there, until his death in 1963.
She had affairs with Charles MacArthur, Robert Benchley, Seward Collins, and Alexander Woollcott. In 1934, Dorothy Parker married Alan Campbell then they divorced in 1947. He had an affair during World War II while in Europe and her drinking caused problems. They remarried in 1950 and remained married, though separated for a few years in there, until his death in 1963.
Her comment regarding an unwanted pregnancy and subsequent abortion:
It serves me right for putting all my eggs in one bastard.
~ Dorothy Parker
The Algonquin Round Table
Writers at the Algonquin Hotel
Dorothy Parker was one of the few female members of the Algonquin Round Table, named for an actual table at the Algonquin Hotel in New York. The Algonquin Round Table was mostly a forum for writers, actors, and critics and their lively discussion. The called themselves "The Vicious Circle." After the meals and drinks where the wit flew, members wrote of their conversations in newspaper columns.In 1919, the meetings began, and charter members included the following writers, actors, and other related professionals of the day:
- Franklin Pierce Adams, columnist
- Robert Benchley, humorist and actor
- Heywood Broun, columnist and sportswriter (married to Ruth Hale)
- Marc Connelly, playwright
- Ruth Hale, freelance writer who worked for women's rights
- George S. Kaufman, playwright and director
- Dorothy Parker, critic, poet, short-story writer, and screenwriter
- Harold Ross, The New Yorker editor
- Robert E. Sherwood, author and playwright
- John Peter Toohey, publicist
- Harpo Marx, comedian and actor
- Alexander Woollcott, critic and journalist
Other occasional members included writer Edna Ferber, actor Tallulah Bankhead, and other writers and actors. The Vicious Circle hung in there for 10 years, but dissolved when members had drifted out of New York and on to other interests.
Photo of some of the members of the Algonquin Round Table: Art Samuels, Charlie MacArthur, Harpo Marx, Dorothy Parker and Alexander Woollcott in 1919. Source: Wikimedia Commons
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy.
~ Dorothy Parker
Movies and Books About The Algonquin Round Table
Another Era, Another Time
Referring to Katharine Hepburn:
She runs the gamut of
emotions from A to B.
~ Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker Poems
This is not a novel to be
tossed aside lightly.
It should be thrown with great force.
~ Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker and the Movies
Versatile Writer
Dorothy Parker lived in Hollywood for 25 years with her (second and third) husband, Alan Campbell. She wrote for Hollywood. The Dorothy Parker IMDb page details her work as a writer on movies for Paramount Pictures.
Sometimes she developed or collaborated on the story, sometimes she wrote or co-wrote the screenplay, and sometimes movies or shorts were made based on her short stories. She was nominated for an Oscar for the screenplays for the movies The Little Foxes and Smash-Up.
She even wrote the lyrics to Bing Crosby's song I Wished on the Moon.
Some of her movie titles (and that song) follow:
Sometimes she developed or collaborated on the story, sometimes she wrote or co-wrote the screenplay, and sometimes movies or shorts were made based on her short stories. She was nominated for an Oscar for the screenplays for the movies The Little Foxes and Smash-Up.
She even wrote the lyrics to Bing Crosby's song I Wished on the Moon.
Some of her movie titles (and that song) follow:
The first thing I do in the morning
is brush my teeth and
sharpen my tongue.
~ Dorothy Parker
Suicide and Dorothy Parker
She couldn't get it right.
Dorothy Parker attempted suicide several times but never succeeded in ending her life. Alcohol was a major factor, and she was later quoted as saying about the Algonquin Round Table, "These were no giants. Think who was writing in those days--Lardner, Fitzgerald, Faulkner and Hemingway. Those were the real giants. The Round Table was just a lot of people telling jokes and telling each other how good they were. Just a bunch of loudmouths showing off, saving their gags for days, waiting for a chance to spring them.... There was no truth in anything they said. It was the terrible day of the wisecrack, so there didn't have to be any truth...."
Source: Hermann, Dorothy. 1982. With Malice Toward All: The Quips, Lives and Loves of Some Celebrated 20th-Century American Wits. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.
Source: Hermann, Dorothy. 1982. With Malice Toward All: The Quips, Lives and Loves of Some Celebrated 20th-Century American Wits. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.
Resume
Razors pain you;
rivers are damp;
acids stain you;
and drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful;
nooses give;
gas smells awful;
you might as well live.
~ Dorothy Parker
Books About Dorothy Parker
Many books have been written about Dorothy Parker.
Links to Dorothy Parker Web Sites
- Dorothy Parker, Literary Wit, 73, Dies
- The New York Times, Thursday, June 8, 1967, Page 1
By Alden Whitman
Dorothy Parker, the sardonic humorist who purveyed her wit in conversation, short stories, verse and criticism, died of a heart attack yesterday afternoon in her suite at the Volney Hotel, 23 East 74th Street. She was 73 years old and had been in frail health in recent years. - Flavorwire -- Our Favorite Lines from Dorothy Parker’s Most Scathing Reviews
- Dorthy Parker was born on this day in 1893 at a beach cottage in Long Branch, New Jersey, and was raised at 214 West 72nd Street in Manhattan. Before she died, she suggested "excuse my dust" as her epitaph. When she passed away on June 7, 1967, at the age of 73, she left her literary estate to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Dorothy Rothschild Parker
- Cyber encyclopedia of Jewish history and culture that covers everythingfrom anti-Semitism to Zionism. It includes a glossary, bibliography of web sites and books, biographies, articles, original documents and much more!
Pardon my dust.
~Dorothy Parker's epitaph
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Inventory
Four be the things
I'd have been better without:
love, curiosity, freckles and doubt.
Four be the things
I am wiser to know:
Idleness, sorrow, a friend, and a foe.
Three be the things
I shall never attain:
Envy, content, and
sufficient champagne.
Three be the things
I shall have till I die:
Laughter and hope and
a sock in the eye.
~ Dorothy Parker
Please leave a message about your thoughts on Dorothy Parker.
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lestroischenes Feb 3, 2012 @ 6:10 am | delete
- Wonderful - I shall have to buy more Dorothy Parker books!
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MiddleSister
Jan 31, 2012 @ 9:26 pm | delete
- !rekraP yhtoroD teem su gnipleh rof sknahT
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gottaloveit
Jan 6, 2012 @ 5:42 am | delete
- I think Dorothy Parker and I would have been great friends. Blessed lens - very well done, Peggy.
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MaxReily
Nov 30, 2011 @ 1:01 pm | delete
- I've loved Dorothy Parker since I first heard of her. She was such a sharp wit and a sharp tongue to match. My guy and I like to joke that we're Dorothy Parker and Robert Benchley! No wonder we're perfect for each other. Great lens on a great woman!
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PearlHowie
Nov 21, 2011 @ 12:09 pm | delete
- Love them!
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oxfordian
Nov 20, 2011 @ 8:10 pm | delete
- I love these! DP is one of my favorite authors and I can't believe how many I had forgotten. They made my day. Thanks!!
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poutine
Oct 14, 2011 @ 6:46 pm | delete
- Pretty witty.
Thanks for introducing her quotes to me.
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Frankster Sep 7, 2011 @ 1:05 am | delete
- I love her writing. Thanks for reminding me about her and her wit. Bear hugs, Frankster
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scarlettohairy Sep 7, 2011 @ 11:14 am | delete
- Thanks, Heather and Frankster for dropping by. Dorothy and I appreciate it!
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Heather426
Sep 6, 2011 @ 11:22 pm | delete
- Yep, love her, love the lens:)
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My Bio
I'm a big Dorothy Parker fan. Are you?
by scarlettohairy
I'm a huge fan of Dorothy Parker's sharp wit. I especially love her poem Resume.
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Broadway Murders
The Broadway Murders: A Dorothy Parker Mystery
Amazon Price: $13.10 (as of 05/31/2012)
Lost Poems of Dorothy Parker
Not Much Fun: The Lost Poems of Dorothy Parker
Amazon Price: $0.01 (as of 05/31/2012)
Hair of the Dog
Hair of the Dog (Algonquin Round Table Mysteries)
Amazon Price: (as of 05/31/2012)
