Dorothy Parker: Wit and Talent Meet

For those who are not interested in poetry, this talented woman came up with this classic verse. Read that and you can skip the rest of this article. I do recommend that you at least read about her life.

News Items.

Men seldom make passes

At girls who wear glasses.

To my shame, I must admit, until today, the only thing I knew about Ms. Parker was from the 1994 movie Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle. This is a movie I highly recommend. Her life made an interesting story; but, I was not at that time, interested in poetry. I only saw her image as a flapper with a razor sharp wit. A member of the Algonquin Round table issuing epigrams with attitude, while surrounded by famous people. She would not have thought much of me. Just read her poetry, you will get the point. I am not going to hand everything over to you in this article.

I readily admit that what drew me to pick up this book was the curiosity of the type of poems a sharp witted party girl would write. I can hear the chorus of “Typical guy”; but, that phrase has little meaning, beyond we don’t understand men. At least, I picked up the book and made an effort. I am entranced by her observations of the life she sees and how her poetry matured. That there is more than a talented party girl’s writing is obvious. I guess, I had to grow up, just a little, in order to appreciate Ms. Parker’s poetry. She described her literary style as writing five words and erasing seven. That sentiment is something that I can identify with – a goal that I can chase. I look forward to exploring more of her work.