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 did not commit suicide, but this was a poem she wrote.]
Posted on 08/23/2021 3:35:20 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Dorothy Parker was born during a hurricane in 1893 — and finally officially laid to rest Monday, the day after Tropical Storm Henri hit the city, when the Jazz Age writer’s tombstone was unveiled in The Bronx.
The quirky unveiling ceremony at Woodlawn Cemetery was befitting the famed humorist — and capped a yearslong effort to ensure Parker received a proper resting spot.
“This is finally her homecoming to her beloved New York City,” said Kevin Fitzpatrick, president of the Dorothy Parker Society, a non-profit that promotes the work of the writer and member of the Algonquin Hotel’s famed Round Table of authors, humorists and actors.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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 did not commit suicide, but this was a poem she wrote.]
Great story. Thanks.
Well that’s a relief. I’ve spent many sleepless nights worrying about this, lol.
Dorothy Parker was wonderful. When I worked in the area, I used to go for drinks and jazz in the lobby of the Algonquin. I felt as if I could still hear the witty remarks of Dorothy Parker and her circle bouncing off the wood paneling.
What a great wit. If you have read Harpo Marx’s biography, you get to know her well.
One of my favorite writers. An iconoclast, a wit, and a troubled soul.
I read Groucho’s, not Harpo’s. Is there a book on tape version?
Bookmark
Oh, my gosh, if you have not read Harpo Speaks you are in for an enormous treat. I don’t know if it is in audio format, but most books are. Once you’ve read or listened to it, I d love to know what you think.
Book on Tape?
Let me check my daytimer.
My favorite Dorothy Parker quote:
I love a Martini
One...Two at most
Three...I’m under the table
Four...I’m under the host
I see what you did there :-)
“I like to have a martini, Two at the very most. After three I’m under the table, after four I’m under my host.” — Dorothy Parker
As Dorothy Parker once said to her boyfriend, "Fare thee well,"...It was just one of those things...
Apparently, "Dottie" didn't suffer foolish boyfriends.
One of the joys of a well read mind is recognizing tropes (a figurative or metaphorical use of a word or phrase) and appreciating good use. The 2011 novel “The Martian” by Andy Weir and its movie adaptation (2015) had just such a referent to Ms Parker and her colleagues. When abandoned Astronaut Mark Watney revives the Mars Surveyor lander to send pictures back to Earth, the technician controlling the lander response points out that the 30+minute light-speed limited response would hardly provide an Algonquin Table repartee!
Dialog and writing that is NOT lowered to grade school levels is now, unfortunately, a rare thing, and as such is to be treasured. Dorthy Parker never wrote down to her readers and listners. Can anyone point me to a comparable literary person of today?
R I P Dorothy Parker, at rest after 54 years!
Love the poem on her headstone
A movie from some time ago. “Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle”.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110588/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
I saw it a long time ago, remember liking it, but not much specific - just in case anyone else is interested.
“If all the girls who attended the Yale prom were laid end to end, I wouldn't be a bit surprised.” — Dorothy Parker
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