Dorothy Parker is a renowned figure of American literature, famous for her dry wit and biting satire. Born on August 22, 1893, in Manhattan, Parker was forced to grow up quickly after losing both of her parents by age 20. She worked as a pianist at a dance school to support herself, but dreamed of a career as a writer.
That career began in 1914 when she sold her first poem, “Any Porch,” to Vanity Fair for $12. The poem was a satire on the repetitive and dull conversations of upper-middle-class women. Parker cut her teeth as an editorial assistant at Vogue for two years before being snatched up by Vanity Fair, only to be fired when her sharply critical theater reviews angered some powerful producers in New York City.
Although Vanity Fair officially dismissed her, they continued publishing her short stories and poems throughout the following decades, as did many other publications. Parker became famous for her witty book reviews in The New Yorker, gaining a devoted fan base for her dry, sardonic honesty. She released her first poetry book, Enough Rope, in 1926, and shortly afterward won the O. Henry Award for best short story. In 1934 she married screenwriter Alan Campbell, and the couple worked together on 15 films.
Later in life, Parker spent many years as a vocal advocate for humanitarian causes. She helped establish the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League in 1936 and served as the chair of fundraising for the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee. This interest in civil liberties and fighting fascism led the FBI to suspect her of being a communist; the government created a dossier about her activities, and she was added to the Hollywood blacklist. Nevertheless, upon her death in 1967, Parker left her fortune to Martin Luther King Jr., and after his assassination it was donated to the NAACP.
Throughout her impressive life, Parker displayed a fiercely quick wit and a commitment to assessing art and life as honestly as possible. Her incisive words, such as these 10 quotes below, continue to delight and inspire to this day.
There's a hell of a distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.Interview with “The Paris Review,” 1956
That would be a good thing for them to cut on my tombstone: Wherever she went, including here, it was against her better judgment.“The New Yorker,” 1929
Salary is no object: I want only enough to keep body and soul apart.“The New Yorker,” 1928
The best way to keep children at home is to make the home atmosphere pleasant, and let the air out of the tires.Quoted in “Dorothy Parker: In Her Own Words,” 2004
You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think.Parker's response when asked to use the word "horticulture" in a sentence during a game
Four be the things I'd been better without: / Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt.“Inventory,” 1937
The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.Widely attributed to Parker, though the origin is unknown
They sicken of the calm, who knew the storm.“New York World,” 1928
Scratch a lover, and find a foe.“Ballade of a Great Weariness,” 1937
Excuse my dust.Another suggested epitaph for herself, “Vanity Fair,” 1925
Photo credit: Hulton Archive/ Stringer/ Getty Images
