Parker, Dorothy (Dorothy Rothschild Parker), 1893–1967, American short-story and verse writer, b. West End, N.J. While serving as drama critic for Vanity Fair (1916–17) and book critic for the New Yorker (1927), she gained an almost legendary reputation for her sardonic wit. Her first volume of poetry, Enough Rope (1926), brought her fame, and she followed it with such volumes as Death and Taxes (1931) and Not So Deep as a Well (1936). Although decidedly light and often flippant, Parker's satiric verse is carefully crafted and stunningly concise. Her short stories satirizing aspects of modern life are witty, wry, and often poignant. “Big Blond” is probably her best-known story. Collections of stories include Laments for the Living (1930) and Here Lies (1939). Her Collected Stories was published in 1942 and her Collected Poetry in 1944. She collaborated with Arnaud d'Usseau on the play Ladies of the Corridor (1953).
See biographies by J. Keats (1970) and M. Meade (1987); study by A. F. Kinney (1978).
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