“What Fresh Hell Is This?”
The incomparable Dorothy Parker
“The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.” ―Dorothy Parker
On August 22, 1893, writer, poet, critic, and all-around awesome chick Dorothy Parker was born in West End, New Jersey. Her wit, irreverence, and scathing sense of humor enthralled audiences from the Jazz Age through the Swinging Sixties.
Parker’s childhood was a lonely and unhappy one. Her mother died in 1897, and her father’s new wife was definitely not to her liking. Dorothy attended a Catholic boarding school but didn’t stick around to graduate (ew — who could blame her?) Instead, she amassed her formidable store of knowledge via her voracious reading habit.
Dorothy was working as a dance instructor when her first poem was published by Vanity Fair magazine in 1914. Two years later, she was hired as a staff writer for the magazine and worked as their drama critic until 1920. Parker’s scathing yet hilarious reviews proved popular — initially at least. Vanity Fair gave her the boot after too many powerful theater owners and producers complained about her caustic (yet oh-so-accurate) write-ups.
A review she did of Tolstoy’s “Redemption” read in part:
I went into the Plymouth Theater a comparatively young woman, and I staggered out of it, three…
