The quintessential New York author would appear to be Dorothy Parker. Raised on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Working at Vogue when she was 21 and writing for Vanity Fair at 24. Attending the birth of The New Yorker with her pals of the Algonquin Round Table. However, was she the most successful and perhaps happiest while living in Hollywood? It occurs to me…
Lauren Bacall Reads “Big Blonde”
Dorothy Parker only wrote about fifty short stories, and of this list, her 1929 “Big Blonde” stands out as a favorite of fans, and of hers. It was given to Seward Collins, Parker’s paramour of the era, to publish in his magazine, The Smart Set. The tale of Hazel Morse, a dissipated party girl and…
Valentine’s Day Trip to Polly Adler’s Brothel: Debby Applegate Book Talk
Spend Valentine’s Day with Polly Adler and hear about the life story of New York’s most notorious brothel-owner from author Debby Applegate. A joint online talk and Q&A will bring together today’s leading speakeasy-era associations: the Dorothy Parker Society, the Robert Benchley Society, the Repeal Society, and the Marx Brothers Festival. The Zoom event is…
Free Audio Recording of ‘Dialogue at Three in the Morning’
Today is Public Domain Day and the Dorothy Parker Society is marking the day with the release of a brand-new recording of “Dialogue at Three in the Morning” produced by professional voiceover artist Kimberly M. Wetherell. Today 47 poems and five short stories by Parker enter the public domain in the U.S. This is the…
Copyright Expires on 47 Poems, 5 Stories, by Dorothy Parker
More Dorothy Parker poetry and short fiction will enter the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2022, than ever before in a single year: 47 poems and five short stories. This is a much higher figure than 2021 when 25 poems had their copyrights expire, or 2020 when the number was only…
New Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of Jazz Age Vice, Publishes Today
Debby Applegate earned a Pulitzer Prize for writing The Most Famous Man in America, the Biography of Henry Ward Beecher, and now she turns her gaze to the Jazz Age and one of the most popular names in Manhattan: brothel owner Polly Adler. Applegate spent more than a decade researching and crafting the book. Get…
Dorothy Parker Gravestone Unveiled
The final resting place of Dorothy Parker in historic Woodlawn Cemetery was marked with a gravestone in time for the 128th anniversary of her birth. The cremains of the famous critic, poet, and champion for social justice were brought to the cemetery a year ago. “Our Great Aunt is now in our family plot in…
1966 Radio Interview with Dorothy Parker and Richard Lamparski
The best and longest radio interview Dorothy Parker ever gave has been rediscovered and is now available to listen to here for free. Thanks to researcher-collector Mark Rosenberg, who donated a copy to the Dorothy Parker Society, fans can hear Parker talking about subjects as diverse as Truman Capote releasing In Cold Blood and Frank…
From Boats to Speakeasies, A Brief History of Parkerfest
The upcoming 2021 Parkerfest has given me the opportunity to look back at the events that the Dorothy Parker Society has held in the past, starting in 1999. After few hours of looking at old photos in the archives–people with cigarettes in hand indoors–and reviewing the “recaps” of past Parkerfest soirees–yes we chartered a yacht…
Parkerfest 2021: Brooklyn, The Bronx, Manhattan, August 20-22
The 20th annual Parkerfest will be held August 20-22, 2021, and this year there will be gatherings in Brooklyn, The Bronx, and Manhattan, as we celebrate the homecoming of Dorothy Parker to her hometown. One is dog-friendly, so be sure to not miss out on one of our events. Unfortunately, the Algonquin Hotel has not…