Dorothy Parker
Born August 22, 1893 (West End, New Jersey)
Died June 7, 1967 (New York, New York)
Short-story writer, poet, dramatist, and critic
Dorothy Parker's sharply witty voice was one of the most memorable of the Roaring Twenties. She was a member of the talented circle of writers and critics who gathered every week at New York City's Algonquin Hotel to trade gossip and humorous comments. Parker would later prefer, however, to be known as the author of insightful criticism, moving short stories, and deceptively light verse. As someone who did not express herself in the polite, gracious manner expected of women, Parker embodied the shift in attitudes about female behavior that began in the 1920s. She would become a role model for younger women seeking success in the male-dominated realms of literature and journalism.
A Sharp Tongue and a Talent for Writing
Dorothy Parker was born Dorothy Rothschild in West End, New Jersey, a suburb of New York City. Her father was a wealthy Jewish businessman and her mother a Protestant of Scottish heritage who died when Parker was four. In the years to come, Parker would describe her mixed ethnic background in negative terms. Her father subsequently married a highly
religious Catholic woman who attempted to force Parker into the same mold by enrolling her in a Catholic school.
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