Dorothy Parker - Wonderful Woman No. 58

Dorothy Parker - 1893–1967
American Poet, Magazine Contributor, Reviewer, Screenwriter and Political Activist

Added to the album by a wonderful man called Gavin

A Dream Lies Dead

A dream lies dead here. May you softly go
Before this place, and turn away your eyes,
Nor seek to know the look of that which dies
Importuning Life for life. Walk not in woe,
But, for a little, let your step be slow.
And, of your mercy, be not sweetly wise
With words of hope and Spring and tenderer skies.
A dream lies dead; and this all mourners know:

Whenever one drifted petal leaves the tree-
Though white of bloom as it had been before
And proudly waitful of fecundity-
One little loveliness can be no more;
And so must Beauty bow her imperfect head
Because a dream has joined the wistful dead!


Dorothy Parker

Sometimes, it is hard to know where to begin when writing about these women. Many of them have achieved so many wonderful things, it is a worry that I will miss or underplay some greatness or other. As you may have read in A note about the album (http://iamawonderfulwoman.blogspot.com/search/label/A%20note%20about%20the%20album), it has never been my intention to write biographies, just to try to capture some of what makes them wonderful.

Dorothy Parker had an enviable career as a writer, she wrote for some of the most recognisable publications, such as Vogue and Vanity Fair, she also published short stories and co-wrote lyrics for songs. She was a celebrated poet, known for her wit and use of satire. She also turned her hand to writing plays and reviews. From 1937, she wrote a number of screen plays including, Oscar nominated, A Star Is Born.

Dorothy was politically minded and became an activist for her political leanings. She was arrested for protesting the execution of Ferdinando Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, who had controversially be sentenced to death following an armed robbery, their guilt and the fairness of their trial in the early 1920s remains to this day a matter of dispute. In the 1930s and 40s, Dorothy became a strong voice in favour of civil liberties amendments and was a figure in the civil rights movement of a segregated America. She helped to found the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League in 1936 and served as chair of the Joint Anti-Fascist Rescue Committee.

A woman of true panache and vigour, intelligent, witty and informed. A perfect addition to our album.

I don't care what is written about me so long as it isn't true.
Dorothy Parker