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Not Much Fun: The Lost Poems of Dorothy Parker
During the early years of her career, while struggling to "keep body and soul apart" (as she ruefully put it later), Dorothy Parker wrote more than three hundred poems and verses for a variety of popular magazines and newspapers. Between 1926 and 1933 she collected most of these pieces in three volumes of poetry: Enough Rope, Sunset Gun, and Death and Taxes. The remaining poems and verses from America's most renowned cynic make up this collection. Eclectic and exuberant, these 122 once-forgotten gems display Parker's distinctive wit, irony, and precision, as she dissects early-twentieth-century American urban life and gleefully skewers a rich array of targets that range from personal foible to popular culture. With an authoritative, immensely entertaining, and critically acclaimed introduction by Stuart Y. Silverstein, Not Much Fun is an essential addition to the Dorothy Parker library and a welcome gift to her many admirers and devoted fans.
256 pages, Paperback
First published August 2, 1996
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About the author
Dorothy Parker
293Ìýbooks2,001ÌýfollowersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ data base.
Dorothy Parker was an American writer, poet and critic best known for her caustic wit, wisecracks, and sharp eye for 20th century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhappy childhood, Parker rose to acclaim, both for her literary output in such venues as The New Yorker and as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table. Following the breakup of the circle, Parker traveled to Hollywood to pursue screenwriting. Her successes there, including two Academy Award nominations, were curtailed as her involvement in left-wing politics led to a place on the Hollywood blacklist.
Dismissive of her own talents, she deplored her reputation as a "wisecracker." Nevertheless, her literary output and reputation for her sharp wit have endured.
Dorothy Parker was an American writer, poet and critic best known for her caustic wit, wisecracks, and sharp eye for 20th century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhappy childhood, Parker rose to acclaim, both for her literary output in such venues as The New Yorker and as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table. Following the breakup of the circle, Parker traveled to Hollywood to pursue screenwriting. Her successes there, including two Academy Award nominations, were curtailed as her involvement in left-wing politics led to a place on the Hollywood blacklist.
Dismissive of her own talents, she deplored her reputation as a "wisecracker." Nevertheless, her literary output and reputation for her sharp wit have endured.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
December 19, 2020
Love beyond my maddest dreaming
You have sworn you'll show to me;
You will guide me to the gleaming,
Reeling heights of ecstasy.
Dizzier joy than else could reach me,
Fiercer bliss and wilder thrill,
All of this some day you'll teach me,
Y-e-e-s you will!
� � �
We came face to face in the crowd;
Hemmed all about by pushing, straining figures,
Berserk with the thought of getting home for dinner.
Heavy about us rose the odor of crowded humanity,
Hot in our ears sounded their polyglot curses.
But the crowd was kind, for it pushed you into my arms,
There you rested, one supreme moment,
Your delicate body quivering with exquisite timidity.
We stood, we two alone, on the pinnacle of rapture,
Our souls throbbing together.
Then we were torn apart.
But Hope leaped high within me,
For, before you were borne away from me,
You whispered a few shy syllables�
The answer to my feverish question. . . .
Why did you give me the wrong telephone number?
� � �
Where mighty mountains rear their cruel height,
The world between us, would you dwell, apart;
Where curious peace, that comes with tropic night,
Answers the bitter question of your heart.
The lilac bush, that bends with bloom in May,
The winding path, the arbor where we sat.
These things should know you nevermore, you say�
Ah, love, if I could only count on that!
March 20, 2007
While the poetry in the book does not reach the height of excellence that her later, more "serious" work did, the true worth of this book is Silverstein's truly fantastic (if short) biography of Dorothy Parker, which contains a number of delightful anecdotes that I have been unable to find in other books. Buy it for the biography, and consider the amusing poetry as a bonus. :)
May 7, 2015
Dorothy Parker's wit was as prickly as the end of her pencil, but when you read the lengthy and detailed introduction to this book (which accounts for roughly 1/3 of its content), you won't be surprised that she ended up a bitter, lonely alcoholic. Even if you're the smartest, most acerbic person in the room, there's no reason to show off continually and alienate every single person you meet. Oh well. That said, as much as I appreciate Dottie's gift for observation and language, I recently had to prematurely return the Portable Dorothy Parker to my library. I simply couldn't stand it anymore.
This tiny book of "lost" poetry, however, is well worth the investment. Dottie actually manages to be funny (though occasionally repetitive) and snide without the constant downer element. Instead, you get a great look back into the early decades of the last century. Plus, as mentioned above, an excellent biography.
This tiny book of "lost" poetry, however, is well worth the investment. Dottie actually manages to be funny (though occasionally repetitive) and snide without the constant downer element. Instead, you get a great look back into the early decades of the last century. Plus, as mentioned above, an excellent biography.
July 27, 2020
is my first experience with the 'verses' of . I readily admit that poetry is one of my least favorite genres; I just don't get it. I also readily admit that I have enjoyed some authors' poetry. Dorothy Parker's book was one such.
The book includes an excellent introduction about Parker's life. A fascinating, irascible, hard living, witty woman. She preferred to call her poems 'verses' as she had an inferiority complex when it came to her work. Stuart Silverstein, who wrote the intro, compared some of her work to that of short story writer, H.H. Munro AKA Saki. Having read a collection of Saki's work, I can see the comparison. Saki's stories often started in one direction but the final outcome / ending often came out of the blue, somewhere out in left field and left you shaking your head. Parker's poems have that effect as well. A romantic work will start out in one direction but you always find yourself wondering if there will be a witty punchline.
A poem about Myrtilla, on Easter Day, starts off
"Myrtilla's tripping down the street
In Easter finery.
The Easter blooms are not more sweet
And radiant hued than she....."
It continues with lovely descripions of Myrtilla, how she makes the mens' hearts flutter.. and then ends thusly
"As down the street Myrtilla trips,
I hope she breaks her neck!"
Not all of the works are in this vein, but there were many that make me chuckle at the end. What I especially liked about her work was how accessible it was. I think that is my normal issue with poetry; I just find it difficult to get in to a flow. But not with this collection. I have to say that I found myself reciting some of them to my wife to gauge her reaction. And even reading them was 'easy'. I just found myself able to see them, to get into them.
I enjoyed this collection. The first section The Poems, was excellent. The second section, The Hate Verses, was not quite so enjoyable. In them she writes a number of selections; Women, Men, Actors, etc and highlights different types of personas within each grouping and why she dislikes them. It's all in good fun, I imagine, they didn't grab my attention quite so well.
All in all, I enjoyed the collection very much. I may look for more of her works. (4 stars)
The book includes an excellent introduction about Parker's life. A fascinating, irascible, hard living, witty woman. She preferred to call her poems 'verses' as she had an inferiority complex when it came to her work. Stuart Silverstein, who wrote the intro, compared some of her work to that of short story writer, H.H. Munro AKA Saki. Having read a collection of Saki's work, I can see the comparison. Saki's stories often started in one direction but the final outcome / ending often came out of the blue, somewhere out in left field and left you shaking your head. Parker's poems have that effect as well. A romantic work will start out in one direction but you always find yourself wondering if there will be a witty punchline.
A poem about Myrtilla, on Easter Day, starts off
"Myrtilla's tripping down the street
In Easter finery.
The Easter blooms are not more sweet
And radiant hued than she....."
It continues with lovely descripions of Myrtilla, how she makes the mens' hearts flutter.. and then ends thusly
"As down the street Myrtilla trips,
I hope she breaks her neck!"
Not all of the works are in this vein, but there were many that make me chuckle at the end. What I especially liked about her work was how accessible it was. I think that is my normal issue with poetry; I just find it difficult to get in to a flow. But not with this collection. I have to say that I found myself reciting some of them to my wife to gauge her reaction. And even reading them was 'easy'. I just found myself able to see them, to get into them.
I enjoyed this collection. The first section The Poems, was excellent. The second section, The Hate Verses, was not quite so enjoyable. In them she writes a number of selections; Women, Men, Actors, etc and highlights different types of personas within each grouping and why she dislikes them. It's all in good fun, I imagine, they didn't grab my attention quite so well.
All in all, I enjoyed the collection very much. I may look for more of her works. (4 stars)
March 8, 2025
Come for the middle section, with poems both witty and succinct; skip the overlong "introduction" (really, Mr. Silverstein, I'm not here for your writing) and the "Hate Songs" that get kinda redundant after the first four or so. "Sunset Gun" was one of the best finds of last year, so this collection of Dorothy Parker's lost verses was extremely my jam when I saw it at a book sale on Thursday. Like I said, skip the introduction/biographical sketch and get right into the poems.
February 5, 2024
I’m always a sucker for Ms Parker, one of my favorite classic icons. Most of these poems are a bit amateur, as they were written in her early years, but they still show an enigmatic amount of talent that she later sharpened into her trademark wit.
February 5, 2017
There's a lot to like in Parker's writing; her wit and Shirley Jackson-esque darkness in the turn of events especially so. Some of my favourites in this collection were "The gunman and the debutante" (no matter the editor's, Stuart Y Silverstein's, opinion of it), "Song of the open country", and possibly my absolute favourite was "Balto" which was one of the only poems that are truly and genuinely filled with love and affection.
Most of Parker's poetry is filled with wit, snark, parodies of other people or stubbing on others toes. There's a lot of cynicism here, coupled with the more traditional romantic lines - creating that contrast that reminded me of Shirley Jackson's darkness in suburbia but with less of a fine touch than Jackson, more or a sharp turn over the hill. Although I enjoyed much of her poetry, I liked the romantic lines less - I found them duller to read, even when I knew they would take the turn of the dark and cynical. I think much of Parker's wit, while entertaining, would work even better in a longer format where there's time to grow more of a story and fill the gaps so that the wit just sharpens the text as whole without being row after row of nails - which is why I'm looking forward to reading her short stories.
Especially the hate-verses were a bit too Eeyore-esque for my taste, they came off not as witty and funny but as petty and pessimistic. Unfortunately I also found the introductory essay utterly dull, I didn't find Silverstein's writing on Parker interesting nor enlightening - so I ended up only reading about a third of it. Shame on me. That all being said, I did like much of Parker's voice so I am looking forward to reading her longer works in the future.
Most of Parker's poetry is filled with wit, snark, parodies of other people or stubbing on others toes. There's a lot of cynicism here, coupled with the more traditional romantic lines - creating that contrast that reminded me of Shirley Jackson's darkness in suburbia but with less of a fine touch than Jackson, more or a sharp turn over the hill. Although I enjoyed much of her poetry, I liked the romantic lines less - I found them duller to read, even when I knew they would take the turn of the dark and cynical. I think much of Parker's wit, while entertaining, would work even better in a longer format where there's time to grow more of a story and fill the gaps so that the wit just sharpens the text as whole without being row after row of nails - which is why I'm looking forward to reading her short stories.
Especially the hate-verses were a bit too Eeyore-esque for my taste, they came off not as witty and funny but as petty and pessimistic. Unfortunately I also found the introductory essay utterly dull, I didn't find Silverstein's writing on Parker interesting nor enlightening - so I ended up only reading about a third of it. Shame on me. That all being said, I did like much of Parker's voice so I am looking forward to reading her longer works in the future.
October 12, 2010
Nearly the first quarter of the book is an anecdote-heavy introduction to Parker's life and career. This part was good overall, but at times it went a little too heavily into "here's a funny thing she said, and here's another" for my taste. This was especially true in the footnotes, which also managed to throw me off by referring to her as "Dottie," as if the person writing them was a casual acquaintance writing about a friend rather than a biographer.
There are some bright spots in the poems, those who are already fans of Dorothy Parker should absolutely give them a try. But for the most part, it's understandable why she didn't choose to include these in her collections.
There are some bright spots in the poems, those who are already fans of Dorothy Parker should absolutely give them a try. But for the most part, it's understandable why she didn't choose to include these in her collections.
June 10, 2019
I'm not sure how to gather my thoughts about this book.
It begins with a fifty-page introduction that's essentially a biography of Dorothy Parker. It's not very interesting. It basically names names of the people Dorothy associated with in New York (various magazines, literary clubs, theatres) and Los Angeles (film studios) and her many ex-husbands. It's heavily footnoted—at times with Dorothy's witty comments, at times with more information that I don't really care about. The basic idea of it is that Dorothy wrote some stuff for magazines, but she was a lazy, poor, fat bitch who drank too much and could barely keep a job or a man. Also, some stuff about her becoming a communist. Oh, and suicide attempts.
After reading her poems I got the impression that she is one of those people who are famous for being famous. Yes, she has a remarkably sharp wit, and yes, she was inventive with the English language, but as a poet she doesn't have a lot of talent (at least she has the decency to admit it). I would be lying if I said I can't relate to the miserable, speak-her-mind cynic that is Dorothy Parker, but she still isn't very likeable. I can see how her poetry was a tolerable or even amusing as a once-in-a-while read in a magazine, but downing 125 of her poems in a day isn't recommended. Especially the infamous "hate verses," which I found repetitive and lacking in technique.
Even at the best of times her poetry seems naive and amateurish. Rhymes are simple. Meter is either dreadful or sing-song. The endings of her poem can be bitingly ironic, which give them some novelty...again, unless you are reading the entire collection in one sitting, in which case they become predictable. Some of her poems are charming in an old-fashioned kind of way. I appreciate seeing what she does with poetic forms such as the triolet and rondeau.
Everything about this book is done well—the design, the introduction, and the scope of the collection of her little-known poems—but I still can't rate it highly simply because I don't like Parker's poetry that much.
Poems that I liked:
"To My Dog," "Chantey," "Fantasy," "Song [1]," "Rondeau [2]," "Triolet [1]," "Pæan," "Song [3]," "The Passionate Screenwriter to his Love," "Threat to a Fickle Lady."
=10/125 (8%) poems that I liked.
It begins with a fifty-page introduction that's essentially a biography of Dorothy Parker. It's not very interesting. It basically names names of the people Dorothy associated with in New York (various magazines, literary clubs, theatres) and Los Angeles (film studios) and her many ex-husbands. It's heavily footnoted—at times with Dorothy's witty comments, at times with more information that I don't really care about. The basic idea of it is that Dorothy wrote some stuff for magazines, but she was a lazy, poor, fat bitch who drank too much and could barely keep a job or a man. Also, some stuff about her becoming a communist. Oh, and suicide attempts.
After reading her poems I got the impression that she is one of those people who are famous for being famous. Yes, she has a remarkably sharp wit, and yes, she was inventive with the English language, but as a poet she doesn't have a lot of talent (at least she has the decency to admit it). I would be lying if I said I can't relate to the miserable, speak-her-mind cynic that is Dorothy Parker, but she still isn't very likeable. I can see how her poetry was a tolerable or even amusing as a once-in-a-while read in a magazine, but downing 125 of her poems in a day isn't recommended. Especially the infamous "hate verses," which I found repetitive and lacking in technique.
Even at the best of times her poetry seems naive and amateurish. Rhymes are simple. Meter is either dreadful or sing-song. The endings of her poem can be bitingly ironic, which give them some novelty...again, unless you are reading the entire collection in one sitting, in which case they become predictable. Some of her poems are charming in an old-fashioned kind of way. I appreciate seeing what she does with poetic forms such as the triolet and rondeau.
Everything about this book is done well—the design, the introduction, and the scope of the collection of her little-known poems—but I still can't rate it highly simply because I don't like Parker's poetry that much.
Poems that I liked:
"To My Dog," "Chantey," "Fantasy," "Song [1]," "Rondeau [2]," "Triolet [1]," "Pæan," "Song [3]," "The Passionate Screenwriter to his Love," "Threat to a Fickle Lady."
=10/125 (8%) poems that I liked.
January 31, 2018
Parker herself would have wryly noted the appropriateness of the title -- this one is certainly only for the Parker completist (although I liked the "Hate poems" and am grateful for the coinage "homosectual"). I don't know who thought a writer with an already inverse biography to publication ratio needed a 50 page biographical introduction, but its judgy tone and the simpleminded conclusions it jumps to make it a thing truly worthy of hate.
February 16, 2020
I really liked the comments the footnotes to the rather lengthy introduction. The introduction is really a short biography of Dorothy Parker and the footnotes contain anecdotes from her life. Her poems seem to have a curmudgeon's way of looking at society and life in general. The last section of the book is devoted to her "hate" series and probably put in writing what a lot of people thought (and many generations think) about certain stereotypical individuals.
May 20, 2019
If I understand this correctly, these poems weren't lost they were just never included in any of the other collections, because Dorothy Parker didn't think they were good enough. I agree with her about some but and disagree about others. I think it's worth a read to decide for yourself.
April 18, 2016
For many people Dorothy Parker is an acquired taste but I enjoy her poetry with its twisted endings. Her poetry is much like an O Henry story or one by Saki, with the last line giving a whole different meaning to everything you just read and I admire her ability to do so.
Her hate poem series is very good as she tells why she hates men, women, movies, parties and more. The biggest trouble readers of today have is relating to her because her writings are from so long ago that the topical references she makes are ancient history to those reading today. When she makes fun of the writings of Edgar Guest or A. A. Milne, you have to be aware of who they are for it to matter. As I have a foot in the past, I can see the humor in many of her writings about a time far distant.
My only problem with the author who assembled this book is the clunky way they handled the biographical first part. There would be a small paragraph and then the rest of the page would be full of footnotes. It would have been simpler to tell the anecdote in the body of the book and simply footnote the date and place rather than have to jump down to the bottom and find that reference where the amusing or enlightening incident would be told.
Her hate poem series is very good as she tells why she hates men, women, movies, parties and more. The biggest trouble readers of today have is relating to her because her writings are from so long ago that the topical references she makes are ancient history to those reading today. When she makes fun of the writings of Edgar Guest or A. A. Milne, you have to be aware of who they are for it to matter. As I have a foot in the past, I can see the humor in many of her writings about a time far distant.
My only problem with the author who assembled this book is the clunky way they handled the biographical first part. There would be a small paragraph and then the rest of the page would be full of footnotes. It would have been simpler to tell the anecdote in the body of the book and simply footnote the date and place rather than have to jump down to the bottom and find that reference where the amusing or enlightening incident would be told.
April 13, 2015
This was chock full of brilliant, biting, witty commentary. Parker does a phenomenal job poking fun at anything and everything she encounters, especially romantic relationships and our ideals of various "types"-- her "Hate Songs" are (although not as funny in general as the other poems) a perfect example of this sort of attitude. She is also a master of the "surprise ending", such as in numerous pieces where she seems to be asking for an idyllic, pastoral existence and rounds out the verse with "Leave me home with a magazine!" or a similar punchline. My favorite poem in the entire collection (even funnier for my personal great love of A.A. Milne) is "When We Were Very Sore":
While much of the poetry is similarly derivative in style (although it is all arguably parodying literary convention); Parker's wit as she attacks all aspects of society more than makes up for the (depending on your views on what makes "good poetry") weakness of the poetic aspects of Parker's verse.
Dotty had
Great Big
Visions of Quietude.
Dotty saw an
Ad, and it
Left her
Flat.
Dotty had a
Great Big
Snifter of
Cyanide.
And that (said Dotty)
Is that.
While much of the poetry is similarly derivative in style (although it is all arguably parodying literary convention); Parker's wit as she attacks all aspects of society more than makes up for the (depending on your views on what makes "good poetry") weakness of the poetic aspects of Parker's verse.
February 3, 2012
One of my favorite poems from this book...
FRAGMENT
Why should we set these hearts of our above
The rest, and cramp them in possession's clutch?
Poor things, we gasp and strain to capture love,
And in our hands, it powders at our touch.
We turn the fragrant pages of the past,
Mournful with scent of passion's faded flow'rs,
On every one we read, "Love cannot last"---
So how could ours?
It is the quest that thrills, and not the gain,
The mad pursuit, and not the cornering:
Love caught is but a drop of April rain,
But a bloom upon the moth's translucent wing.
Why should you dare to hope that you and I
Could make love's fitful flash a lasting flame?
Still, if you think it's only fair to try---
Well, I am game.
FRAGMENT
Why should we set these hearts of our above
The rest, and cramp them in possession's clutch?
Poor things, we gasp and strain to capture love,
And in our hands, it powders at our touch.
We turn the fragrant pages of the past,
Mournful with scent of passion's faded flow'rs,
On every one we read, "Love cannot last"---
So how could ours?
It is the quest that thrills, and not the gain,
The mad pursuit, and not the cornering:
Love caught is but a drop of April rain,
But a bloom upon the moth's translucent wing.
Why should you dare to hope that you and I
Could make love's fitful flash a lasting flame?
Still, if you think it's only fair to try---
Well, I am game.
May 1, 2009
Though not her best works -- these are, for the most part, the poems she never put into collections herself -- Parker is always so bitterly entertaining. Good for when you're in a pissy mood. Strangely, it's plain from his introduction that the editor of this collection is not a Dorothy Parker fan, despite constant fawning references to "Dottie." While haphazard and maybe even overindulgent, the footnotes in the introduction are fun for their wealth of Parker one-offs at cocktail parties, at the famed Round Table, &c.
January 20, 2016
Not Much Fun: The Lost Poems of Dorothy Parker by Stuart Y. Silverstein (Scribner 1996) (811) is collection of the lesser-known poems of the "Queen of Mean" of the 1930's and 1940's. These are "lesser-known" for good reason. Many are beyond vitriolic; they are simply hateful and nasty as though the author thought to ease her own pain by causing pain to her targets. If I ever desire another dose of Dorothy, I'll reread her best-known wordplay and leave this volume aside, for it provides just what the title promises: Not Much Fun. My rating: 7/10, finished 9/29/13.
October 13, 2008
Dorothy Parker will always get at least three stars from me, but this anthology, "Not Much Fun," includes some "lost poems" that are "not much good." I have a feeling that Ms. Parker would have preferred some of them remain "lost," but of course a few are jewels and the biographical pages are really worth reading. All in all, it's Dorothy Parker...nuff said!
January 23, 2012
This is a collection of poems by Parker that weren't printed in her previous collections. Although I enjoyed reading these poems, they're not among her best. But I have no problem recommending this one to other Parker lovers at all.
This edition also includes a good introduction to Parker's life and writing history, which is most definitely worth reading.
This edition also includes a good introduction to Parker's life and writing history, which is most definitely worth reading.
November 23, 2014
Not Much Fun offers a sampling of the unknown Dorothy Parker, the bits she wisely culled from later collections for not being quite up to par. Gathered here, they offer only a dim reflection of her trademark shining wit, though the book itself is a worthwhile read just for the hilariously overfootnoted introduction and the Hate Songs section at the end. (I Hate Wives...Too Many People Have Them)
September 13, 2007
I dated a man who fancied himself a poet once. We went to poetry slams. Consequently, I'm convinced 98.7% of all poetry is pure crap dressed up in fancy words. Dorothy Parker represents a large portion of the remaining 1.3%.
December 26, 2007
This collection is not found in the other anthology I reviewed. It’s more of the same, but I don’t care for it quite as much. If you're a fan of Parker it's worth checking out- otherwise I suggest her portable reader.
March 23, 2008
this book is just a joy for those die-hard Dorothy Parker fans. There are some real jewels of her wit and wisdom buried here; bits and pieces not found elsewhere. If Dottie trips your trigger, check this out!
August 10, 2011
First, no introduction should have so many footnotes. Second, Parker's work is, by and large, a showcase of wit and talent, but this collection doesn't do it justice. I'm still a fan, but not of this particular set.
November 7, 2012
she is an interesting person, very witty, mean at times, sometimes a strange bird, very much a person of her times, her poetry is very craftsman like with flashes of brilliance, I enjoyed reading about her, but not my favorite person
February 7, 2015
I never loved her "Hate Verses," but the other poetry -- while not her best -- had some strong moments. Often paraprosdokian; usually funny; sometimes sentimental. The biography at the beginning was poorly written, which turned this into a slow read for me.
August 4, 2007
Dorothy Parker is a genius.
December 28, 2007
not her best work, but still very entertaining.
May 27, 2008
I believe I enjoyed the introductory biography more than the poetry. Some of them were wonderful, but I can see why she didn't want them all to be published.
December 24, 2008
Worth it for the biography alone.
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