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Saturday, November 2, 2013

Dorothy Parker on poetry vs. verse

"My verses. I cannot say poems. Like everybody was then, I was following in the exquisite footsteps of Miss Millay, unhappily in my own horrible sneakers. My verses are no damn good. Let’s face it, honey, my verse is terribly dated--as anything once fashionable is dreadful now. I gave it up, knowing it wasn’t getting any better, but nobody seemed to notice my magnificent gesture."
-- Dorothy Parker in an interview with Paris Review

I have to agree with her on this one.  Her verse has charm (see the justly famous verse "Resumé"--charm:  suicide is an annoyance, so that's why you should live), but they rarely rise above what they are.  Her little narratives, though, can have a powerful punch.

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