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Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker Quotes

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Famous Dorothy Parker Quotes

“The nowadays ruling that no word is unprintable has, I think, done nothing whatever for beautiful letters. The boys have gone hog-wild with liberty, yet the short flat terms used over and over, both in dialogue and narrative, add neither vigor nor clarity; the effect is not of shock but of something far more dangerous — tedium.”

ThinkingDoneBeautifulUsedTermLibertyBoysGoneEffectsDangerousLettersAddDialogueClarityNarrativeShockFlatsRulingVigorHogTedium
Author:Dorothy Parker
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“Men They hail you as their morning star Because you are the way you are. If you return the sentiment, They'll try to make you different; And once they have you, safe and sound, They want to change you all around. Your moods and ways they put a curse on; They'd make of you another person. They cannot let you go your gait; They influence and educate. They'd alter all that they admired. They make me sick, they make me tired.”

IfsMenWayWantTryingPersonsDifferentStarsSoundMorningInfluenceReturnSafeSickTiredMoodCurseSentimentsEducateHailLetting You GoGaitSafe And Sound
Book:Not So Deep as a Well
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“Daily dawns another day; I must up, to make my way. Though I dress and drink and eat, Move my fingers and my feet, Learn a little, here and there, Weep and laugh and sweat and swear, Hear a song, or watch a stage, Leave some words upon a page, Claim a foe, or hail a friend- Bed awaits me at the end.”

WayLittlesEndsMovingSongWatchesLaughingFeetStageDrinkBedPagesClaimsDressesFingersMy WayDawnSweatSwearFoeHere And ThereHailAnother Day
Book:Dorothy Parker
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“I'll think about something else. I'll just sit quietly. If I could sit still. If I could sit still, maybe I could read. Oh, all the books are about people who love each other, truly and sweetly. What do they want to write about that for? Don't they know it isn't true? Don't they know it's a lie, it's a God-damned lie? What do they have to tell about that for, when they know how it hurts?”

PeopleIfsThinkingKnowsWantWritingStillsBookLyingHurtKnow HowIf I CouldIt HurtsLove Each Other
Book:Complete Stories
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“God, the bitter misery that reading works into this world! Everybody knows that - everbody who IS everybody. All the best minds have been off reading for years. Look at the swing La Rouchefoucauld took at it. He said that if nobody had ever learned to read, very few people would be in love. Good for you, La Rouchefoucauld; nice going, boy. I wish I’d never learned to read.”

PeopleIfsKnowsWorldYearsMindLooksHas BeensSaidWould BeReadingWishBoysNiceThis WorldMiseryBitterSwingsAll The Best
Author:Dorothy Parker
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“Then she told herself to stop her nonsense. If you looked for things to make you feel hurt and wretched and unnecessary, you were certain to find them, more easily each time, so easily, soon, that you did not even realize you had gone out searching. Women alone often developed into experts at the practice. She must never join their dismal league.”

IfsFeelsCertainRealizingHurtPracticeGoneLeagueExpertsNonsenseUnnecessaryWretched
Book:Complete Stories
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“Little Words When you are gone, there is nor bloom nor leaf, Nor singing sea at night, nor silver birds; And I can only stare, and shape my grief In little words. I cannot conjure loveliness, to drown The bitter woe that racks my cords apart. The weary pen that sets my sorrow down Feeds at my heart. There is no mercy in the shifting year, No beauty wraps me tenderly about. I turn to little words- so you, my dear, Can spell them out.”

YearsHeartLittlesI CanNightTurnsGriefGoneSeaMy HeartSorrowShapesSingingBirdMercyDearBitterStaringSilverPensSpellsWearyLeafsWoeShiftingWrapsCordsLovelinessRacks
Book:Not So Deep as a Well
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