Not Much Fun - The Lost Poems of Dorothy Parker (Hardcover)

During the early, struggling years of her storied literary career, Dorothy Parker wrote more than three hundred poems and verses for a variety of popular magazines and newspapers. Most of these have been collected in Parker's three volumes of poetry, Enough Rope, Sunset Gun, and Death and Taxes. It is the remaining poems, whose very existence was all but unknown for more than half a century, that make up this volume.

Eclectic and exuberant, the 122 poems and verses gathered in Not Much Fun display all the raw talent and verbal acuity of America's most celebrated wit. Some are rare examples of Parker's experimentation with structured poetic form; others are more personal, evoking the spirit of the times or scrutinizing the perils of passion. But each is a brilliant showcase of the legendary humor, irony, and precision that continue to attract generations of readers to Parker's work.

Editor Stuart Y. Silverstein provides an authoritative and immensely entertaining introduction that highlights some of Parker's most-loved acerbic quips, unearths a few long-forgotten scandals, and fully reveals her to be a pioneer of modern colloquial English. Not Much Fun is an essential addition to the Dorothy Parker library and an unexpected gift to her many admirers and devoted fans.