Dorothy Parker Society

Audio #1, Dorothy Parker: 1958 interview on the writing process and The Ladies of the Corridor. (3:26)
Audio #2, Arnaud d'Usseau: 1989 interview on meeting and working with Parker on The Ladies of the Corridor. Low volume. (8:33)
Audio #3, Marion Meade: 2008 interview on The Ladies of the Corridor and its relevance today. (7:35)
Audio #4, Irish radio show: 2008 arts program about Dorothy Parker, New York, and her legacy. (1 hour)
Audio #5, "Mr. Durant": 1995, Broadway actress Elaine Stritch reads Parker's classic 1924 short story. The story is from the Portable Dorothy Parker (available here). (31:19)
Audio #6, "Happy Birthday, Mrs. Parker": 2008, Broadway composer William Zeffiro recorded this original song for the annual Parker Society birthday party. The lyrics are here. (1:49)
Audio #7, Helen Beer Story: 2008, Helen Beer's parents were the caretakers for Dorothy Parker's house in Bucks County in the 1930s. Hear her tell a personal story about life with Mrs. Parker. (3:05)
Audio #8, BBC Interview: 2013, Kevin Fitzpatrick talks about Dorothy Parker and her legacy to BBC 5. It's a good thing this aired late-night.(25:00)

Dorothy Parker Audio

Dorothy Parker made two full-length LP recordings of her work. Verve asked her to read her poems and stories for a record called The World of Dorothy Parker (Verve V-15029). Her other LP is from Spoken Arts called An Informal Hour with Dorothy Parker (Spoken Arts 726). It is the best of the two: Parker reads more than two dozen of her favorite poems. It is from the latter that most of these audio clips are taken.

At the time of the recording sessions, Mrs. Parker was approaching age 71. Her voice ravaged by years of Chesterfields and Johnny Walker, this offers a peek at the real Mrs. Parker. She died three years after recording her work.

Special thanks to Jon Bradley Snyder of Spokane, WA, and Catherine Chodack of New Jersey for loaning me recordings of these 2 LPs. Note: The NAACP owns the copyright to these recordings, so copying them for commercial use or performance is prohibited.

You will need the free Real Player to play the clips. If someone wants to convert these to MP3, contact this site.

Dorothy Parker Audio

Name Length Originally Published

Men :35 Aug. 19, 1926, New York Life

Resume :17 Aug. 16, 1925, The New York World

One Perfect Rose :50 Jan. 4, 1923, The New York Life

Partial Comfort :17 Feb. 24, 1927, New York Life

Bohemia :35 Sept. 17, 1927, The New Yorker

Coda :34 March 22, 1928, New York World

The False Friends :44 Enough Rope

The Satin Dress 1:01 Jan. 20, 1926, New York World

A Fairly Sad Tale 1:11 Jan. 8, 1927, The New Yorker

They Part :30 Enough Rope

The Lady's Reward :56 April 13, 1933, NY Herald Tribune

The Evening Primrose :36 Aug. 24, 1929, The New Yorker

Afternoon :46 March 12, 1927, The New Yorker

The Burned Child :37 Aug. 19, 1926, New York Life

Recurrence :55 Aug. 28, 1925, New York World

Inscription for the Ceiling of a Bedroom 1:02 April 8, 1926, New York Life

The Counsellor; To Newcastle :39 July 28, 1927, New York Life

Plea 1:08 April 17, 1925, The New York Life

The Red Dress :47 June 9, 1927, The New York Life

The Little Old Lady in the Lavender Silk 1:31 Aug. 1, 1930, The New York World

The Veteran :48 Enough Rope

Parable for a Certain Virgin 1:33 April 23, 1927, The New Yorker

For an Unknown Lady :52 Aug. 19, 1926, New York Life

Story :33 July 14, 1927, The New York Life

Tombstones in the Starlight May 4, 1929, The New Yorker

I. The Minor Poet :25

II. The Pretty Lady :19

III. The Very Rich Man :20

IV. The Fisherwoman :14

V. The Crusader :17

VI. The Actress :21

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