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On my way to Trinity College of Music on Mandeville Place as a student in the late 70s, I remember coming across Dorothy Parker's words graffitied on a wall: Razors pain you/Rivers are damp/Acids stain you and drugs cause cramp. Guns aren't lawful/Nooses give/Gas smells awful/You might as well live.

I may not have remembered it accurately - I went past the same wall every week for a month or so - but it made a powerful impression on me.

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Oh, I think you’ve got the wording about right there! That is one of her famous poems. It clearly had a powerful impression on you if you have still remembered it.

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As Renee commented, her later life view of her younger self is interesting. And how sad that her ashes remained unclaimed for such a long time. Thanks, as always, Kate.

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Thanks, Victoria!

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Oh, the story of Dorothy Parker's ashes!!

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I know! I was so interested in that.

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This is great and you've made me want to visit now.

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Sounds like a plan! 😀

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I haven't read much written from this time period so I really loved getting a bit of an education in it here. Great piece as always Kate.

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Thanks, Kathryn! I would definitely recommend giving some of Dottie’s short stories a go.

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I have discovered about myself over time that I am most interested in reading women authors from my own GenX era - mostly memoir - and rarely classics or bestsellers or things written by men.

There was a time when I felt guilty/weird/wrong about that because as a writer I’m “supposed to” know classics and bestsellers and yada yada.

But these days I’m super comfortable with that truth AND I like to expand into areas that might not be my norm but might also resonate right now. So, yes, I think I’ll try Dottie.

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I know exactly what you mean, Kathryn! Especially as someone who has studied English literature at degree and then Masters level, I often feel a sense of guilt when I most often choose more contemporary novels, memoirs, or non-fiction. But I think we also get so much from our contemporaries in regards to the ways we live now.

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Yes we do/ can! I think perhaps in younger years I also just really needed that a lot more. I still very much need the words of contemporary women on a regular basis but, in knowing and becoming myself more, I also have more space for opening to other eras and writers and truths.

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Fascinating. Parker’s opinion of the Round Table later in life is interesting - what looked like fun and sophisticated games to her younger self became transparent to her older self as having different roots.

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Yes, and although I’m fascinated by their ‘coolness’, I’m sure that in reality they were probably insufferable! I would still love to visit the Algonquin and take a peek though…

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