The Critical Waltz

"As its title suggests, The Critical Waltz: Essays on the Work of Dorothy Parker focuses on the writing, rather than the life, of one of the twentieth century's most famous underappreciated authors. Although Parker (1893-1967) is known as the caustic wit of the Jazz Age, her work embodies a range of sensibilities informed by the twin tensions of modernism and feminism." "What is the significance of Parker's work? This is the question that The Critical Waltz begins to answer by offering the first collection of criticism about Parker's writing. Five new essays, as well as two student essays, join thirteen essays published in journals and books since 1977. Organized into four parts - Modernist Contexts, Feminist Issues, Classroom Encounters, and Conversations - the arrangement of this volume reflects three broad categories that have emerged in the critical discussion of Parker's work since the late 1970s, followed by an interview and letters in which Parker speaks for herself."--Jacket.