Dearest Friends—

Welcome back to our Friday Note.

This week we’re celebrating the writerly wit of an American great. 

Observing

This week in 1893, Dorothy “Dottie” Parker (August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was born. Parker was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York who sold her first poem to Vanity Fair in 1914, and went on to publish 300 poems and free verses in various magazines throughout her career. “I hate the office;It cuts in on my social life.” Our Office: A Hate Song, ran in the May 1919 issue of Vanity Fair. Her editorial career took her to Vogue, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker and she was a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table. Also known as the “Vicious Circle”, it is the most celebrated group in American literature and included 24 of New York’s literati in-crowd at the time. 

Listening

Parker’s bestselling first book of poetry, Enough Rope, was her trademark cynicism and included commentary on clichéd romantic gestures between men and women.Listen to "One Perfect Rose" by Dorothy Parker (read by Helena Bonham Carter). 

Writing

”Wherever she went, including here, it was against her better judgment.” Parker wrote many witty epitaphs. How would you like to be memorialised? Write your own. 

Sharing

In this section, we’d love for you to share all the wonderful things you’re doing and writing with the wider Dark Angels family. Keep sending us your poems, writings, links and writerly whatnots. 

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Diary 

Weekly Tuesday Gatherings
Join us for a reflective hour of reading, writing and communing led by Neil Baker. Everyone is welcome; in fact, invite a friend along. We meet at 7pm UK time. To join us, click here on the night. There’s no need to register in advance and we’ll be using the same link every week from now on. 

26 Orphans: Creative Writing Workshop
As part of a project for writers’ group 26 with the Foundling Museum in London, devised by John and called 26 Orphans, John & Neil will be running a creative workshop based on Dark Angels thinking.The workshop will be in the morning and in the afternoon there will be a tour of the museum with readings from some of the 26 writers involved. And it’s all part of the Bloomsbury Festival on Saturday 22 October.You can find out more and book a ticket here through the Foundling Museum. 

Writing With Constraints: London, 9 November
One way to make writing easier is to make it harder. That sounds illogical, but putting some obstacles in the way of your writing can be a great way to get the creative juices flowing.Whether you are a first timer, an experienced writer or all-round creative person, this will be an enjoyable and rewarding workshop. Find out more about the Writing with constraints workshop on the website. 

Be well, keep reading, keep writing and know that we’re always here.

From everyone at Dark Angels
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash