Zelda Fitzgerald And Other Fabulous Flappers (Documentaries)

Good day my little vegetarian popsicles! I watched and enjoyed the first series of Z: The Beginning Of Everything. It’s no Mad Men or The Wire but it’s entertaining and I’m fascinated by the era (as you may have noticed) and the Fitzgeralds.

Zelda just hanging out

Zelda had only one novel published, Save Me The Last Waltz, and you can read a short story of hers here from before she met Scott. I’d also recommend her sort of biography. However I was unable to find any documentaries on Zelda herself, though that might change since she’s had something of a media renaissance lately. With that in mind here are some other fabulous 1920s ladies.

Josephine Baker was THE iconic lady of 1920s Paris. Dancer, singer, artist’s muse and activist, she paved the way for other black superstars and never gave up, despite some terrible treatment in her native America.

Clara Bow was all but forgotten until recent times, but in her day she was as popular as Marilyn Monroe. The refreshingly honest and brash New Yorker was never accepted into the Hollywood elite and sought solace in her fans, turning her back on the town once and for all after a series of scandals. For another documentary about her click here.

Louise Brooks was one of the most chic women to grace the silent pictures. She, too, suffered a fall once sound hit due to studio bosses using it as a threat: “stop embarrassing us by going out with lots of men or we’ll tell everyone your voice was horrible,” but she turned out to be a fantastic writer.

Intense and brooding onscreen, Anna May Wong would be forever cast as the exotic ‘other,’ imitated by white women at Hollywood parties she was unable to attend herself. Anna didn’t let that stop her though, and wasn’t afraid to try new mediums like ‘television.’

Though I don’t have a documentary about Dorothy Parker I couldn’t let her go unmentioned. As you might be able to tell from my live video of her story But The One On The Right and my post of various others reading her work, I’m a big fan.

However you can’t have Dorothy without mentioning The Algonquin Round Table and I did find a documentary on that. The mention of her is fairly brief but you get the spirit of her life in New York as a wit and poet along with equally vibrant characters. If you’re interested there’s a biopic called Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle. It’s flawed but still quite interesting.

Ta dah! So put on your party frock and mix some gin (or lemonade, up to you) and enjoy!

Surrealists, Flappers and Gothic Horror: My Favourite Story Readings

Merry holidays one and all! I’m going to take two weeks off after today but, never fear, I shall leave you with the wonderful words of some of my favourite writers.

Lately I’ve been doing a series of story readings called The Onesie Tales in which I read whilst wearing full length pajamas and no make up. There’s no massive reasoning behind this other than my pajamas are very comfortable and I’m quite lazy. I’ll be continuing this in the New Year so if you’d like to join me subscribe to my youtube channel to be notified of the next one.

In the meantime here are readings of surrealists Leonora Carrington, Haruki Murakami, Algonquin Round Table wit Dorothy Parker and Gothic weird lady Daphne du Maurier. Enjoy!

P.S. The ending of the first video is very embarrassing. I didn’t realise I was still recording and I talk in a silly voice to my boyfriend Bill and look for my glasses like a drunk aunt at Christmas.

Dorothy Parker Reads Her Poems And Short Stories

Dorothy Parker, acidic wit of the Algonquin Round Table in 1920s New York, has recently become one of my favourite writers since reading her Collected Short Stories. They’re wonderful snapshots of urban twenties (and beyond) city life, often monologues or dialogues that are painfully honest and fiercely well-observed. People don’t change too much and the characters are still recognisable today.

Here are some clips of her poetry and prose courtesy of the world web.

Dorothy herself reads one of her more disturbing poems, a comedic take on suicide (she was known for her attempts on her own life) Resume:

Here is a reading of probably her most famous story A Telephone Call. It’s something most people at one time or another can relate to.

Anne Hathaway reads from her short story The Garter:

Dorothy wishing for more in One Perfect Rose:

A man with a crazily husky voice reads her funny and painfully true insight of a man afraid of what he did the night before in You Were Perfectly Fine: