Plum fountain pen across blank cream paper hearts with a small ink stain, plus small plum flowers

Original artwork, not a still

The Portable Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker

Poets alone should kiss and tell.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Dorothy Parker jokes that gossiping about a romance is bad manners for everyone except poets. Their kissing-and-telling comes out as verse, which somehow makes it acceptable. It's a witty exemption, granting writers permission to turn private affairs into art.

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