In honor of my first week living in New York City, I chose three of my favorite NYC writers for you to marry, date or dump. Let me know who you would pick in the comments and wish me luck – orientation starts today!
Marry, Date or Dump: Dorothy Parker, Edith Wharton, & Edna St. Vincent Millay
Alison Doherty 
Ok not willing dump anyone or marry anyone – all seem a little too high maintenance to me – so I would date all them – Dorothy Parker because she would be so fun but exhausting, Edna because she could express my angst and Edith because she could give endless insights and social commentary.
I think all of them (except probably Edith) would approve of the polyamorous lifestyle you have planned.
This was a though one.
At first I thought I would marry Edith Wharton. I LOVE Age of Innocence (one of my favorite books) and I so admire her as a break out female novelist – and she has a fantastic house with an intellectual salon – but then I realized how incredibly conservative her politics were. She didn’t just live in the 1% and write about the 1% – she really believed it.
So I can’t decide if I would dump Edith Wharton – or date her. There is no way I could marry her.
At first I thought I would date Dorothy Parker – what could be more fun! But the more I thought about her commitment to her ideals – the more I decided maybe she was the girl for me. Although I agree with Martha, it would be exhausting.
Could I marry Dorothy Parker WHILE I am dating Edith Wharton? Then I could take a weekend off every month and leave what I truly believe in but is wearing me out for a weekend at the “spa” – Edith Wharton’s house in the Berkshires where everyone would have bad values – but life would be easy.
I am ambivalent about Edna St Vincent Millay – I wish I weren’t.
I think your plan is a good one.
I also think Millay is the right choice to dump. I like her poems, but she sounds like kind of an awful person.