Judge, 1921-12-03 · page 15 of 36
Judge — December 3, 1921 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page profiles playwright and novelist **Booth Tarkington**, a major American literary figure. The sketch portrait shows him in profile, signed by the artist. The text chronicles Tarkington's volatile reputation among theater critics. His play *"Clarence"* initially faced widespread skepticism—critics openly doubted he could write drama—but became a major success, forcing critics to apologize. However, his subsequent play *"The Wren"* failed quickly, illustrating his unpredictable theatrical fortunes. The page celebrates his literary contributions as consistently valued despite theatrical ups-and-downs. Below is an unrelated humor section with two jokes: one mocking women's cooking versus sewing skills, and another—likely post-WWI—about a tourist who confined German sightseeing to devastated areas rather than natural attractions, implying Germany bore war's visible destruction.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
BOOTH NEWTON TARKINGTON, THE VERSATILE the past few years has been the wide discussion he has caused amongst the critics. Peculiarly with regard to his ability as a dramatist. Just before the production of “Clarence” much skepticism was flooding the market theatrical. It was openly admitted by all dramatic critics that Tarkington could not write a play. “Clarence” hadn’t a chance in a million for suc- cess. Its backers were foolhardy to attempt to fly in the face of doom with any play from the typewriter of Tarkington. Then came “Clarence,” his greatest success and the unanimous apology of the American critic. But there is always the delight of watching the rise and fall of his work in the theater. “The Wren” this year went on the rocks when scarcely out of port, and only the gods know what he is up to now or whether he'll hit the bull’s-eye with it or miss altogether. But come what may in the theater, his contributions to the literary field are always welcome and eagerly an- ticipated. 13 Why? Why is it that a woman will brag of her cooking and soft-pedal her dressmaking ability? And quite often she can make a better dress than dinner. No Chance Younkers—I suppose you saw the devastation wrought by the great war? Datson (just returned from Europe) —No, I confined my sightseeing to Germany. comicbooks.com