Life, 1911-06-08 · page 7 of 44
Life — June 8, 1911 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page celebrates the publishing industry during spring. The text defends books against rumors that publishing is declining, asserting that several new books are being released and that publishers deserve celebration alongside authors. The illustration below depicts a young author (seated left, writing) surrounded by well-dressed visitors in a parlor setting. The caption "What to Do With Them Next" indicates the satire: the author faces difficulties with **characters who object to their fictional portrayal**—a common literary controversy where real people recognized themselves in fictional works and complained. The humor targets the social awkwardness authors faced when their characters' lines or actions offended people who suspected they were depicted.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
pre coe OOKS are still being published in this country. Several rumors, exceedingly damaging to the book trade, to the effect that no more books will be issued, have been going the rounds, and we hasten to correct such erroneous impressions. No attempt on the part of anybody has been made, of course, to assert or even remotely to hint that we are mak- ing a literature. Nobody, so far as we know, wants a litera- ture. We prefer best sellers. When we really want a litera- ture we shall no doubt have it. In the meantime we wish to emphasize the fact that this year several books are being published that have never been published before. Spring is the scason of Nature's most lavish output— why not the publisher's also? Some people may object that the output of the publisher docs not resemble that of Na- ture; but this criticism seems to us to be trivial. The sim- ple fact that Nature and the publishers are working together means everything. And therefore we are pxaning our pans of literary joy. We celebrate books. We celebrate literary people. We hail au- thors and authoresses. We take off our hats to all type- writers, to all typesetting machines, to printing presses, and to the great public that devours the output thereof. ‘The glory is ours. No one can deprive us of it | ci ity iit u WHAT TO DO WITH THEM NEXT SHOWING A YOUNG AUTHOR IN DIFFICULTIES WITH SOME OF HIS CHARACTERS, WHO OBJECT TO THEIR LINES