Life — June 6, 1912 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Modernist" - A Satirical Poem This page is primarily a satirical poem by "Mother G." mocking contemporary "modern" aesthetics and lifestyle choices of the 1920s. The poem ridicules a man who embraces all things fashionably modern—modern office, modern choice, modern evenings, modern dances—culminating in his death from a "modern stabbing" for a "juicy modern fee." The satire suggests that uncritical devotion to modernity is foolish and dangerous. The poem ends with his "charming modern widow" saying it was "too consulting" that he "died a modern death." The rest of the page contains truck advertisements (Mack, Saurer, Hewitt) and a canoe advertisement, with brief humorous snippets about combinations and servant mishaps—typical magazine filler of the era.