Life — December 25, 1913 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Writer's Christmas Eve" - Analysis This is a satirical poem by Arthur Guiterman about a struggling writer on Christmas Eve. The illustration shows silhouettes of two well-dressed figures dancing or socializing. The satire contrasts the writer's poverty (he has only a "Fountain Pen" and narrow "Den") with visions of wealthy lifestyles. Shadow-form characters—described as "A Ruffian," "A Miser," "An Orphan Child," "A Sailor Boy," and "A Christmas Ghost"—taunt him with their Christmas wishes and possessions. The joke is that the needy writer fantasizes about his characters achieving prosperity while he remains impoverished. By poem's end, the writer faints from the emotional toll, leaving the punchline ambiguous: "Or shrieked aloud?—Not he!" It's gentle satirical commentary on the romantic struggling-artist trope and the gap between literary imagination and economic reality.