Life, 1919-05-29 · page 16 of 42
Life — May 29, 1919 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top cartoon satirizes Mrs. Noah's regret during the Biblical flood—she wasted time gardening instead of preparing, a joke about poor priorities during crisis. The "Genius" poem mocks pretentious poets who credit their wealth entirely to their literary work (their "Lyric," "Ballad," "Sonnet"). The satire suggests poets are deluded: they actually live meagerly ("a Stanza a day") while claiming poetry funded their lifestyle. It's a jab at Romantic-era artistic self-importance. "From the Editor's Standpoint" references spring 1918 or nearby—during WWI. The editor notes war poetry has become unbearably bad, suggesting the conflict produced more mediocre verse than ever. "Snap Shots" offers aphorisms: necessity breeds innovation (the "nut sundae" joke); love connects hearts; and the 52,000 French wounded soldiers serve as a grim reminder of war's cost. The bottom cartoon, "His First Night in the Country," appears to show someone's amusing first rural experience (unclear specifics from this excerpt).
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Mrs. Noah (as the flood begins): My coopNess! 1 WISH I HADN’T WASTED ALL THE TIME Genius kk how I found me surround so lavishly strews? derivation This wealth is the gift of the Muse! This marvelous mansion Was builded on Sea om And furnished completely by (That bench in the ingle Is merely a c. And holds only two at a time.) Rhyme. My petrol cight-seater Was purchased by Metre— Dactylic, preferred. My abode At wave-girt Seaconet Is due to a Sonnet, A Rondeau, a Lay and an Ode. Our taxes inspired The Lyric required To pay them. Your lunch, by the way Including the salad, Was part of a Ballad— We live on a Stanza a day. So hour by hour I weave im my tower Great Epic or Epigram small. And how do I do it? WATERING THE GARDEN T thought th w itt Pure Genius, brute Genius: t you k that’s all! AG From the Editor's Standpoint ALL It’s an we're having this year. Eortor: than T ever knew them to be. awful spring Yes, the poems are worse Snap Shots CESSITY is the mother of the nut sundae. The world often lies between two hearts that beat in unison. Fifty-two thousand wounded soldiers from France will be a perpetual re minder of how soon we can forg HIS FIRST NIGHT IN THE COUNTRY