Life, 1921-12-01 · page 48 of 58
Life — December 1, 1921 — page 48: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct pieces: **Left side:** A "Picture Title Contest" from Life magazine (deadline December 5th, offering $500 first prize). The octagonal illustration shows an interior scene with figures in various poses—apparently depicting urban life or domestic chaos. Without seeing the full image clearly, the exact satirical subject is unclear, though the contest invites readers to propose witty captions. **Right side:** Two prose pieces. "On the Death of Jazz" is a poem by John Kendrick Bangs arguing that despite reports jazz is dead, it persists everywhere—in poetry, politics, modernist art (zebra paintings, paint-pot pictures suggesting Cubism/Dada), pulpits, and even boiler factories. The satire mocks both jazz critics and the art world's pretensions. Below that, "A.D. ........?" is a brief utopian sketch imagining a perfectly regulated Christmas where gift-giving follows strict moral rules—no unwanted gifts, no exchanges, perfectly matched presents. The satire gently ridicules both excessive consumerism and idealized social planning.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Best T What Is the LIFE’S Title Contest For the best title to the picture on this page Lire will award prizes as follows: First Prize... 1 1. Second Prize, $300.00 Third Prize, $200.00 THE contest will be governed by the following RULES By “best” is understood that title which most describes the situation shown in the picture. The contest is now open. It will close at noon on next Monday, December 5th. Don’t delay in sending in your title. All titles should be addressed to Lire’s Picture Title Con- test, 598 Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y. Envelopes should contain nothing but the competing titles, typewritten or plainly written, with the name and address of the sender on each sheet. Use one side of paper only. Titles will be judged by three members of Lrre’s Edi- torial Staff, and their decision will be final. Titles may be original or may be a quotation from some well-kriown author. Contestants may send in more than one title. In case of ties, the full amount of the prize will be given to each tying contestant. The final award will be announced as early as possible after the close of the contest. Of this due notice will be given. Checks will be sent simultaneously with the an- nouncement of the award. The members of the staff of Lire are of course barred out of this contest. $500.00 cleverly On the Death of Jazz HEY tell me Jazz is dead, Yet back inside my head All sorts of jangled measures blare away, And still the raucous razz Of Jazz-Jazz-Jazz As noisily as ever holds its sway. I find it everywhere: On the earth and in the air, A-whirling o’er the countryside, and plunging in the sea, No matter what the time of day, or where I chance to be, In winter-time, in summer-time, in spring or autumn fair, The jingle-jangled jiggling Jazz is ever, ever there. I find it in the verse The Poets Free rehearse, All thrilling with the trilling of the gaz-gaz-gaz Of the Masters and Pilasters of pure Jazz. I find it in the talk Of those who ride or walk, In drawing-room, and attic, and below. I find it in the capers Of the Bolshevistic papers, And in the Oratory of the After-Dinner glow. You'll find it if you seek it in the painting of the hour With the figure of a Zebra as the model for a flower, And the spilling of a paint-pot with no line to it at all Doing duty as a picture of a Spanish Carnival. You'll find it in the Pulpit, and the Aldermen's debates, As well as in the places where they rivet boiler-plates, And its cackle without shackle maunders jazzily along In an endless masquerading as a substitute for song. Whence {’m forced to the conclusion that, if as the papers say, Old Jazz has gone to glory in the usual human way, ’Tis quite the livest corpus that mankind has ever met, And like some Politicians dead, has not been buried yet. John Kendrick Bangs. T was a merry Christmas. All gift giving was regulated. No one gave anything to anybody unless he wanted to No one received anything from anybody unless he deserved it. All undesirable gifts were abolished. Everybody re- ceived just what he or she liked and from just the person he or she liked to receive it from. There was no swapping. no exchanging. Gift books were forbidden. Shopping tours became unnecessary. Children were delighted with the toys they got and saw no reason to cry for the toys of other children. Husbands made no complaint about the cigars and neckties their wives gave them and wives were agreeably surprised hy the size of the checks their husbands lavished upon them. The largesse of the season more than satisfied the servants. Landlords declared a month’s free rent for all tenants. Janitors gave them—the tenants—their blessing and_posi- tively declined to be rewarded for so doing. It was indeed a merry Christmas. The nations declared all wars off and all international debts cancelled. The lion and the lamb lay down together. Peace was on the earth and goodwill was in the hearts of men. comicbooks.com