Life — May 31, 1923 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "In Old New York" by Arthur Guiterman This poem satirizes nostalgic romanticization of New York's past. The text mocks those who sentimentally recall an idealized "Old New York" from "five-and-twenty years ago," claiming their hearts were "young and light as cork" and their manners superior. The satire targets specific nostalgia: references to Van Wyck (likely Mayor Van Wyck), "formal dance," and "plays of gay romance" evoke a supposedly genteel era. However, Guiterman undercuts this by questioning whether that past was genuinely superior—noting ladies' impractical fashions and the reality that New York was always primarily about commerce and ambition ("Broadway and down again"). The final lines deflate the romance: the "simple town / Of only one or two poor million" was never truly quaint. The illustration shows crowded urban life, supporting the poem's message that nostalgic memory distorts reality.