Life, 1926-03-25 · page 23 of 40
Life — March 25, 1926 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes the 1920s Florida real estate boom and the influx of leisure-seeking tourists and transplants to Miami. The illustration depicts a hedonistic, crowded beach scene with people swimming, lounging, and socializing—capturing the era's image of Miami as a paradise destination. The accompanying poem "Local Color" expresses weariness with Manhattan's urban bustle and yearns for escape to tropical leisure. It references Miami's attractions (palm trees, alligators, ocean) while mocking the literary pretensions of the floating population—writers and intellectuals flocking to Florida seeking inspiration and relaxation. The satire targets both the escapist fantasy of 1920s tourism and the bohemian artistic set migrating southward, suggesting their retreat from serious life was frivolous and self-indulgent. The term "floating population" itself implies rootlessness and instability—these weren't permanent residents but temporary pleasure-seekers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Local Color AM weary of the bustle, Jo Manhattan's hectic hi Of my Of the Let me Inav of my labors, I, daily Where neurotic, idiotic Lite Where th Gives away to } For my known. y, chilly riot ly quiet, let_me try it Just a while, and be alone, Where th Cr to fat. 5 Or the m un Is a lotio my soul Where I'll be the major Will be f And unsocial, on the whole Where the wild or: tive, unassertive, In forgott ywhere | A | Ui | ith literary legions Are the lava-crested px hewan and Sweden ited Eden Flock the literary cliques Where the alligator cruises And s Float the wooers of the seaweed oozes, ng novels on the creeks. THE FLOATING POPULATION OF MIAMI The Value of Regimen ] BELIEVE in tat myself T heli All the silence and seclusi most p Unmolested used to roam As the smiters of typewriters believe s. Ey athways comb. — mornin for half an — the sea M o Ti find my s asis minutes b and apply a The Ambitious Linguist ROFESSOR: Which one protecti what-your modern language courses do you I take ample wish to study? indeed for Sr sir, I've never been mouthful fi player comicbooks.com