Life, 1926-12-23 · page 33 of 37
Life — December 23, 1926 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes pretentious American intellectuals who affect European sophistication. The left column presents a tedious conversation between two men who constantly name-drop obscure European authors (Bojer, Hamsun, Fussovitch) and artists, while demonstrating their own shallowness—one asks to borrow money at the conversation's end, undermining their intellectual pretensions. The satire targets their affected speech patterns ("my dear fellow"), their dismissal of commercially successful American writers like Dreiser (whose popularity proves inferiority, they claim), and their contradictory values: they praise art over commerce while socializing with a broker's wife and considering publisher Horace Liveright's suggestions. The cigarette advertisement ironically undercuts this by celebrating American pragmatism—willingness to pay extra for quality—suggesting Americans have better judgment than the snobby conversation implies.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
el A? a AE a AG a Ak a A a NG a AE a AN a AEN a AE a AE a AN a AN a AN a AG a AE a AN a A a AG a AN a A a A a EN a AE a Intellectual Tea “—Y™, dear fellow—" —Of course, the un- informed might consider me_ suspi- cious of Bojer, Hamsun, Hardy, Reymont and other European so- called modern workmen simply be- cause they have attracted large sections of the populace. But I as- sure you I dislike them simply be- cause 1—er—well, that is—but now, take this young Russian, Guffski. Have you read him? Oh, you must. Such economy of orchestration, if I may use the word; such—” “But as I was saying the other day, | think Harry Mencken is about done for, After all, he is too Ameri- can—a failing common to the school he is supposed to have founded and fostered. Have I told you about al- most meeting him? On the train. you know. I recognized him by necktic, and—" “—My dear fellow, is it really you?—" But the best of the younger moderns is Fussovitch, I think. Have you 1 his book on ‘Abso- lute Beau Tt will repay wish somebody would translate it into English—” You see, Horace Liveright wanted the book, but suggested a minor change in plot, which I could not conscientiously perm To be sure, one must compromise in some matters, but in Art, my dear fel- low—" : ‘—And then we could drop in on Mollie Henderson for dinner. I know you'd like her. She'd be de- lighted to have us. You know, her husband is only a broker, but Mollie is so—well, different. You must mect her. Paints exquisitely, in a way Oh, yes, I am aware that the rican theatre is a purely com- mercial enterprise—but the Theatre Guild's crassness in refusing—” “—My dear fellow—"” “—By and large, however, Dreiser has failed. Imagine—his books are selling, and you know what that means. By the way, could you let me have twenty till to-morrow? Oh, well, it doesn’t matter.” “—That's young Gregory that has just come ii A brilliant chap, but determined to write for the Mercury. --Did you read that positively brutal article by Hergesheimer? You must. Foam, pure foam, my dear fellow—" “And where to-day are Melville, Conrad, Trollope, “and—er—well, the rest of them? You get the point—" “—Then he said he liked Tschai- kovski. I felt fairly ill. By the way, have you heard the Lenin Suite, Isnt zt natural? A EUROPEAN WIT says, “Americans not only want the best of everything — but spare nothing to get the best of everything.” “What a whale of a difference just a few cents make” A characteristic that explains, perhaps, why American cigarette smokers so willingly pay a few cents more to get Fatimas FA M A Liccerr & Myens Tosacco Co. by Blatski? You really must. A young Russo-Armenian living in Paris, and a genius, I assure you. He obtains an amazing syntax by basing his compositions on what he calls the diaphragmatic scale—" “My dear fellow—" W.T. 1927 Model “T HEAR the Shipleighs are having trouble arranging for their divorce.” “Yes, They feel the child needs both parents.” “What are they going to do?” “They're sending the child to boarding-school for a year while they take a trip around the world to get reconciled.” THE real trouble with our youth of to-day is that they were out all of the night before. Clark’s Famous Cruises By Conann-Ancuon new. oil burners at rates including hotels, guides, drives and fees. 62 days, $600 to $1700 MEDITERRANEAN 8s $s “Transylvania” sailing Jan. 29 23rd cruise, including Madei Spain _(Madrid—Cordov: giers, Tunis, Carthage, / Yonstanti- nople, 15 days Palestine and Egypt, Italy, the Riviera. Europe stop-overs 7th Round the World Cruise Jan, 19, N. Y.; Feb. 5, from Los Angeles; $1250 up. 3rd Norway-Mediterranean Cruise July 52 days, $600 to $1300. FRANK C. CLARK, Times Bldg., N. Y. OF BRAINS Cortez (AGARS |-MADE.AT KEY WEST—. comicbooks.com