Comprehensive information and links about Ogden Nash

Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet best known for writing pithy and funny light verse.

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Biography

Nash was born in Rye, New York. His father owned and operated an import-export company, and because of business obligations, the family relocated often.

In 1920, Nash entered Harvard University, only to drop out a year later. He worked his way through a series of jobs, eventually landing a position as an editor at Doubleday publishing house, where he first began to write poetry.

In 1931 he published his first collection of poems, , earning him national recognition. Some of his poems reflected an anti-establishment feeling. For example, one verse, entitled

When Nash wasn’t writing poems, he made guest appearances on comedy and radio shows and toured the United States and England, giving lectures at colleges and universities.

Nash was regarded respectfully by the literary establishment, and his poems were frequently anthologized even in serious collections such as Selden Rodman's 1946 collaborating with librettist S. J. Perelman and composer Kurt Weill. The show included the notable song "Speak Low (When You Speak Love)."

Nash died in 1971 and is interred in North Hampton, New Hampshire. His granddaughter, Fernanda Eberstadt, is an acclaimed author.

Nash was best known for surprising, pun-like rhymes, as in his retort to Dorothy Parker's dictum,

He often wrote in a signature verse form which creates a comic effect with pairs of lines that rhyme, but that are of dissimilar length and irregular meter. His poem

He develops this at some length, expounding on the superiority of sins of commission, because