The City of Nashville was named for Uncle Frank
In the war with Great Britain he held a general’s rank
Young Ogden said no to all that doo-dah
So they named after him that town in Utah
I love Ogden Nash for his name alone. And yes, Nashville was named for his great, great uncle Francis. I also admire him because he made a good living by his very short poems. That was his secret: he encapsulated great truths in a few lines.
A Word to Husbands
To keep your marriage brimming
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever your wrong admit it:
Whenever you’re right, shut up.
There's a truth admitted by all to be right. And no one but Ogden Nash could have put it so prettily. It took Nash many years to settle on poetry as an occupation. He claims he started rhyming at the age of six and admitted that finding the right rhyme can be hard. It became easier when he started making up his own words which is the right of any real poet.
Further Reflections on Parsley
He tried Harvard but that was too serious a place for him. So he went to New York and tried to sell bonds, but never got the hang of it. In two years he only sold one bond and that one to his godmother.
Introspective Reflection
He got a job writing the ads on streetcars and started sending his poems to The New Yorker which recognized his genius. In 1931 he got married and published his first book which became a best seller. He never looked back. He led a charmed life appearing on TV, giving lectures, writing screenplays, and of course writing hundreds and hundreds of more poems.
When he died at age 68 in 1971 his obituary said his "droll verse with its unconventional rhymes made him the best-known producer of humorous verse in the country." He could slip a serious one in occasionally.
Old Men
People expect old men to die,
They do not really mourn old men.
Old men are different. People look
At them with eyes that wonder when...
People watch with unshocked eyes;
But old men know when an old man dies.
Even as old men ...
ReplyDeleteWe’d awrestled to Roseau, poppin’ up, poppin’ down
Beaver dams, log jams, an’ switch backs we’d round
Snarlin’ and bitin’, bloody scum would arise
Yowlin’ and growlin’, pokin’ each other’s eyes
We’d ‘ave done it you know, fought into the dawn
We’d rolled under cars and across the lawn
We’d ‘ave wrecked Volkswagens and snow-covered mowers
Kickin’ an’ clawin’ the other all o’er
That we would.
He seemed to have insights into a variety of family experiences:
ReplyDeleteFamily Court
One would be in less danger
From the wiles of a stranger
If one’s own kin and kith
Were more fun to be with.