Ogden Nash: The Life and Work of America's Laureate of Light Verse

The philosopher poet, Ogden Nash,Though born and wed to privilege, was throughout his lifetime frightfully far from bogged in cash(Or at least he so lamented).Doug Parker says, while assuring us his penury never quite preventedNash from keeping house or housesServant-staffed while traveling in luxury with wife and kids and friends with kids and spouses.Though his efforts yielded flopsIn Hollywood and Broadway ventures, rhymes he wrote for glossies and anthologies and his hopsAround the lecture circuit(Which, though ruinous To his fragile health, he never would quite shirk it)Kept his ledger black enough.Indeed, couplets comparing the speed of bonbons versus bourbon and similar wacky stuff(Like rhymes that ridiculedA bluenosed "Ut" named Smoot whose Senate stint by tariff acts and smiting smut was fueled)Consistently kept Mr. Nash `n'Fran `n' Lin `n' Isabel (his wife and daughters) living in quite comfy fashion.Nash's life was not a bore,But Parker's grand obsession With minutia made me often want to holler "Less is more!"And, moreover, many others'In the story, though tangential, Had lives of greater interest were I to voice my `druthers.:-)- stanwhjr -

As I am in the middle of reading two other books, I've only scanned and read a bit of this book but what I've read has been delightful and interesting. Nash was a marvelously interesting man with an equally interesting life. As a child, I so enjoyed reading verse and limericks. From about age 7 or 8, I knew when I saw his name as author, I was in for some laughter and brain tickling reading. Doug Parker's book is a delightful expose of the life & times of the man behind those clever verses. I'm looking forward to reading the entire book.

Douglas Parker's book is a wonderful biography of Ogden Nash, an important American poet. Nash's name may no longer be commonplace in many American homes; if so, Parker's book will go a long way in restoring Nash's name among the elite of American poets. Parker carefully presents Nash's life in chronological sequence, highlighting the influences and experiences that shaped his work. Throughout Parker liberally draws Nash's poetry into his story to allow Nash to speak for himself. The result is a book in which Nash's personality and talent rise to the surface and Parker's voice recedes into the background. I enjoyed the book very much and recommend it to anyone interested in learning about Ogden Nash and his role in 20th c. literature.

Ogden Nash: The Life and Work of America's Laureate of Light Verse led me to expect some of the famous Nash verses but it was a biography only so had to order a separate book of verses. Still think of him as the master of light verse!

Loave Ogden North's poetry, wanted to know more about him.s

Great inside view of this wonderful humorist.

Ogden Nash is an example of how our need to label things can cheat us of clearly seeing something that is actually quite unique and important. It is an understandable problem because it is hard to put a meaningful label on something that stands apart. We say that he is the poet laureate of light verse, or a humorist, or a writer of joke verse. His detractors call him a bad poet because he is "not serious". Balderdash. He was a very serious writer. Though many have tried to copy him by going after some of his rhythms and wonderfully forced rhymes, they never pull it off because they are not as serious or as talented has he.Nash said that he looked on his work as essays in verse (pg 245) and noted several times how hard he had to work to create his works. Never mind the fact that at one book signing he wrote a couplet along with his signature and of course everyone else wanted one, too. That evening he had to spontaneously create 100 of these witty little things. It was an incredibly draining evening.What is it about Nash's work that makes it stand apart? Well, it is genuinely funny. Not because it goes in for the cheap giggle or the linguistic pratfall. It is because he has something real to say first and then has the ability to give the meaning energy and lift in fabulous words that are just right and the humor makes the point all the more meaningful and memorable. Even when he does lay the verbal egg it is done with purpose and care in a way that rewards the reader. Nash lets you know that he knows that you know that he knows what the joke is and you are in it together.This biography has a lot to do with his wife and daughters and that is appropriate since his domestic life informed so much of his work. His publishers, for magazines and books, also make many appearances since he was an author who made his living from his earnings through publishing. The New Yorker has a central place with his various editors over the years. It is all very interesting stuff.However interesting the life, it is the work we hold close and Douglas Parker makes good selections and includes a lot of appropriate, relevant, and delightful works by Nash in his text. We owe Mr. Parker a debt of gratitude and we can show that by purchasing this valuable book, reading it, and then digging into Ogden Nash once again. Maybe we can get a revival of Nashomania going!

Nece bio but I would have liked more poetry.