Candy Is Dandy But liquor Is quicker.
"Reflections on Ice-Breaking" in Hard Lines (1931); this statement is often misattributed to Dorothy Parker.
Man is a victim of dopeIn the incurable form of hope.
"Good-by, Old Year, You Oaf or Why Don't They Pay the Bonus?" in The Primrose Path (1935)
Every New Year is the direct descendant, isn't it, of a long line of proven criminals?
"Good-by, Old Year, You Oaf or Why Don't They Pay the Bonus?" in The Primrose Path (1935)
Just when you think that at least the outlook is so black that it can grow no blacker, it worsens,And that is why I do not like the news, because there has never been an era when so many things were going so right for so many of the wrong persons.
"Everybody Tells Me Everything" in The Face Is Familiar (1940)
A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of.
"A Dog's Best Friend Is His Illiteracy" in The Private Dining Room (1953)
I dreamt that my hair was kempt. Then I dreamt that my true love unkempt it.
"My Dream" in You Can't Get There from Here (1957)
It is common knowledge to every schoolboy and even every Bachelor of Arts,That all sin is divided into two parts.One kind of sin is called a sin of commission, and that is very important And it is what you are doing when you are doing something you ortant...
"Portrait of the Artist as a Prematurely Old Man" in The Family Album of Favorite Poems (1959) edited by P. Edward Ernest.
It is the sin of omission, the second kind of sin,That lays eggs under your skin.
"Portrait of the Artist as a Prematurely Old Man" (1959)
The moral is that it is probably better not to sin at all, but ifsome kind of sin you must be pursuing,Well, remember to do it by doing rather than by not doing.
"Portrait of the Artist as a Prematurely Old Man" (1959)
To keep your marriage brimming, With love in the loving cup, Whenever you're wrong, admit it; Whenever you're right, shut up.
"A Word to Husbands" in Marriage Lines (1964)
Frederic Ogden Nash was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poetA poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
well known for his
light verseLight poetry, or light verse, is poetry that attempts to be humorous. Poems considered "light" are usually brief, and can be on a frivolous or serious subject, and often feature word play, including puns, adventurous rhyme and heavy alliteration...
. At the time of his death in 1971, the
New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said his "droll verse with its unconventional
rhymeA rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds in two or more words and is most often used in poetry and songs. The word "rhyme" may also refer to a short poem, such as a rhyming couplet or other brief rhyming poem such as nursery rhymes.-Etymology:...
s made him the country's best-known producer of humorous poetry".
Early life
Nash was born in
RyeRye is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the town of Rye, which is larger than the city. Rye city, formerly the village of Rye, was part of the town until 1942, when it received its charter as a city, the most recent to be issued in New York...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. His father owned and operated an import-export company, and because of business obligations, the family relocated often.
His family lived briefly in Savannah, GA in a carriage house owned by
Juliette Gordon LowJuliette Gordon Low was an American youth leader and the founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA in 1912.-Early life:...
, founder of the
Girl Scouts of the USAThe Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 and was organized after Low...
; he wrote a poem about Mrs. Low's House. After graduating from
St. George's SchoolSt. George's School is a private, Episcopal, coeducational boarding school in Middletown, Rhode Island, USA, just east of the city of Newport. The school was founded in 1896 by the Rev. John Byron Diman, a member of a prominent Rhode Island family. It sits on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean...
in
Middletown, Rhode IslandMiddletown is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 16,150 at the 2010 census. It lies to the south of Portsmouth and to the north of Newport on Aquidneck Island, hence the name "Middletown."-Geography:...
, Nash entered
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1920, only to drop out a year later. He returned to St. George's to teach for a year and left to work his way through a series of other jobs, eventually landing a position as an editor at Doubleday publishing house, where he first began to write poetry.
Nash moved to Baltimore, Maryland, three years after marrying Frances Leonard, a Baltimore native. He lived in Baltimore from 1934 and most of his life until his death in 1971. Nash thought of Baltimore as home. After his return from a brief move to New York, he wrote "I could have loved New York had I not loved Balti-more."
His first job in New York was as a writer of the streetcar card ads for a company that previously had employed another Baltimore resident,
F. Scott FitzgeraldFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
. Nash loved to rhyme. "I think in terms of rhyme, and have since I was six years old," he stated in a 1958 news interview. He had a fondness for crafting his own words whenever rhyming words did not exist, though admitting that crafting rhymes was not always the easiest task.
In 1931 he published his first collection of poems,
Hard Lines, earning him national recognition. Some of his poems reflected an anti-establishment feeling. For example, one verse, entitled
Common Sense, asks:
- Why did the Lord give us agility,
- If not to evade responsibility?
Writing career
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
A New Anthology of Modern Poetry.
Nash was the lyricist for the Broadway musical
One Touch of VenusOne Touch of Venus is a musical with music written by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ogden Nash, and book by S. J. Perelman and Nash, based on the novella The Tinted Venus by Thomas Anstey Guthrie, and very loosely spoofing the Pygmalion myth. The show satirizes contemporary American suburban values,...
, collaborating with librettist
S. J. PerelmanSidney Joseph Perelman, almost always known as S. J. Perelman , was an American humorist, author, and screenwriter. He is best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for The New Yorker...
and composer
Kurt WeillKurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
. The show included the notable song "
Speak Low"Speak Low" is a popular song composed by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Ogden Nash. It was introduced by Mary Martin and Kenny Baker in the Broadway musical One Touch of Venus . The 1944 hit single was by Guy Lombardo and his orchestra, with vocal by Billy Leach...
". He also wrote the lyrics for the 1952
revueA revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
Two's Company.
Nash and his love of the
Baltimore ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....
were featured in the December 13, 1968 issue of
LifeLife generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
, with several poems about the
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team matched to full-page pictures. Entitled "My Colts, verses and reverses," the issue includes his poems and photographs by Arthur Rickerby. "Mr. Nash, the league leading writer of light verse (Averaging better than 6.3 lines per carry), lives in Baltimore and loves the Colts" it declares. The comments further describe Nash as "a fanatic of the Baltimore Colts, and a gentleman." Featured on the magazine cover is defensive player
Dennis GaubatzDennis Gaubatz was a linebacker in the NFL....
, number 53, in midair pursuit with this description: "That is he, looming 10 feet tall or taller above the
SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
' signal caller...Since Gaubatz acts like this on Sunday, I'll do my quarterbacking Monday." Memorable Colts
Jimmy OrrJimmy Orr is a former American Football wide receiver who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Colts for 13 seasons from 1958 to 1970. Orr was a two-time Pro Bowler, as a Steeler in 1959 and as a Colt in 1965...
,
Billy Ray SmithBilly Ray Smith, Sr. was a National Football League defensive lineman .-NFL career:Billy Ray Smith, Sr. began his NFL career in 1957, as the third round draft pick for the Los Angeles Rams. He was traded to the Steelers in 1958 and played for Pittsburgh until 1960...
,
Bubba SmithCharles Aaron "Bubba" Smith was an American professional football player who became an actor after his retirement from the sport. He first came into prominence at Michigan State University, where he twice earned All-American honors as a defensive end on the Spartans football team...
,
Willie RichardsonWillie Louis Richardson is a former professional American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League. He played nine seasons for the Baltimore Colts and the Miami Dolphins...
,
Dick SzymanskiRichard "Dick" Szymanski was a center who played fourteen seasons with the Baltimore Colts in the National Football League. Szymanski attended the University of Notre Dame and Scott High School....
and
Lou MichaelsLou Michaels is a former American football player who was a standout defensive lineman for the University of Kentucky Wildcats, 1955-57. After Kentucky's victory over archrival Tennessee in 1957, Michaels was quoted as saying, "Nothing sucks like a Big Orange." Michaels later played pro football...
contribute to the poetry.
Among his most popular writings were a series of animal verses, many of which featured his off-kilter rhyming devices. Examples include "If called by a panther / Don't anther"; "Who wants my jellyfish? / I'm not sellyfish!". This is his ode to the llama:
- The one-L lama,
- He's a priest.
- The two-L llama,
- He's a beast.
- And I would bet
- A silk pajama
- There isn't any
- Three-L lllama.
(Nash appended a footnote to this poem: "The author's attention has been called to a type of conflagration known as a
three-alarmerOne-alarm, two-alarm, three-alarm fires, or higher, are categories of fires indicating the level of response by local authorities, with an elevated number of alarms indicating increased commitment of resources. The term multiple-alarm is a quick way of indicating that a fire was severe and...
. Pooh.")
Death and subsequent events
Nash died of
Crohn's diseaseCrohn's disease, also known as regional enteritis, is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, causing a wide variety of symptoms...
at
Johns Hopkins HospitalThe Johns Hopkins Hospital is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland . It was founded using money from a bequest by philanthropist Johns Hopkins...
in Baltimore on May 19, 1971. He is interred in
North Hampton, New HampshireNorth Hampton is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,301 at the 2010 census. While the majority of the town is inland, North Hampton includes a part of New Hampshire's limited Atlantic seacoast.-History:...
's East Side Cemetery. His daughter Isabel was married to noted photographer Fred Eberstadt, and his granddaughter,
Fernanda EberstadtFernanda Eberstadt is an American writer.-Early life:She is the daughter of two patrons of New York City's avant-garde, Frederick Eberstadt, a photographer and psychotherapist, and Isabel Eberstadt, a writer...
, is an acclaimed author.
A biography,
Ogden Nash: the Life and Work of America's Laureate of Light Verse, was written by Douglas M. Parker, published in 2005 and in paperback in 2007. The book was written with the cooperation of the Nash family and quotes extensively from Nash's personal correspondence as well as his poetry.
Poetic style
Nash was known to be openly racist. In his more racist verse, Nash has tended to ignore reality and demonize. The following poem about Japanese-Americans has been denounced as 'irresponsible' for its fanning flames of anti-Japanese-American hatred and the false libel of Japanese-Americans 'stealing' American land.
How courteous is the Japanese; He always says, "Excuse it, please." He climbs into his neighbor's garden. And smiles, and says, "I beg your pardon;" He bows and grins a friendly grin, And calls his hungry family in; He grins, and bows a friendly bow; "So sorry, this my garden now."
Nash was best known for surprising,
punThe pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
-like rhymes, sometimes with words deliberately misspelled for comic effect, as in his retort to
Dorothy ParkerDorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th century urban foibles....
's humorous dictum,
Men seldom make passes/At girls who wear glasses:
- A girl who is bespectacled
- She may not get her nectacled
- But safety pins and bassinets
- Await the girl who fassinets.
He often wrote in an exaggerated verse form with pairs of lines that rhyme, but are of dissimilar length and irregular meter:
- Once there was a man named Mr. Palliser and he asked his wife, May I be a gourmet?
- And she said, You sure may,
- But she also said, If my kitchen is going to produce a Cordon Blue,
- It won't be me, it will be you,
- And he said, You mean Cordon Bleu
Cordon Bleu may refer to:* Le Cordon Bleu, international group of hospitality management and cooking schools teaching French cuisine* Cordon Bleu, A thinly pounded piece of meat stuffed with ham and cheese, then breaded and fried.* Cordon Bleu * Order of the Holy Spirit, also known and subtitled...
?
- And she said to never mind the pronunciation so long as it was him and not heu.
Nash's poetry was often a playful twist of an old saying or poem. He expressed this playfulness in what is perhaps his most famous rhyme. Nash observed the following in a turn of
Joyce KilmerAlfred Joyce Kilmer was an American journalist, poet, literary critic, lecturer, and editor. Though a prolific poet whose works celebrated the common beauty of the natural world as well as his religious faith, Kilmer is remembered most for a short poem entitled "Trees" , which was published in...
's words: "I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree."
- I think that I shall never see
- A billboard
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
lovely as a tree.
- Indeed, unless the billboards fall
- I'll never see a tree at all.
Similarly, in
Reflections on Ice-Breaking he wrote:
- Candy
- Is dandy
- But liquor
- Is quicker.
He also commented:
- I often wonder which is mine:
- Tolerance, or a rubber spine?
His one-line observations are often quoted.
- People who work sitting down get paid more than people who work standing up.
- Progress might have been all right once, but it has gone on too long.
Other poems
Nash was a
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
fan, and he wrote a poem titled "
Line-Up for YesterdayLine-Up for Yesterday: An ABC of Baseball Immortals is a poem written by Ogden Nash for the January 1949 issue of SPORT Magazine. In the poem, Nash dedicates each letter of the alphabet to an iconic Major League Baseball player...
", an alphabetical poem listing baseball immortals. Published in
Sport magazineSPORT magazine was an American sports magazine. Launched in September 1946 by the New York-based publisher, Macfadden Publications, SPORT pioneered the generous use of color photography – it carried eight full colour plates in its first edition – and almost immediately became half-bible, half-guru...
in January 1949, the poem pays tribute to the baseball greats and to his own fanaticism, in alphabetical order. Here is a sampling from his A to Z list:
- C is for Cobb
Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia...
, Who grew spikes and not corn, And made all the basemen Wish they weren't born.
- D is for Dean
Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in one season. Dean was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953....
, The grammatical Diz, When they asked, Who's the tops? Said correctly, I is.
- E is for Evers
John Joseph Evers was a Major League Baseball player and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1946...
, His jaw in advance; Never afraid To TinkerJoseph Bert Tinker was a Major League Baseball player and manager. He is best known for his years with the Chicago Cubs dynasty which won four pennants between 1906 and 1910; and for his feud with double play partner Johnny Evers. Tinker was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in...
with ChanceFrank Leroy Chance was a Major League Baseball player at the turn of the 20th century. Performing the roles of first baseman and manager, Chance led the Chicago Cubs to four National League championships in the span of five years and earned the nickname "The Peerless Leader".Chance was elected to...
.
- F is for Fordham
Francis “Frankie” Frisch , nicknamed the "Fordham Flash" or "The Old Flash", was a German American Major League Baseball player of the early twentieth century....
And Frankie and Frisch; I wish he were back With the Giants, I wish.
Nash particularly loved Baltimore sports.
Nash wrote humorous poems for each movement of the
Camille Saint-SaënsCharles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
orchestral suite
The Carnival of the AnimalsLe carnaval des animaux is a musical suite of fourteen movements by the French Romantic composer Camille Saint-Saëns. The orchestral work has a duration between 22 and 30 minutes.-History:...
, which are sometimes recited when the work is performed. The original recording of this version was made by
Columbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in the 1940's, with
Noel CowardSir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
reciting the poems and
Andre KostelanetzAndré Kostelanetz was a popular orchestral music conductor and arranger, one of the pioneers of easy listening music.-Biography:...
conducting the orchestra.
Ogden Nash stamp
The US Postal Service released a
postage stamp featuring Ogden Nash and six of his poems on the centennial of his birth on 19 August 2002. The six poems are "The Turtle," "The Cow," "Crossing The Border," "The Kitten," "The Camel" and "Limerick One." It was the first stamp in the history of the USPS to include the word "sex," although as a synonym for gender. It can be found under the "O" and is part of "The Turtle". The stamp is the 18th in the Literary Arts section. Four years later, the
first issueA First Day of Issue Cover or First Day Cover is a postage stamp on a cover, postal card or stamped envelope franked on the first day the issue is authorized for use within the country or territory of the stamp-issuing authority. Sometimes the issue is made from a temporary or permanent foreign or...
took place in Baltimore on August 19. The ceremony was held at the home that he and his wife Frances shared with his parents on 4300 Rugby Road, where he did most of his writing.
Individual poems
- "What I Know About Life" The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
24/47 (15 January 1949) : 35
- "Carnival of Animals" The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
25/48 (7 January 1950) : 26
External links
Includes a list of over a hundred Ogden Nash poems. Most or all are under copyright and therefore not available online.