Ogden+Nash

Ogden Nash was an American poet during the great depression. He was born under the name of Fredric Ogden Nash, but was more commonly known as Ogden Nash. Nash lived from 1902 to 1971. Nash was a very influential writer of his time and established the tone and reputation of the New Yorker. He was known for his use of puns and his free verse style. He wrote in a more humorous tone and later on in his years he started writing for children. Ogden Nash was one of the most commercially successful English-language poets of the twentieth century (notablebiographies.com). Frederick Ogden Nash was born in Rye, New York, to Edmund Strudwick Nash and Mattie Chenault on August 19, 1902. His father was in the import-export business, but the Nash family's ancestry in North Carolina stretched back to the American Revolutionary era. The city of Nashville, Tennessee, was named in honor of one of his ancestors. Nash grew up in various East Coast communities and also lived in Savannah, Georgia, during his youth. He was accepted to Harvard but dropped out after a year (notablebiographies.com). In 1931, he married Frances Rider Leonard and had two children. Nash worked shortly for the New Yorker in 1932, before deciding to devote himself full time to his poetry. He died on May 19, 1971 (Acadamy of American Poets 419). Nash's first published poems appeared in the New Yorker around 1930. His first collection of poems, Hard Lines, was published in 1931. The book went into seven printings in its first year alone. He frequently contributed poems to periodicals including Harper's, The Saturday Evening Post, Life, and Vogue. Nash was an observer of American social life, and frequently mocked politicians, and his work is often compared with other satirists of the time. Nash appeared regularly on radio and on television, and he drew huge audiences for his readings and lectures. In the 1950s, Nash focused on writing poems for children, including the collections The Boy Who Laughed at Santa Claus (1957) and Girls are Silly (1962). Ogden Nash died on May 19, 1971. (Academy of American Poets 419) Nash is known for his sophisticated whimsy and satire. He is remembered by the cleverness of his free verse style, and his use of puns and distorted rhyme. Most of his verse was first published in the New Yorker, where he was an editorial writer. Nash did much to establish the New Yorker’s characteristic tone and reputation. He almost always rhymed his poems and he made up words to fit in to the rhythm. He sometimes purposely misspelled words for comical effect. He was a very influential poet of his time (Academy of American Poets 419). Fredric Ogden Nash, more commonly known as just Ogden Nash, was an American poet and writer during the Great Depression. He lived from 1902 to 1971 and was one of the most influential poets of his time, establishing the tone and reputation of the New Yorker. He was best known for his use of puns and his free verse style. Ogden Nash wrote in a more humorous tone and was one of the most commercially successful poets of the twentieth century (notablebiographies.com).