Ogden Nash 's Dogs

In his twenties, Ogden Nash was a restless advertising copywriter who eventually struck out on his own. Yet his craft continued to display a knack for penning phrases that resonated and became part of the American lexicon.

"A dog is man's best friend" is one that continues to resonate. Nash's views on dogs have had a long lasting impact on others.

According to WTHR, Indianapolis, Ogden Nash was the first to characterize a dog as "man's best friend." It is in fact the first line of "An Introduction to Dogs". Annie Hillard, the Solitary Walker, shares her story of long term affinity with this poem in a recent post. Liesel's Garden Party features a fine picture collage to accompany these verses.

Nash wrote a lot about dogs, I won't try to capture all the verses here, but here are some lesser known ones first published in the New Yorker:

January 08, 1949

For a Good Dog
My little dog ten years ago…

August 21, 1948

Two dogs have I
For years we've had a little dog…

September 19, 1942

Please pass the biscuit
I have a little dog…

October 22, 1949
Poetry

Love me but Leave my Dog Alone
Once there was a handsome man named Mr. Beamington and he…

July 21, 1951

Roll Over And Play Alive Or, Who Says You Can't Teach An Old Dog Tiresome Old Tricks
Brooks are often called rippling, but rivers are really…

October 12, 1957

Fellow-Creatures, Tray and Outre
The truth I do not stretch or shove…

Ogden Nash poems copyright © by Linell Nash Smith and Isabel Nash Eberstadt

More than Twelve Days of Christmas

In an effort to stimulate the 1939 economy FDR extended the Christmas shopping season a full week by moving Thanksgiving to the third Thursday of November. As recently noted by the National Archives , the Crossville, TN Chronicle and Jennifer Howard in D.C., Ogden Nash basted Roosevelt for his judgment:

Thanksgiving, like Ambassadors,
Cabinet officers and
others smeared with political ointment,
Depends for its existence on
Presidential appointment.

- Ogden Nash

Most Americans agreed and Turkey Day was restored to the last Thursday in 1942.


Ogden Nash poems copyright © by Linell Nash Smith and Isabel Nash Eberstadt

Before Heading to the Altar...

... thoughts of Ogden Nash:

The most exciting happiness is the happiness generated by forces beyond your control.

Ogden Nash

Marriage was one of Nash's favorite topics for verse. This bride to be from Florida expands the O.N. matrimonial archive via an enlightened application of a Nash observation.

Post Election Gripes

The Santa Barbara Independent & Montrose, CO Daily Press remind us that in Nash's view, if you didn't vote, you have no right to complain. They incorporated his poem, Election Day is a Holiday in a pre-election editorial on why voting matters. Some excerpts followed by a link to the full poem:

People on whom I do not bother to dote
Are people who do not bother to vote...

They have such refined and delicate palates
That they can discover no one worthy of their ballots,
And then when someone terrible gets elected
They say There, that’s just what I expected!

And they go around for four years spouting discontented criticisms
And contented witticisms....

And they have discovered that if you don’t take time out to go to the polls
You can manage very nicely to get through thirty-six holes.
Oh let us cover these clever people very conspicuously with loathing,
For they are un-citizens in citizens’ clothing.

They attempt to justify their negligence
On the ground that no candidate appeals to people of their intelligence,
But I am quite sure that if Abraham Lincoln (Rep.) ran against Thomas Jefferson (Dem.),
Neither man would be appealing enough to squeeze a vote out of them.

Election Day is a Holiday

If Nash's eloquence failed to motivate you to scale back your Election Day outing to 18 holes, your patriotic significant other may have bad news for you...

Ogden Nash Online Contest Draws a Crowd

John Tierney's blog on the New York Times site recently asked readers to add a stanza to Nash's oft quoted work, Reflections on Ice Breaking.

The competition was launched to draw attention to the new scientific research touting that "Pyschologists report in Science that you’re more likely to think warmly of someone else if you’re holding something warm in your hand like a mug of coffee or tea." Tierney posits " At long last, we have scientific guidance regarding that great question of social lubrication: Should you ask someone to meet for a drink or a cup of coffee?"

Nash often serves as 'contextual color' for journalists and Reflections may be the most memorized poem in the English language:

Candy is dandy,
But liquor is quicker

The event drew 231 responses, far exceeding the average number of comments for this blog that seeks to validate new research with common experience. The ardent response to a 1931 poem from a science forum points to the universal appeal and cultural staying power of Mr. Nash's work.

My favorite entry in the contest:

Darjeeling’s
Appealing

Espresso
No less so.

No word on the winner yet...

Local Nash: East & West, Young & Old

Ogden Nash's work was featured in a couple events I think he would have enjoyed attending himself.

The Parent- Child book club of San Diego's Rancho Peñasquitos Library met to discuss “The Tale of Custard the Dragon”. Nash's passion for writing about and for children likely inspired a stimulating and humorous conversation.

On the other side of the country and the life continuum...

In Portsmouth NH , a group of local writers and musicians presented an afternoon of poetry and music to seniors in retirement communities. The review "Surprised by Joy" featured the work of Ogden Nash, Shakespeare & Frost was conceived by Elizabeth Knies, Portsmouth's Poet Laureate. Elizabeth is seated in the back row second from left and looks fairly joy-infused, as does her troupe. Which was no doubt a contagious delight for their venerable audience. The poems reflected the stages of life from childhood to maturity. The readings were augmented by the "beautiful," "haunting," and "charming" cello compositions of Kristin Miller.

Ogden Nash's Last Verse

"Frances, I love you" was not a rhyme but a simple truth for Nash since he met Frances in his early 20's.* Mrs. Nash went on to live another 23 years, active in volunteer work and enjoying her daughters and grandchildren. The Nash family plot in North Hampton, NH is shared by their long time servant, Clarence Collins. Frances and Ogden share a gravestone flanked by Isabelle and Clarence.

I'm very grateful to Amy Kane, for sharing these recently captured scenes of the Nash grave site within Little River Cemetery. Amy's beautiful words and pictures about coastal NH can be found on Atlantic Avenue. Click on the pictures to enlarge the details.
















Photos Copyright Amy Kane 2008. Used with Permission.

*Last words according to his biographer Douglas M. Parker. The book 'Loving Letters from Ogden Nash' leaves little doubt as to Nash's passionate feelings for Frances over 5 decades.