(1902–71). Highly original rhymes and mispronounced, misspelled, and coined words are among the curious features of the verses of the American humorist Ogden Nash. Nash was a good-natured satirist who made fun of human pretensions and foibles. The popularity of his works rests in part on the fact that he often expressed the secret opinions, and especially the dislikes, of many of his readers.
Frederic Ogden Nash was born on Aug. 19, 1902, in Rye, N.Y. Nash was descended from the Revolutionary War hero Gen. Francis Nash, for whom Nashville, Tenn., is named. Young Nash grew up in various places along the East coast, in the North as well as the South. He attended St. George’s School in Newport, R.I., and entered Harvard University. But his family ran into financial problems, so he left after one year to find work.
After teaching for a year at St. George’s, Nash went to New York City. There he tried selling bonds and writing advertising copy. In the mid-1920s he became a manuscript reader for a book publisher. About this time his humorous verse began to appear in The New Yorker magazine. Eventually he went to work on the staff of The New Yorker. His first book of verse, ‘Hard Lines’, appeared in 1931. Altogether he wrote 20 volumes of verse, including ‘The Bad Parents’ Garden of Verse’ (1936), ‘I’m a Stranger Here Myself’ (1938), and ‘Everyone but Thee and Me’ (1962).
Nash left publishing to write full time. In 1943 he wrote the lyrics and collaborated with S.J. Perelman on the book for the Broadway musical ‘One Touch of Venus’. It was later made into a movie. He also appeared as a panelist on television shows.
By the late 1940s Nash was the best-known American writer of humorous poetry. During the 1950s and 1960s he also turned out children’s books, such as the ‘Custard, the Dragon’ stories. He died in Baltimore, Md., on May 19, 1971.