The Best of Ogden Nash

I have loved Ogden Nash poetry and stories since I was a kid when I found an old dusty book of his in a used bookstore. My mom used to take me there while I protested. I peeked inside that book, and to my surprise, I thought the poems were really entertaining and insightful. I have loved his work ever since. I received the book I am reviewing recently as a gift. It has a great variety of his work, long and short. I enjoy picking it up and reading parts at random. His writing is fun, accessible and entertaining.

What a fun collection. You can open it randomly to most any page and have a fun read. Some of the poems have aged better than others, but even those are a slice of history. I especially enjoy the ones about New York City. They are glimpses into how things used to be in my home town.

I had encountered Nash's poetry some years back and had an LP of The Carnival of the Animals poem read by Noel Coward with his special enunciation of all the words. Since then, I have been searching for a printed copy and this book does it for me. Nash's menagerie of animals is fun.

The writings of Ogden Nash have a unique rhythm and tempo. The humor, and style, coupled with subtle sagacity makes for a wonderful read, both aloud and to oneself. This should be required reading at all levels of education, so that students can see and hear what can really be done with words. TONY HOROWITZ

Over five hundred verses gathered from a wide collection of Nash's poems results in this, a definitive Nash anthology suitable not just for college-level poetry libraries, but for general-interest lending collections. While published works comprise the bulk of this anthology, some are lesser-known works which came to light in the Nash collection at the University of Texas at Austin, and from family letters and papers, making for an outstanding, rare collection of works essential for any definitive poetry library.