Happy Birthday Ogden!
- Stephen Whiteside
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Happy Birthday Ogden!
Happy Birthday - belated - Ogden! (Ogden Nash - born 19th August, 1902.)
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au
Re: Happy Birthday Ogden!
À Bas Ben Adhem (Truncated)
Ogden Nash
My fellow man I do not care for.
I often ask me, What's he there for?
The only answer I can find
Is, Reproduction of his kind.
To make the matter more succint:
Suppose my fellow man extinct.
Why, who would not approve the plan
Save possibly my fellow man?
Yet with a politician's voice
He names himself as Nature's choice.
The finest of the human race
Are bad in figure, worse in face.
Yet just because they have two legs
And eat, instead of laying eggs
He hails himself with drum and fife
And bullies lower forms of life
Not that I think much depends
On how we treat our feathered friends,
It's simply that I'm sure I can
Get on without my fellow man.
Ogden Nash
My fellow man I do not care for.
I often ask me, What's he there for?
The only answer I can find
Is, Reproduction of his kind.
To make the matter more succint:
Suppose my fellow man extinct.
Why, who would not approve the plan
Save possibly my fellow man?
Yet with a politician's voice
He names himself as Nature's choice.
The finest of the human race
Are bad in figure, worse in face.
Yet just because they have two legs
And eat, instead of laying eggs
He hails himself with drum and fife
And bullies lower forms of life
Not that I think much depends
On how we treat our feathered friends,
It's simply that I'm sure I can
Get on without my fellow man.
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Re: Happy Birthday Ogden!
What a pity that a man of his talent looks like a dried up prune in spirit, in the poem posted here.
Nashville, Tennessee was named after Francis Nash, who I believe was a forebear of Ogden.
Nashville, Tennessee was named after Francis Nash, who I believe was a forebear of Ogden.
Last edited by Neville Briggs on Thu Aug 21, 2014 10:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
Neville
" Prose is description, poetry is presence " Les Murray.
" Prose is description, poetry is presence " Les Murray.
- Stephen Whiteside
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Re: Happy Birthday Ogden!
I like the poetry of Ogden Nash. Very much. Ogdenville would be a nice name for a town - or perhaps a suburb of Nashville.
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au
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- Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2010 12:08 pm
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Re: Happy Birthday Ogden!
I have an anthology of many of his works. Yes, I've met his spirit all right.
That one you've quoted there Manfred sounds like one of the meanest things in poetry.
Some of Ogden Nash's poetry is brilliant Stephen, I like it as well. When I found his seeming ' dark side" I was bitterly disappointed.
That one you've quoted there Manfred sounds like one of the meanest things in poetry.
Some of Ogden Nash's poetry is brilliant Stephen, I like it as well. When I found his seeming ' dark side" I was bitterly disappointed.
Last edited by Neville Briggs on Thu Aug 21, 2014 10:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
Neville
" Prose is description, poetry is presence " Les Murray.
" Prose is description, poetry is presence " Les Murray.
- Stephen Whiteside
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Re: Happy Birthday Ogden!
Tell me more, Neville?
I wouldn't judge him too harshly on that poem, Neville. Lots of writers have negative things to say about their fellow man. Mark Twain is a classic case. I read another example the other day, but can't recall who it was. I think you need to take all of this with a grain of salt - a big one.
I wouldn't judge him too harshly on that poem, Neville. Lots of writers have negative things to say about their fellow man. Mark Twain is a classic case. I read another example the other day, but can't recall who it was. I think you need to take all of this with a grain of salt - a big one.
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au
- Stephen Whiteside
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- Joined: Sat Nov 27, 2010 1:07 pm
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Re: Happy Birthday Ogden!
Charles Bukowski, that's who it was. He is so negative about humanity at times that it is actually quite funny.
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au
- Stephen Whiteside
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Re: Happy Birthday Ogden!
J. D. Salinger doesn't seem to like people much, either, but that doesn't stop "Catcher in the Rye" from being a great book.
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au