What do you think?
Rate this book
The Best of Ogden Nash
It's been more than thirty years since the appearance of a collection from America's laureate of light verse. Ogden Nash first gathered together an anthology of thirty years of his published works in 1959. In 1973 his daughters gathered more than four hundred of his poems and called it I Wouldn't Have Missed It , a quote from one of his verses. Now more poems have come to light, so his daughters have once again produced The Best of Ogden Nash , the definitive Nash anthology. The poems display the talent of the man whose verse entranced America from the time of the Great Depression until his death in 1971. The Best of Ogden Nash should delight old fans and introduce new readers to a unique talent.
496 pages, Hardcover
First published November 16, 2007
123 people are currently reading
702 people want to read
About the author
Ogden Nash
234 books200 followersFrederic Ogden Nash was an American poet well known for his light verse. At the time of his death in 1971, the New York Times said his "droll verse with its unconventional rhymes made him the country's best-known producer of humorous poetry".
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
May 2, 2025
I really like Ogden Nash. He writes silly poems with chaotic rhymes. FOR EXAMPLE:
The Germ
A mighty creature is the germ,
Though smaller than the pachyderm.
His customary dwelling place
Is deep within the human race.
His childish pride he often pleases
By giving people strange diseases.
Do you, my poppet, feel infirm?
You probably contain a germ.
I did not read all 548 feature poems this time 🤣 but I would read more on another occasion.
The Germ
A mighty creature is the germ,
Though smaller than the pachyderm.
His customary dwelling place
Is deep within the human race.
His childish pride he often pleases
By giving people strange diseases.
Do you, my poppet, feel infirm?
You probably contain a germ.
I did not read all 548 feature poems this time 🤣 but I would read more on another occasion.
abandoned-attempts
January 2, 2022Ogden Nash is a hoot, and there were plenty of gems here, but it was way too long to hold my attention. I don't love poetry in general (even "light verse" as Nash is categorized), so a little goes a long way. He sure had fun with English, though, and wrote a ton of sweet little poems for his daughters, so good on him.
July 3, 2022
In a previous review about a poetry book, I wrote:
"Poetry is the most intense and concentrated form of writing, using words, metre, rhyme and format to express thoughts, feelings and ideas that can be fact or fiction. It gets at the marrow of truth and truth-telling using words to create an image, not a picture, of an idea. Poetry slams on the brakes and makes you reconsider what was written. It may very well make you look up words in a dictionary because you do not understand the meaning of the most ordinary words as used in a poem."
I would like to add that it is possible for poetry to be about any subject, from a flea (e.g.,"The Flea" by John Donne) to serious historical events (e.g.,There are numerous poems about numerous wars.). In the hands of an authoritative writer there can be surprises, not only in the use of language, but also the perspective taken.
Quite often the genres of humor and comedy are dismissed as easy to accomplish–they are not. Writing with wit and humor about serious subjects is even more difficult to successfully achieve. The poetry of the American poet Ogden Nash is considered to be "light verse," which can mean a great many things. He was famous for creating unusual rhyming couplets (two sequential lines of poetry that rhyme) that comprise his short and long poems. Nash was irreverent and wise when writing about everyday life, as well as when tackling serious subjects. His poems are refreshing and astonishing, perhaps more so today than when they were written.
This collection was edited by Linell Nash Smith, one of Ogden Nash’s daughters. She selected all the poems in this volume, and provides some background into what it was like growing up with Ogden Nash, a working poet. As a child she remembered “the ubiquitous yellow legal pads … that seemed almost an extension of my father. … Those words on the pads that lay around the house would one day cement our father’s place in the annals of American letters." She also has a good estimation about her father's goals and achievements, "He wrote for Everyman, incisively exposing both the beast and the best in us, evincing all the while an amused yet bemused acceptance of the foibles of the human race.”
In a very short poem, only two lines, a set of couplets, Nash tell us what a child implicitly knows, "A child need not be very clever / To learn that “Later dear” means “Never.” And, the title of the poem is "Grandpa is Ashamed." “Scrooge Rides Again or A Christmas Poem” is a long poem, two and a third pages, all of it written in couplets. It is a confessional poem, where Nash admits to being a modern-day Scrooge, asking time “to turn backward” and, “Let me be a receiver instead of a giver." He wanders through our country’s big cities, listing major expensive department and specialty stores, many do not exist today (Macy’s, Gimbel’s, Bergdorf, Bonwit, Tiffany’s, Marshall Field, Neiman-Marcus, Bullock’s, Magnin’s); and then flits off to other countries, noting their high-end shops (Mikimoto, Gucci, Cucci, Hermès, Balenciaga, Fortnum and Mason, Harrod’s, Liberty), and bemoans his stinginess: “I can name the musical B’s without qualms, / Paying homage to Bach and Beethoven and Brahms, / It’s the charge account B’s that ruin my rest, / Such as Bergdorf and Bonwit and Best.” In "Halloween Hoodlums, Go Home!" Nash states that "no Halloween would be complete without Trick or Treat." However, the entire idea of the holiday has gotten way out of hand and, "This is a system of extortion that has grown even beyond the incredible and preposterous. / It equals the Mafia in ruthlessness and arrogance, it is altogether Cosa Nosterous." Dorothy Parker could have said this, but it was Ogden Nash who did, "Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker." One section, “A Nashional Menagerie” has his numerous poems about domestic and wild animals. These are not gooey or maudlin. While being outdoors and you are beset by flies, consider this two-liner, about "The Fly," "God in his wisdom made the fly / And then forgot to tell us why."
This book has many more short and long poems by Ogden Nash to laugh over; agree or disagree with. You can never judge one of his poems by its title–you will have to read them to find out where the poet has taken you. Here's a small selection of titles to tempt you.
“The Nymph and the Shepherd or She Went That-a-Way”
“Line-Up For Yesterday an ABC of Baseball Immortals”
“Seaside Serenade”
“The Strange Case of the Lovelorn Letter Writer”
“The Filibuster”
“Mini-Jabberwocky”
“The Wrongs of Spring or No All Fools’ Day Like an Old Fools’ Day
Reviewed by Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & Fiction
"Poetry is the most intense and concentrated form of writing, using words, metre, rhyme and format to express thoughts, feelings and ideas that can be fact or fiction. It gets at the marrow of truth and truth-telling using words to create an image, not a picture, of an idea. Poetry slams on the brakes and makes you reconsider what was written. It may very well make you look up words in a dictionary because you do not understand the meaning of the most ordinary words as used in a poem."
I would like to add that it is possible for poetry to be about any subject, from a flea (e.g.,"The Flea" by John Donne) to serious historical events (e.g.,There are numerous poems about numerous wars.). In the hands of an authoritative writer there can be surprises, not only in the use of language, but also the perspective taken.
Quite often the genres of humor and comedy are dismissed as easy to accomplish–they are not. Writing with wit and humor about serious subjects is even more difficult to successfully achieve. The poetry of the American poet Ogden Nash is considered to be "light verse," which can mean a great many things. He was famous for creating unusual rhyming couplets (two sequential lines of poetry that rhyme) that comprise his short and long poems. Nash was irreverent and wise when writing about everyday life, as well as when tackling serious subjects. His poems are refreshing and astonishing, perhaps more so today than when they were written.
This collection was edited by Linell Nash Smith, one of Ogden Nash’s daughters. She selected all the poems in this volume, and provides some background into what it was like growing up with Ogden Nash, a working poet. As a child she remembered “the ubiquitous yellow legal pads … that seemed almost an extension of my father. … Those words on the pads that lay around the house would one day cement our father’s place in the annals of American letters." She also has a good estimation about her father's goals and achievements, "He wrote for Everyman, incisively exposing both the beast and the best in us, evincing all the while an amused yet bemused acceptance of the foibles of the human race.”
In a very short poem, only two lines, a set of couplets, Nash tell us what a child implicitly knows, "A child need not be very clever / To learn that “Later dear” means “Never.” And, the title of the poem is "Grandpa is Ashamed." “Scrooge Rides Again or A Christmas Poem” is a long poem, two and a third pages, all of it written in couplets. It is a confessional poem, where Nash admits to being a modern-day Scrooge, asking time “to turn backward” and, “Let me be a receiver instead of a giver." He wanders through our country’s big cities, listing major expensive department and specialty stores, many do not exist today (Macy’s, Gimbel’s, Bergdorf, Bonwit, Tiffany’s, Marshall Field, Neiman-Marcus, Bullock’s, Magnin’s); and then flits off to other countries, noting their high-end shops (Mikimoto, Gucci, Cucci, Hermès, Balenciaga, Fortnum and Mason, Harrod’s, Liberty), and bemoans his stinginess: “I can name the musical B’s without qualms, / Paying homage to Bach and Beethoven and Brahms, / It’s the charge account B’s that ruin my rest, / Such as Bergdorf and Bonwit and Best.” In "Halloween Hoodlums, Go Home!" Nash states that "no Halloween would be complete without Trick or Treat." However, the entire idea of the holiday has gotten way out of hand and, "This is a system of extortion that has grown even beyond the incredible and preposterous. / It equals the Mafia in ruthlessness and arrogance, it is altogether Cosa Nosterous." Dorothy Parker could have said this, but it was Ogden Nash who did, "Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker." One section, “A Nashional Menagerie” has his numerous poems about domestic and wild animals. These are not gooey or maudlin. While being outdoors and you are beset by flies, consider this two-liner, about "The Fly," "God in his wisdom made the fly / And then forgot to tell us why."
This book has many more short and long poems by Ogden Nash to laugh over; agree or disagree with. You can never judge one of his poems by its title–you will have to read them to find out where the poet has taken you. Here's a small selection of titles to tempt you.
“The Nymph and the Shepherd or She Went That-a-Way”
“Line-Up For Yesterday an ABC of Baseball Immortals”
“Seaside Serenade”
“The Strange Case of the Lovelorn Letter Writer”
“The Filibuster”
“Mini-Jabberwocky”
“The Wrongs of Spring or No All Fools’ Day Like an Old Fools’ Day
Reviewed by Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & Fiction
Did Not Finish
May 7, 2026I don't want to diminish,
I just did not finish.
I just did not finish.
Read
October 30, 2013Ogden Nash is a quirky American poet who is well-known for his light verse. The Best of Ogden Nash is a hefty collection of fun poetry edited by Nash’s daughter, Linell. These are unique and humorous poems that illustrate Nash’s wit and his love for wordplay. The Best of Ogden Nash is a collection that the reader can pick up again and again, and always find something new. -JM
Place a hold on The Best of Ogden Nash.
Place a hold on The Best of Ogden Nash.
May 10, 2023
5/5 stars. A brilliant body of work. Most of it is funny, inducing anything from a wry smile to outright laughter:
“O Kangaroo, 0 Kangaroo,
Be grateful that you're in the zoo,
And not transmuted by a boomerang
To zestful tangy Kangaroo meringue.”
All of it is clever, and some of it is surprisingly sweet, especially one memorable poem about an aging dog, and the sections to or about his family:
“More than a catbird hates a cat,
Or a criminal hates a clue,
Or the Axis hates the United States,
That's how much I love you.
I love you more than a duck can swim,
And more than a grapefruit squirts,
I love you more than gin rummy is a bore,
And more than a toothache hurts.
As a shipwrecked sailor hates the sea,
Or a juggler hates a shove,
As a hostess detests unexpected guests,
That's how much you I love.”
I savoured this over three months while reading other things, and I’ll miss it now that I’m done with it. I made about 150 highlights of favourite lines and verses, which I will return to often, I think.
“O Kangaroo, 0 Kangaroo,
Be grateful that you're in the zoo,
And not transmuted by a boomerang
To zestful tangy Kangaroo meringue.”
All of it is clever, and some of it is surprisingly sweet, especially one memorable poem about an aging dog, and the sections to or about his family:
“More than a catbird hates a cat,
Or a criminal hates a clue,
Or the Axis hates the United States,
That's how much I love you.
I love you more than a duck can swim,
And more than a grapefruit squirts,
I love you more than gin rummy is a bore,
And more than a toothache hurts.
As a shipwrecked sailor hates the sea,
Or a juggler hates a shove,
As a hostess detests unexpected guests,
That's how much you I love.”
I savoured this over three months while reading other things, and I’ll miss it now that I’m done with it. I made about 150 highlights of favourite lines and verses, which I will return to often, I think.
February 17, 2019
There are a few of Nash's limericks that have always been great favorites of mine. I was expecting a book full of more limericks, and, well .... there are some, but most of these are much longer poems. I love the way he plays with words (though my grasp of French is not solid enough for me to fully appreciate a couple of them). I love his titles as well. He's just a really fun poet to read in general.
October 19, 2024
Will be of particular interest to those who are studying changes in culture, as a mainstream reference on domestic humor attitudes from the interwar years to the late 50s. This gives you a sense of the kind of 'grounding' humor that was popular during some crazy times. From time to time, goes beyond witty rhymes, and a surprise laugh strikes. Not likely to amuse those seeking an edgy, raw contemporary sensibility. But definitely safe to read outloud at the bingo club.
April 4, 2025
The fondness with which Nash skewers the absurdities of everyday life never fails to charm.
New favorites:
A Lady Thinks She Is Thirty
Line-Up for Yesterday
The Coelacanth
Who’ll Buy My Lingual?
This Is Going to Hurt Just a Little Bit
Don’t Sell America Short
And the old favorites that got me picking up this collection in the first place: For Frances (“geniuses of countless nations”) and, of course, The Octopus.
New favorites:
A Lady Thinks She Is Thirty
Line-Up for Yesterday
The Coelacanth
Who’ll Buy My Lingual?
This Is Going to Hurt Just a Little Bit
Don’t Sell America Short
And the old favorites that got me picking up this collection in the first place: For Frances (“geniuses of countless nations”) and, of course, The Octopus.
July 30, 2021
Picked up a nice vintage copy of Ogden Nash poems, published by modern library, at my library book sale. Lots of fun little rhymes. Interesting to think that he was as popular as he was, but kind of fun to think that a humorous poet could reach such celebrity status.
March 21, 2022
When you grow up reading Ogden Nash, it's hard to find a more entertaining poet. So to find MORE Ogden Nash is brilliant - this volume is an absolute treasure to share. My children now love him as much as my parents and I.
February 5, 2025
There were a few I liked, and I loved the inclusion of the animal poems lol but some of them felt like reading a book. I felt a lack of feeling for many. I'm glad he played around with the different types of writing, that shows his creativity but it just lost my attention.
September 6, 2017
Happy to reacquaint myself with the humorous and light verse of Ogden Nash! A wonderful collection.
March 20, 2018
few books have me chuckling as often as often Nash
November 6, 2021
Kept me entertained from cover to cover.
October 8, 2022
'Some pains are physical, and some pains are mental, but the one that's both is dental.'
Ogden Nash was insightful, funny and extremely meme-worthy.
Ogden Nash was insightful, funny and extremely meme-worthy.
January 15, 2023
I love everything Ogden Nash. Fun, unusual, insightful. This is a book you can pick up at any time and enjoy whimsical look at the world and the inside of an unusual mind.
Read
January 27, 2024Inevitably with this many poems, there are going to be ones you don't like, ones that bore, or (if you're like me) go over your head. But overall, delightful. Nash is simply brilliant.
February 1, 2025
Nashional Book Review
Ogden Nash was a poet
With a distinctive style that if you heard it you'd knowet.
His lines were of any old length and if there was a prevailing rhythm I couldn’t find it,
But he’s so funny I mostly didn’t mind it,
If there wasn’t an exact rhyme for a word like hippopotamus,
He’d be sure to end the next line with some nonsense about a disobedient young pachyderm getting spanked on its hippo bottomus.
His recurring themes of “it’s no fun to be good” and “the good old days were so much better” became a bit annoying.
But most of his poems are good for enjoying.
Ogden Nash was a poet
With a distinctive style that if you heard it you'd knowet.
His lines were of any old length and if there was a prevailing rhythm I couldn’t find it,
But he’s so funny I mostly didn’t mind it,
If there wasn’t an exact rhyme for a word like hippopotamus,
He’d be sure to end the next line with some nonsense about a disobedient young pachyderm getting spanked on its hippo bottomus.
His recurring themes of “it’s no fun to be good” and “the good old days were so much better” became a bit annoying.
But most of his poems are good for enjoying.
Currently Reading
August 14, 2022I have read a number of Ogden Nash's poems and verses in the past. I even had a number of them memorized. I purchased this book in July of 2022 as a reference to the majority of his works. This is not a book that I will go through very quickly. I pick it up and read a verse on occasion. I hope to make it through all 548 poems by the end of the year.
08-03-22
As of today, I am on page 30 of 465...
08-14-22
I am on page 36 of 465.
08-03-22
As of today, I am on page 30 of 465...
08-14-22
I am on page 36 of 465.
January 16, 2013
I don't know whether Ogden Nash is my favorite poet; I have a fondness for Robert Frost, and have memorized several of his works, and probably my very favorite, or at least most recited, poem is by Lewis Carroll. But many of the poems I have memorized are his, and most of the earliest ones. I once had a copy of Verses from 1929 On, and my sons were all subjected to my readings from that book from before they were born (the eldest, at least, has expressed his appreciation for these readings, or at least the later ones). Thus when this book arrived on my birthday last year, I was very pleased; and I am still pleased, although I have some disappointments.
Any book that attempts to provide the "best" of an author is going to be subjective, as fans will frequently disagree on what the best examples are. That was something of a problem here. Edited by his daughter Linell (her sister Isabel having died before the process got far enough to include her name in the credit), it contains many poems which are clearly of personal value to her as his daughter. Indeed, that is one of the books strengths--there are previously unpublished pieces here that were originally tossed off as post cards and letters to family, or left lying around the house. On the other hand, the fact that several of my favorites are absent was striking. There is no The Elephant and the Telephone, a classic short that I would have rated as Nash at his best. There are several of his Strange Case poems, but only one of the three I remember, and that not my favorite--The Strange Case of the Dead Divorcee has long been remembered and recalled here, with its concept of a "Juleper in the Manger" repeated as a warning to girlfriends of sons who (the girls) suggest that they don't need their own serving of something because they can share the boy's, and The Strange Case of the Blackmailing Dove is the third one in my memory (after The Strange Case of the Ambitious Caddy, which is included). It is disappointing not to have copies of these poems--when somehow your two favorites fail to make the cut of "best", you have to wonder what the editor was thinking.
On the other hand, many of the greats are here--The Germ, The Octopus, The Panther, The Hippopotamus, Very Like a Whale, I'm Sure She Said Six-Thirty, The Lama, plus some good ones that I had forgotten (this is my second time through this book), such as A Strange Casement of the Poetic Apothecary. You could do worse in a collection, and while I still prefer the book I lost (those poems were arranged chronologically by Nash himself, these primarily topically), this is a fair replacement for it. I'm sure I will read it again.
Any book that attempts to provide the "best" of an author is going to be subjective, as fans will frequently disagree on what the best examples are. That was something of a problem here. Edited by his daughter Linell (her sister Isabel having died before the process got far enough to include her name in the credit), it contains many poems which are clearly of personal value to her as his daughter. Indeed, that is one of the books strengths--there are previously unpublished pieces here that were originally tossed off as post cards and letters to family, or left lying around the house. On the other hand, the fact that several of my favorites are absent was striking. There is no The Elephant and the Telephone, a classic short that I would have rated as Nash at his best. There are several of his Strange Case poems, but only one of the three I remember, and that not my favorite--The Strange Case of the Dead Divorcee has long been remembered and recalled here, with its concept of a "Juleper in the Manger" repeated as a warning to girlfriends of sons who (the girls) suggest that they don't need their own serving of something because they can share the boy's, and The Strange Case of the Blackmailing Dove is the third one in my memory (after The Strange Case of the Ambitious Caddy, which is included). It is disappointing not to have copies of these poems--when somehow your two favorites fail to make the cut of "best", you have to wonder what the editor was thinking.
On the other hand, many of the greats are here--The Germ, The Octopus, The Panther, The Hippopotamus, Very Like a Whale, I'm Sure She Said Six-Thirty, The Lama, plus some good ones that I had forgotten (this is my second time through this book), such as A Strange Casement of the Poetic Apothecary. You could do worse in a collection, and while I still prefer the book I lost (those poems were arranged chronologically by Nash himself, these primarily topically), this is a fair replacement for it. I'm sure I will read it again.
July 23, 2008
Candy is dandy
But Liquor is quicker
The immortal poems of Ogden Nash have been collected and republished in a very nice edition of The Best of Ogden Nash. Over 500 of the poet’s gems are on display for a new generation to enjoy.
Nash was a master of light verse that captured many fans back when poetry was enjoying a rebirth (sadly it has since died again). The collection includes many of his delightful couplets and long form verse. A must for all Nash fans and a sturdy primer for what poetry can be. It is a shame that far too many of us neglect poetry…Anyway, Ogden Nash is a fine start to begin with poetry again…
But Liquor is quicker
The immortal poems of Ogden Nash have been collected and republished in a very nice edition of The Best of Ogden Nash. Over 500 of the poet’s gems are on display for a new generation to enjoy.
Nash was a master of light verse that captured many fans back when poetry was enjoying a rebirth (sadly it has since died again). The collection includes many of his delightful couplets and long form verse. A must for all Nash fans and a sturdy primer for what poetry can be. It is a shame that far too many of us neglect poetry…Anyway, Ogden Nash is a fine start to begin with poetry again…
February 5, 2017
So many puns! Punishingly punny.
if you're looking for 500 pages of humorous poetry, this is definitely a good place to look, especially if you love puns, which I do.
Even so, I wouldn't recommend d trying to read this quickly. there are only so many puns a brain can handle in a day. But this is fun and funny and mostly just silly, but oddly insightful. or not oddly, but surprisingly.
I dig it but I also didn't love it.
if you're looking for 500 pages of humorous poetry, this is definitely a good place to look, especially if you love puns, which I do.
Even so, I wouldn't recommend d trying to read this quickly. there are only so many puns a brain can handle in a day. But this is fun and funny and mostly just silly, but oddly insightful. or not oddly, but surprisingly.
I dig it but I also didn't love it.
March 9, 2013
I love Ogden Nash, but this book is just too much of a good thing. I quickly bogged down; it didn't help that the good poems I found, I already knew well enough to recite. I quickly got the feeling that I already knew all the Ogden Nash poems that were worth knowing, and the book has sat neglected on my shelf ever since.
For people who didn't learn his poems in their youth, this might be a treasure -- or it might present too much at one time for them to appreciate.
For people who didn't learn his poems in their youth, this might be a treasure -- or it might present too much at one time for them to appreciate.
July 3, 2009
Ogden Nash's wit and wordplay is exactly what one needs for a light-hearted read with a the sweet aftertaste of deep thinking. His deceptively simple poetry probes into themes that we all perceive everyday yet never truly notice.
January 29, 2016
My dad quoted Ogden Nash poems throughout my childhood, so it was delightful to find an anthology of over 400 of his poems. Great for browsing or, as I did, reading straight through. Incredibly witty, insightful, and humorous.
February 2, 2017
Many of the pop culture references in Nash's poems fall flat with (or over the head of) this millennial, but, in general, I love his wit and style. The organization of this collection is excellent; the themes are logical, but not so much so that reading becomes monotonous.
January 30, 2008
A cow is of the bovine ilk
One end is moo, the other milk
One end is moo, the other milk
April 17, 2008
I love Ogden Nash. He is so quirky. Candy is Dandy but Liquor is Quicker!
October 15, 2008
Everyone should read a good dose of nonsense and there's no one better at it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews