Фредерик Огден Нэш: Жизнь и творчество американского поэта-юмориста

American poet (1902–1971)

Frederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his light verse, of which he wrote more than 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyming schemes, he was declared by The New York Times to be the country's best known producer of humorous poetry.

When Nash was not writing poems, he made guest appearances on comedy and radio shows and toured the United States and the United Kingdom and gave lectures at colleges and universities. Nash was regarded with respect by the literary establishment, and his poems were frequently anthologized, even in serious collections such as Selden Rodman's 1946 A New Anthology of Modern Poetry. Nash was the lyricist for the 1943 Broadway musical One Touch of Venus and collaborated with the librettist S. J. Perelman and the composer Kurt Weill. The show included the notable song "Speak Low". He also wrote the lyrics for the 1952 revue Two's Company. Nash and his love of the Baltimore Colts were featured in the December 13, 1968, issue of Life magazine, with several poems about the American football team matched to full page pictures. Entitled "My Colts, verses and reverses", the issue includes his poems and photographs by Arthur Rickerby: "Mr. Nash, the league leading writer of light verse (Averaging better than 6.3 lines per carry), lives in Baltimore and loves the Colts", it declares. The comments further describe Nash as "a fanatic of the Baltimore Colts, and a gentleman." Featured on the magazine cover is the defensive player Dennis Gaubatz, number 53, in midair pursuit with this description: "That is he, looming 10 feet tall or taller above the Steelers' signal caller Since Gaubatz acts like this on Sunday, I'll do my quarterbacking Monday." Memorable Colts Jimmy Orr, Billy Ray Smith, Bubba Smith, Willie Richardson, Dick Szymanski and Lou Michaels contribute to the poetry. Among Nash's most popular writings were a series of animal verses, many of which featured his off kilter rhyming devices. Examples include "If called by a panther / Don't anther"; "Who wants my jellyfish? / I'm not sellyfish! "; "The one L lama, he's a priest. The two L llama, he's a beast. And I will bet a silk pajama: there isn't any three L lllama!" Nash later appended the footnote "*The author's attention has been called to a type of conflagration known as a three alarmer. Pooh." The best of his work was published in 14 volumes between 1931 and 1972.

In 1931, he married Frances Leonard, of Baltimore. In 1934, Nash moved his family to his in laws' mansion in Guilford, Baltimore, Maryland, where he remained until his death in 1971. Nash thought of Baltimore as home. After his return from a brief move to New York, he wrote: "I could have loved New York had I not loved Balti more." Nash's daughter Isabel was married to noted photographer Frederick Eberstadt. His granddaughter, Frances R. Smith, is an author. Another granddaughter, Fernanda Eberstadt, is an acclaimed author, and his grandson is political economist Nicholas Eberstadt. Nash had one other daughter, author Linell Nash Smith. Nash died at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital on May 19, 1971, of Crohn's Disease, aggravated by a lactobacillus infection transmitted by improperly prepared coleslaw. 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."

The US Postal Service released a postage stamp featuring Ogden Nash and text from six of his poems on the centennial of his birth on August 19, 2002. The six poems are "The Turtle", "The Cow", "Crossing The Border", "The Kitten", "The Camel", and "Limerick One". The stamp is the 18th in the Literary Arts section. The first issue ceremony took place in Baltimore on August 19 at the home that he and his wife Frances shared with his parents on 4300 Rugby Road, where he did most of his writing.

A biography, Ogden Nash: the Life and Work of America's Laureate of Light Verse, was written by Douglas M. Parker and published in 2005. with a paperback edition issued in 2007. Written with the cooperation of the Nash family, the book quotes extensively from Nash's personal correspondence as well as his poetry.