Further Reading
Blair, Walter,Horse Sense in American Humor, from
Benjamin Franklin to Ogden Nash, University of Chicago
Press, 1942.
Unlike many books that approach Nash’s
poetry from a literary perspective and find his
work flawed, Blair takes into account the
poet’s aim to be a humorist, placing Nash in
the context of the comic tradition extending
back to the founding of the country.
Gaines, James R.,Wit’s End: Days and Nights of the
Algonquin Round Table, BookSurge, 2007.
The Algonquin Round Table was a famous
daily gathering of humorist and literary figures
who met at the Algonquin Hotel in New York
City in the 1920s and 1930s. Though Nash is
not generally considered to have been an active
member, the group included many of his closest
friends and associates, including S. J. Perel-
man, Harold Ross (his editor), Robert Bench-
ley, and George S. Kaufman. This book offers
a good look into the literary society that sur-
rounded Nash.
Parker, Douglas M.,Ogden Nash: The Life and Work of
America’s Laureate of Light Verse, Ivan R. Dee, 2005.
Parker’s biography of the poet was published
to much critical acclaim in 2005. With the ben-
efit of years of research, he was able to write a
more thorough account of Nash’s life than is
found in any previous biography.
Stuart, David,The Life and Rhymes of Ogden Nash,
Madison Books, 2000.
Stuart’s biography is a thoroughly researched
and documented scholarly work, telling the
poet’s story with all of the details that a student
of his poetry might care to know.The Hippopotamus