Now Go Get An Attitude!

A review of the book Selected Poetry Of Ogden Nash

Written on: 12-Mar-2001

Pros: Great Compilation! 

Cons: You can't live without it! 

The Cow 

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The cow is of the bovine ilk. 

One end is moo, the other, milk. 

Welcome to The World as seen through the verses of Ogden Nash. 

Let's try another:

The Cobra

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This creature fills its mouth with venum 

And walks upon its duodenum. 

He who attempts to tease the cobra 

Is soon a sadder he, and sobra. 

It's good. Very good. And hell! It's infectious!!

This master of light verse has written on every possible subject, as the varied topics of the fifteen chapters in the book show. There are two-four line verses on animals. There are philosophical poems that run into a couple of pages. There are lyrics on people, travel, the seasons and children. And then there are rhymes on love, marriage and family life. Whatever the size, whatever the subject, they are all, without exception, laced with the delicate humour and satire and play-on-words-and-sounds that only a master like Nash can achieve. 

Let's probe further:

The Pizza

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Look at itsy bitsy Mitzi! 

See her figure slim and ritzy! 

She eatsa 

Pizza! 

Greedy Mitzi! 

She no longer itsy bitsy! 

We're neck deep into it now. There's no getting away from it. It grows on you. It permeates your very being. It first takes control of your mind. Then your body. And finally your very life! It has grown on me so much that I can't spend a single day without thumbing through a random Nash verse! I use it to forget that tiff with mom. I use it to heighten that ecstatic feeling on sharing a few words with that beautiful colleague. I use it to fight the ennui of being "on bench-warming" after my project got scrapped. And I had used it to cope with the project-pressures when the project was around. If ever there was a panacea, a "cure-all," this is it, this is it, this is it! After all, isn't it universally acknowledged that laughter is the best medicine? 

The book boasts 650 rhymes, verses, lyrics and poems. In 15 chapters. 682 pages. Each piece a beautifully crafted, glossy-finish, original Nash. The style? Well, I would hate to club it with any others. Also, I am not at all convinced that there can ever be anyone in this league. So I call it Nash-esque. 

The final bow:

The Termite:

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Some primal termite knocked on wood 

And tasted it, and found it good, 

And that is why your Cousin May 

Fell through the parlor floor today. 

Now go get an attitude! 

- Rajesh 

Would you recommend this book to a friend?: Yes