1902–1971

One of Ogden Nash’s first published poems was Spring Comes to Murray Hill, and in it he introduces himself with the lines: “I sit in an office at 244 Madison Avenue / And say to myself / You have a responsible job, havenue?” He was born in Rye, New York but lived most of his life in the city, and if he proves anything about the city it’s that, well, New Yorkers can be silly too. He represents the light and commonplace side of city life; his poems discuss such things as parenting, getting to parties late, and growing old. Many of his aphorism have sunk into the American consciousness, like the oft–repeated “candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.”