English: The American Humorists albumen print from left to right: Josh Billings, Mark Twain, and Petroleum V. Nasby (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“One would be in less danger from the wiles of the stranger if one’s kin and kith were more fun to be with.” — Ogden Nash
(Such a clever writer, that Nash! The words “kith” and “kin” are not terribly unusual, though not all that common these days. But, Nash’s reversing their order did make for a more interesting solve. Be well and do good, friends.) — YUR
PS. I would have liked to give this post a picture of Ogden Nash, but they all seem to be “owned” by Getty. They are very quietly, but very rapidly, buying up the rights to tons of internet property that – I believe – was previously classified as “Public domain”. Companies that exercise this kind of control should be feared, friends. — YUR
Related articles
- April 27: John James Audubon (rompoetry.com)
- Andrew Little’s ‘Night before Budget’ poetry (nzherald.co.nz)
- Light Reading (andrewhammel.typepad.com)
- What Your Superpower Might Say About You (psychologytoday.com)
- Tim Sample Book Talk and Signing (bangordailynews.com)
- Recursive giraffe (arnoldzwicky.org)
- Richard Brautigan worships Japanese women in ‘Sombrero Fallout’ (japantimes.co.jp)
- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Standardized Testing (HBO) (stevehargadon.com)
- Words of the Week 17/2015 – Mark Twain (tfrnorthcyprus.wordpress.com)
- Mark Twain Would Be Ashamed To Be An American Today (mountainrepublic.net)
- VIDEO: Comedian Amy Schumer Points Out How Much Easier It Is to Get Guns Than Birth Control (truthdig.com)
Unclerave's Wordy Weblog 
That Ogden Nash is virtually forgotten these days – except for Broadway – doesn’t surprise me but is still saddens me. He wrote at least two unforgettable songs, along with the great Kurt Weill, I’m a Stranger Here Myself and Speak Low (the latter old Kurt himself recorded, German accent and all), for One Touch of Venus, their most famous collaboration. Even though they’re routinely massacred on the Great White Way pretty much every other year, I’d recommend Teresa Stratas’ recording of both, and Ute Lemper’s version of Speak Low for getting a taste of his exquisite talent as a writer. Weill’s rendering was made even more enduring on a Hal Wilner produced album of his works, September Songs, by the late Charlie Haden, who rearranged it for his fretless bass. Sorry, this came out longer than I wanted it. Thank goodness that the cryptoquote can still save the day.
This version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSUkl0SJ5Zk
Never apologize for a long “comment”, Wes. It was very informative. And, the Youtube clip was great. It caught me a little off-guard though. I guess I wasn’t thinking of the fretless bass, but because the Ogden Nash connection I was expecting something bouncier and sillier. I shouldn’t think that people would be so one dimensional, should I?
— YUR