Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet celebrated as the nation's premier writer of light verse and humorous poetry. The National Poetry Foundation estimates that "over a four-decade career, he published 19 books of poetry and penned more than 500 pieces. He became a cultural staple by skewering the quirks of modern middle-class life, marriage, and human behavior with sharp, playful wit." In honor of the poet's birthday today we'll hear the classic recording of Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals, featuring the verse narration Nash he wrote for Noël Coward to perform, which has since become something of a standard.
On a darker note, we will honor the legendary Spanish poet, Federica Garcia Lorca—who died brutally at the hands of the fascists during the Spanish Civil War on this day in 1936—with the remarkable Homenaje a Federico García Lorca (Homage to Federico García Lorca), a powerful, three-movement work by Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas, written in 1936 immediately following the great poet's murder, which had affected affected Revueltas deeply, and what many consider to be his masterpiece.
You can hear Foley Schuler's musical selections—and stories behind the music—every weekday afternoon on Blue Lake Public Radio.
