by Richard Subber | Jun 30, 2026 | Language, Tidbits
“…Go and tell the guy what you want.”
The wisdom of David Mackenzie Ogilvy (1911-1999)
This is trenchant advice on how to write well—still relevant almost 45 years after it was written by David Ogilvy, who was renowned in the late 20th century as “The Father of Modern Advertising.”
Now, to be sure, Ogilvy’s legendary sway in the ad biz was recognized in pre-internet, pre-wired, pre-Twitter days when ad copy was deemed more salient and more powerful than ad buzz.
Indeed, Ogilvy’s famous memo “How To Write” was circulated far beyond the Mad Men-world of his agency, Ogilvy & Mather, after he wrote it on September 7, 1982.
Here it is:
- Read the Roman-Raphaelson book on writing. Read it three times.
- Write the way you talk. Naturally.
- Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
- Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.
- Never write more than two pages on any subject.
- Check your quotations.
- Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it. Read it aloud the next morning—and then edit it.
- If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it.
- Before you send your letter or your memo, make sure it is crystal clear what you want the recipient to do.
- If you want ACTION, don’t write. Go and tell the guy what you want.
At this point, I know I shouldn’t embarrass myself by trying to reconceptualize or translate Ogilvy’s observations for you…
OK, I can’t resist this one: I think Item 10 is the best. In today’s wired world this can be translated to “If you want to reach an agreement or have an argument, don’t send a text or email when you can call the other party or talk face-to-face.”
Note: the reference in Item 1 is to a now-standard work by Kenneth Roman and Joel Raphaelson, Writing That Works: How to Communicate Effectively in Business. A 3rd edition was issued in 2000.
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Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Book review: Shantung Compound
They didn’t care much
about each other…
by Langdon Gilkey
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My first name was rain: A dreamery of poems with 52 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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by Richard Subber | Jun 25, 2026 | Language, My poetry
spreading the welcome
Plain talk
Alone, so much alone,
but so far from lonely.
I look ahead to the trail that waits,
I look back to the fading trail
that beckoned me to pass,
the plain retreats to distant crags,
the land invites a careless step,
the trail can wait.
This great space, so open,
so mute, such emptiness
framed for imagination and desire,
I sow my thoughts
and spread my welcome
to the eager land
that pulls my step,
and kindles my bright gaze
as I embrace this moment,
and understand that here
it is impossible to be lonely.
April 16, 2026
Inspired by “At the Seven-Mile Ranch, Comstock, Texas” (1982)
by Naomi Shihab Nye (b1952)
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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Book review: An Empire on the Edge
by Nick Bunker
The British wanted to win
the Revolutionary War,
but they had good reasons
for not trying too hard…
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Above all: Poems of dawn and more with 74 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.
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by Richard Subber | Jun 20, 2026 | My poetry, Poetry, Reflections
your smiles abide…
Heartbeats
The last goodbye may hurt my heart,
but you have touched my cheek
when I forgot to smile,
we sang plain notes dipped in love.
We’re on a road
that we’ve tried to imagine,
but it is a strange road,
there is no straight ahead,
there are turnings we’ve never known,
we’re not in a race
but there is a finish line,
there is no turning back,
you may go
but not so very far away.
Your living here is done,
but I’m not done with you,
you are a teacher to my heart,
our fingers blend a lovers’ knot,
your tender touch lingers
on the cheeks of the kids,
your smiles abide in every room.
I say goodbye
but I won’t forget.
My memories heal my heart.
April 14, 2026
Inspired by this quotation: “Experience is in the fingers and head. The heart is inexperienced.”
(1842, Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862))
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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Book review: The Snow Goose
…sensual drama, eminently poetic…
by Paul Gallico
–
Empyrean: new poems with 57 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.
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by Richard Subber | Jun 16, 2026 | My poetry, Poetry, Reflections
work that hoe…
Gardens galore
What’s not a garden?
What doesn’t want to grow?
What do we have
that will not be cultivated?
What part of me
does not strive
to be a seed?
What part of you
would not thrive
in the damp of desire?
What time will you not give
to pluck a weed, and then another?
What earth does not long at night
for the gentle push of the hoe?
What greater joy
than stroking the first green shoot,
and cuddling the first bloom?
What would you say to the child
who wants to be a gardener?
March 28, 2026
Inspired by “In Time” by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, March 28, 2026
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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Book review: “Bartleby, the Scrivener”
Loneliness beyond understanding…
by Herman Melville
–
Empyrean: new poems with 57 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.
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by Richard Subber | Jun 14, 2026 | My poetry, Other, Poetry, Reflections
Loneliness, en passant…
Shivering
I take a stand in the cold tonight,
this frigid porch is bare,
in deadened, yellowed light,
a chitter of rustic sound is near…
I guess that loneliness could find a home here.
I guess I might feel warmer in the dark.
February 1, 2018
It was only a few moments, a mere chance to feel lonely,
I let it pass…
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Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Book review: The Bartender’s Tale
Ivan Doig’s story, I mostly loved it…
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Above all: Poems of dawn and more with 74 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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by Richard Subber | Jun 9, 2026 | Human Nature, My poetry, Poetry, Reflections
heartbeats on display
allegro
The boy was bouncing,
hopping, jumping,
he was on the move,
kids make their world a motion,
an energy,
a swirl,
they test their arms,
and legs,
and fingers,
and their voices,
and their faces,
and ways to look around
and through their spaces,
and sounds that are new words
in their worlds,
they do not share
their racing thoughts,
but they put their heartbeats on display,
their disporting has no end.
Do you remember that part of you
is a child?
Will you let that part of you
bounce with joy?
Your inner child wants to jump,
now.
March 28, 2026
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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
The Reader (Der Vorleser)
Not just a rehash of WWII…
by Bernhard Schlink
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In other words: Poems for your eyes and ears with 64 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.
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