Lenny Lipton Talks About What Inspired Him to Write the Song ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’

Great Big Story visited with author, filmmaker and songwriter Lenny Lipton to find out what inspired him to write his famous song “Puff the Magic Dragon” when he was a 19-year old student at Cornell University.

I was reading a poem by Ogden Nash called Custard the Dragon , as I was walking down the hill to the apartment, I was thinking about the poem I had read and I thought that I’d try to write one too about a dragon. I saw a typewriter on the kitchen table and typed…

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.