 There she became acquainted with Elizabeth Ames and Stephen Stepanchev.Upon her return to New York she began classes with Louise Bogan and Léonie Adams at NYU and YMHA (now the 92nd Y).Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Oden continued to publish in small magazines including "The Muse", "Saturday Review", "The Canadian Forum", "The Blue River Poetry Journal", "Quicksilver", and "Oak Leaves".