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James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His poems tend to be humorous or sentimental. Of the approximately 1,000 poems Riley wrote, the majority are in dialect. His famous works include "Little Orphant Annie" and "The Raggedy Man".

Riley began his career writing verses as a sign maker and submitting poetry to newspapers. Thanks in part to poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's endorsement, he eventually earned successive jobs at Indiana newspaper publishers during the late 1870s. He gradually rose to prominence during the 1880s through his poetry reading tours. He traveled a touring circuit first in the Midwest, and then nationally, appearing either alone or with other famous talents. During this period Riley's long-term addiction to alcohol began to affect his performing abilities, and he suffered financially as a result. However, once he extricated himself from a series of poorly negotiated contracts that sought to limit his earnings, he began to accumulate wealth and eventually became a financial success.

By the 1890s, Riley had become known as a bestselling author. His children's poems were compiled into a book illustrated by Howard Chandler Christy. Titled Rhymes of Childhood, it was his most popular and sold millions of copies. As a poet, Riley achieved an uncommon level of fame during his lifetime. He was honored with annual Riley Day celebrations around the United States and was regularly called on to perform readings at national civic events. He continued to write and hold occasional poetry readings until a stroke paralyzed his right arm in 1910.

Riley's chief legacy was his influence in fostering the creation of a Midwestern cultural identity and his contributions to the Golden Age of Indiana Literature. With other writers of his era, he helped create a caricature of Midwesterners and formed a literary community that produced works rivaling the established eastern literati. There are many memorials dedicated to Riley, including the James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children.

Early life

Family and background

James Whitcomb Riley was born on October 7, 1849, in the town of Greenfield, Indiana, the third of the six children of Reuben Andrew and Elizabeth Marine Riley.[1][n 1] Riley's father was an attorney, and in the year before his birth, he was elected a member of the Indiana House of Representatives as a Democrat. He developed a friendship with James Whitcomb, the governor of Indiana, after whom he named his son.[2][3] Martin Riley, Riley's uncle, was an amateur poet who occasionally wrote verses for local newspapers. Riley was fond of his uncle who influenced his interest in poetry.

Shortly after his birth, the family moved into a larger house in town.[5] Riley was "a quiet boy, not talkative, who would often go about with one eye shut as he observed and speculated".[6] His mother taught him to read and write at home before sending him to the local community school in 1852.[7] He found school difficult and was frequently in trouble. Often punished, he had nothing kind to say of his teachers in his writings. His poem "The Educator" tells of an intelligent but sinister teacher and may have been based on one of his instructors.[8][9] Riley was most fond of his last teacher, Lee O. Harris. Harris noticed Riley's interest in poetry and reading and encouraged him to pursue it further.

Riley's school attendance was sporadic, and he graduated from grade eight at age 20 in 1869. In an 1892 newspaper article, Riley confessed he knew little of mathematics, geography, or science, and his understanding of proper grammar was poor.[11] Later critics, like Henry Beers, pointed to his poor education as the reason for his success in writing; his prose was written in the language of common people which spurred his popularity.

Riley lived in his parents' home until he was 21 years old. At age five, he began spending time at the Brandywine Creek near Greenfield. His poems "A Barefoot Boy" and "The Old Swimmin' Hole" refer to his time there.[6] As a child he was introduced to many people who later influenced his poetry. His father regularly brought home clients and disadvantaged people to help them. Riley's poem "The Raggedy Man" is based on a German tramp his father hired to work at the family home.[2] Riley picked up the cadence and character of the dialect of central Indiana from travelers along the old National Road. Their speech greatly influenced the hundreds of poems he wrote in 19th century Hoosier dialect.

His mother often told him stories of fairies, trolls, and giants, and read him children's poems. She was very superstitious and influenced Riley with many of her beliefs. They both placed "spirit rappings" in their homes on places like tables and bureaux to capture any spirits that may have been wandering about. This influence can be found in many of his works, including "Flying Islands of the Night".

As was common at that time, Riley and his friends had few toys, and amused themselves with activities. With his mother's help, Riley began creating plays and theatricals, which he and his friends would practice and perform in the back of a local grocery store. As he grew older, the boys named their troupe the Adelphians and began to hold their shows in barns where they could fit larger audiences.[16] Riley wrote of these early performances in his poem "When We First Played 'Show'", referring to himself as "Jamesy".

Many of Riley's poems are filled with musical references. He had no musical education and was unable to read sheet music. His father taught him to play the guitar, and a friend taught him the violin. He performed in two different local bands and became so proficient on the violin he was invited to play with a group of adult Freemasons at several events. A few of his later poems were set to music and song, one of the most well known being A Short'nin' Bread Song—Pieced Out.

When Riley was 10 years old, the first library opened in his hometown. From an early age he developed a love of literature. He and his friends spent time at the library where the librarian read stories and poems to them. Charles Dickens became one Riley's favorites and inspired the poems "St. Lirriper", "Christmas Season", and "God Bless Us Every One".

Riley's father enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War, leaving his wife to manage the family home. While he was away, the family took in a 12-year-old orphan named Mary Alice "Allie" Smith. She was the inspiration for Riley's poem "Little Orphant Annie". Riley had intended titling the poem "Little Orphant Allie", but a typesetter's error changed it during printing.

Riley had become very wealthy by the time he stopped touring in 1895 and was earning $1,000 a week.[162] Although he retired, he continued to make minor appearances. In 1896, Riley performed four shows in Denver.[163][164] Most of the performances of his later life were at civic celebrations. He was a regular speaker at Decoration Day events and delivered poetry before the unveiling of monuments in Washington, D.C. Newspapers began referring to him as the "National Poet", "the poet laureate of America", and "the people's poet laureate".[156] Riley wrote many of his patriotic poems for such events, including "The Soldier", "The Name of Old Glory", and his most famous such poem, "America!". The 1902 poem "America, Messiah of Nations" was written and read by Riley for the dedication of the Indianapolis Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument.

The only new poetry Riley published after the end of the century were elegies for famous friends. The poetic qualities of the poems were often poor, but they contained many popular sentiments concerning the deceased. Among those he eulogized were Benjamin Harrison, Lew Wallace, and Henry Lawton. Because of the poor quality of the poems, his friends and publishers asked that he stop writing them, but he refused.

In 1897, Riley's publishers suggested that he create a multi-volume series of books containing his complete life works.[168] With the help of his nephew, Riley began working to compile the books. There were eventually sixteen volumes, which were finally completed in 1914. Such works were uncommon during the lives of writers, attesting to the uncommon popularity Riley had achieved.

His works had become staples for Ivy League literature courses and universities began offering him honorary degrees. The first was Yale in 1902, followed by a Doctorate of Letters from the University of Pennsylvania in 1904. Wabash College and Indiana University granted him similar awards.[171] In 1908 he was elected a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters; in 1912 they conferred upon him a special medal for poetry.

Riley was influential in helping other poets start their careers, having particularly strong influences on Hamlin Garland, William Allen White, and Edgar Lee Masters. He discovered aspiring African-American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar in 1892. Riley thought Dunbar's work was "worthy of applause" and wrote him letters of recommendation to help him get his work published.

Declining health

In 1901, Riley's doctor diagnosed him with neurasthenia, a nervous disorder, and recommended long periods of rest as a cure.[173] Riley remained ill for the rest of his life and relied on his landlords and family to aid in his care. During the winter months he moved to Miami, Florida, and during summer spent time with his family in Greenfield. He made only a few trips during the decade, including one to Mexico in 1906. He became very depressed by his condition, writing to his friends that he thought he could die at any moment, and often used alcohol for relief.

In March 1909, Riley was stricken a second time with Bell's palsy and partial deafness, the symptoms only gradually eased over the course of the year.[175] He was a difficult patient, and generally refused to take any medicine except the patent medicines he had sold in his earlier years; the medicines often worsened his conditions, but his doctors could not sway his opinion.[176] On July 10, 1910, he suffered a stroke that paralyzed the right side of his body. Hoping for a quick recovery, his family kept the news from the press until September. Riley found the loss of use of his writing hand the worst part of the stroke, which served only to further depress him.[174][177] With his health so poor, he decided to work on a legacy by which to be remembered in Indianapolis. In 1911 he donated land and funds to build a new library on Pennsylvania Avenue.[178] By 1913, with the aid of a cane, Riley began recovering his ability to walk. His inability to write, however, nearly ended his production of poems. George Ade worked with him from 1910 through 1916 to write his last five poems and several short autobiographical sketches as Riley dictated. His publisher continued recycling old works into new books, which remained in high demand.

Since the mid-1880s, Riley had been the nation's most read poet, a trend that accelerated at the turn of the century. In 1912 Riley recorded readings of his most popular poetry to be sold by the Victor Talking Machine Company. He was the subject of three paintings by T. C. Steele. The Indianapolis Arts Association commissioned a portrait of Riley to be created by the world-famous painter John Singer Sargent. His image became a nationally known icon and many businesses capitalized on his popularity to sell their products; Hoosier Poet brand vegetables became a major trade-name in the Midwest.

In 1912, the governor of Indiana instituted Riley Day on the poet's birthday. Schools were required to teach Riley's poems to their pupils, and banquet events were held in his honor around the state. In 1915 and 1916 the celebration was national after being proclaimed in most states. The annual celebration continued in Indiana until 1968.[180] In early 1916 Riley was filmed as part of a movie to celebrate Indiana's centennial, the video is on display at the Indiana State Library.

Death and legacy

On July 22, 1916, Riley suffered a second stroke. He recovered enough during the day to speak and joke with his companions. He died before dawn on July 23.[183] Riley's death shocked the nation and made front page headlines in major newspapers.[184] President Woodrow Wilson wrote a brief note to Riley's family offering condolences on behalf of the entire nation. Indiana Governor Samuel M. Ralston offered to allow Riley to lie in state at the Indiana Statehouse—Abraham Lincoln is the only other person to have previously received such an honor.[185] During the ten hours he lay in state on July 24, more than thirty-five thousand people filed past his bronze casket; the line was still miles long at the end of the day, and thousands were turned away. The next day a private funeral ceremony was held and attended by many dignitaries. A large funeral procession then carried him to Crown Hill Cemetery where he was buried in a tomb at the top of the hill, the highest point in the city of Indianapolis.[186]

Within a year of Riley's death, many memorials were created, including several by the James Whitcomb Riley Memorial Association. The James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children was created and named in his honor by a group of wealthy benefactors and opened in 1924. In the following years, other memorials intended to benefit children were created, including Camp Riley for youth with disabilities.

The memorial foundation purchased the poet's Lockerbie home in Indianapolis, and it is now maintained as a museum. The James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home is the only late-Victorian home in Indiana that is open to the public. It is the United States' only late-Victorian preservation, featuring authentic furniture and décor from that era. His birthplace and boyhood home, now the James Whitcomb Riley House, is preserved as a historical site.[189] A Liberty ship commissioned April 23, 1942, was christened the SS James Whitcomb Riley. It served with the United States Maritime Commission until being scrapped in 1971.

James Whitcomb Riley High School opened in South Bend, Indiana, in 1924. In 1950, there was a James Whitcomb Riley Elementary School in Hammond, Indiana, but it was torn down in 2006. East Chicago, Indiana, had a Riley School at one time, as did neighboring Gary, Indiana, and Anderson, Indiana. One of New Castle, Indiana's, elementary schools is named for Riley[190] as is the road[191] on which it is located. There are also Riley Elementary Schools in La Porte, Indiana,[192] and Arlington Heights, Illinois.[193] The former Greenfield High School was converted to Riley Elementary School and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Indianapolis Public School 43 is named for him and is located less than a mile from his burial place in Crown Hill Cemetery.[194] Riley Towers, a high-rise apartment complex in Indianapolis, is named in his honor.[195]

In 1940, the U.S. Postal Service issued a 10-cent stamp honoring Riley.

As a lasting tribute, the citizens of Greenfield hold a festival every year in Riley's honor. Taking place the first or second weekend of October, the "Riley Days" festival traditionally commences with a flower parade in which local school children place flowers around Myra Reynolds Richards' statue of Riley on the county courthouse lawn, while a band plays lively music in honor of the poet. Weeks before the festival, the festival board has a queen contest. The pageant has been going on many years in honor of the Hoosier poet[197]

According to historian Elizabeth Van Allen, Riley was instrumental in helping form a Midwestern cultural identity. The Midwestern United States had no significant literary community before the 1880s.[198] The works of the Western Association of Writers, most notably those of Riley and Wallace, helped create the Midwest's cultural identity and rival literary community to the established eastern literati. For this reason and the publicity Riley's work created, he was commonly known as the "Hoosier Poet".

Courtesy – Wikipedia
- James W Riley

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