Los Angeles herald., 1892-12-05
JAMES WHITcoMB RILEY.
The Hoosier Poet Talks OF His Works
and Aims.


and Aims.
James Whitcomb Riley, the Hoosier
poet, arrived in the city Saturday. He
appears in readings at the Los Angeles
theater this and tomorrow nighte. Mr..
Riley was much fatigued by his ride
from Denver and retired to his room,
receiving no one until the evening. He
held an informal levee in his room. A
number OF gentlemen called. Mr.. Riley
has brother in the city and he was
also among the visitors.
MIR. Riley, while he entertained few
newspaper men, brushed his silk hat
and commented on that necessary evil
OF the travelling man. His personality
is such that it puts one in a good hu-
NOR.
Mr.. Riley will be entertained by
number of people during his stay here,
and reception at the Hotel Angeieno
today will be rendered him.
Mr.. Riley was seen by HERALD man
Saturday, and be favored him with
talk OF some length. The poet has q
very nervous temperament and is very
enthusiastic. His flow of language is
free and he expressed himeelf vigor-
ously.
''It seems now," he said, "as if the
literature of the country is monopolized
by the richer classes, the better edu-
Gated people. TIE poor eeem to be
denied Il just hearing in the production
that is at present more for the cultured.
There is no class of people who have
such an abundant etore of rich and
original material as do those who are
nelected.
Literature is free for all; it is
blessing designed by Providence for
every one, and why should the better
educated classes absorb it from their
less informed brothers. 1t belongs as
much to you rs to me, and why should
| deny to you the proper representation.
1t is not right that the writers should
get in and misreport these people. To-
day there is hardly an educated writer
who, when he tries to write OF the IN
lettered class of people, but starts in
with false dialect and puts things in
the mouth of his characters that they
never say in real life, and instead OF leJ-
ting the true thing appear, supply what
they think sounds well, without regard
whether the character is correctly
reported or not. In their attempts to
make him funny they make the char
acter ridiculous and unnatural.
"We frequently see writer speak Of
western people and put the Yankee dia-
lect in their mouths; the southern dia-
lect ie sometimes thrown in. BE ye
goin' is common expression used,
and reputable authors frequently are
thus led to write what they ascribe as
peculiar to western dialect when it is
New England or southern. 1t seems
now to be the decorous thing not to pre-
sent the children III stories as they
really are, but to put them in rigid
dress. My idea is that the little, open
the world therefore | want him to be
properly represented.
''If man finds that he has lived go
long amid a library that he is not in
touch with the unlettered people, do not
let him have any thing to say of them.
Take Col. Richard Malcolm Johnston.
He is scholar, a learned man and also
a lover OF the common people as well;
therefore when he reports dialect he re.
ports the people as they are. His atti-
tude is universal; he is always truth
ful. The same is true of Joel Chandler
Harris, who is always chaste, truthful,
and therefore natural.
My ambition has been to write seri-
ously, but as my dialectic effort has
been better received by the public and
my audiences, l have keep at it, al
though 1 hope some day to receive
recognition in a more serious vein.
"My first inclinations were for the
histrionic. L used to take part in home
theatricals, but these were discontinued,
and began to read from such works as
the public readers supplied. 1t struck
me that these characters were, in part,
unnatural, that the people in real life
made no such utterances, and began to
try alone to get what in reality they
would say. By degrees succeeded and
wrote a number of sketches. l was
locally known as a reader and frequent
ly would read my works. A dialect ar
ticle always takes better when spoken
than it does in type. 1 published a
number of articles which received no
applause in print, but when recited were
applauded and people came with re-
ouests for comics of themo