The Hawaiian gazette., 1915-10-08
POEMS OF RILEY
TODEREADTODAY
Teachers win Tell Pupils About
The 'Raguedy Man and
Iizabuth Ann

The, simple mage that makes james
Mhiteomb Riley, one OF America 3
great poets IL 70 Be explained today TO
ali the Cosmopolitan youngsters In Ho-
nolulu 3 schools, for thia IL Riley day
in the public institutions Of learning.
| Poems by the fafmer-boy poet are
TO. be read and his life is 20 be ex-
| planned Go hundreds Of little folk who
| perhaps never heard Of him before. He
Il TO remind them by proxy Just how
good IL feels to paddle In a brook, or
to eat apples right of the trees and to
| do numerous other things with birds,
bugs, flowers and fruits that his small
Hawaiian friends do in q tropical sort
| Of a. way with other material. ~
Each teacher is expected to make her
own choice from Riley,s poems and
read It TO her class and tell them some.
thing besides Of the man himself. The
cabled notice that the day had been
set aside in bis honor was received here
,, toe late to permit Of more than the
local schools being notified, so exercises
will be confined to this island this year.
Riley Shy on His Age - F..
James Whitcomb Riley was born DC.
tober T so many years ago that he does
not even refer to IL in a whisper, pre-.
ferriug Ito state the factsD simply.
that he Is now con the sunny side of
forty What is more, he was born in
a log cabin, weatherboarded over, IL is
true, but still an old fashioned log cabin
with rag carpet on the floor, q spin
ming wheel in the corner and trundle.
bed under the lofty adult sleeping
quarters. = = 50. ..'.. '.':. ~
Likewise he grew up in an old. flash.
toned town among "the good old.
toned people," with soiicitous Uncle
Sidney, a strict father, a home. loving
and tender mother to say nothing of a
wild brood of barefooted brothers and
sisters and .playmates, o Tragedy
Man" and a "Lizabuth Ann.'
Poems Reject Early Days
Naturally his early days were made
glorious with food--apples of the trees
berries from the back lot, strip from
the grove on his fathers farm, home
butehered ham, garden truck from the
private garden, and what not galore.
For instance, his poetic eye never for.
Visions of biscuits, hot
And laky.perfect, with the golden
OF molten butter for the center,
Through pools of clover honey
deaf-o-deari--
With creamy, milk for its divine
"farewelln;
And then, II any one delectable
Might yet exceed in sweetness, o
restore
The cherry -cobblsr of the days of
we're ~ ... 4. y
Made only by Al Keefer IS motherl
WHY, ) =,
The very thought Of It ignites the
OF memory with rapture--cloys the
lip I
Or longing, till 1t seems to ooze and
drip
With veriest juice and stain and
Overwaste e., ..
OF that most sweet delirium of taste
That ever visited the childish
tongue. ,
Or proved, as now, the sweetest
thing nnsung.
Frockles in Abundance
Such was the zest of the little poet
with wide blue eyes of q SKINNED milk
hue. Freekles he had in abundance, and
fiaxen hair--almost white. Also this
child went barefoot, and had one sus
pender only, the crown Of his hat was
"busted'' about half the time, but he
was living in a golden age for a that!
Who wouldn't trade today, to be like
him--that's why we love Riley so-be
cause he restores those days when he
and we with him, swim the old swim
min hole once more, or wander out to-
old Aunt Mary's down an old country
road.
with the sunshine spread
As thick as butter on country bread.
Those were the happy times "back
where we used to be so happy and 80
pore" and happy without automobile
and punctures and garage bills, quiet
without the ding-donging of telephones
and street ears and fire trucks, content
with just the trees, and flowers and
brooks from God 3 own hand about us.
Had TO work Hard
So Riley found il in his own life, for.
contrary to public opinion, he had to
work hard. He was artistic-and what
career, pray, can an artist have in
country towlf Well, he might paint
signs and earn little money in that
way with his talent. Riley did. Also
he worked on country newspaper and
received the sort Of starvation wages
starvation paper had to pay in those
days. What's more he wouldn't quit
the artistic game even after all his
discouragements with signs and news
papers. No, sir, let the encouragement
be heaped up, pressed down, and run
ming over for him. Riley has jaw.
IT. broad and immoVable and heroic.
II matches his brains. Too many men
have a jaw that doesn't match their
brains-an hence, trouble. But Riley's
| did .:E
SO he kept on perfecting his talent
for verse -making--he utterly disclaims
genius and calls IL talent and paint:
! and one day, after twelve years of
Quiet work and unobtrusive misery, he
: wrote 'FThe Old Swimmin Hole. " He
| followed this with "When the Frost Is
on the Punkin, ~ Thoughts For a
| Discouraged Farmer" and others. Then,
I-lo and behold, he was becoming famous
lt1The best poet in Marion county" was
soon heralded throughout the state and
Il