The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-07-24
RILEY, IN STATE


Mr.. Riley was born about 1850, but
was reticent as to his exact age. One
Of the most unique celebrations in the
country was held in his honor Octo-
Der Z. 1915, when Riley day" was
observed by q banquet in Indianapolis,
and in schools of the country attend
Cd by more than 100000 children.
Poet of Common People.
True poet of the provinces was
James Whitcomb Riley; born of the
middle west, he sang the joys, sor-
rows fancies and humOrS of its folk,
largely in its own dialect, and the
world was so touched by his inspira-
ton and the realism of his homely
symbols that ne was one OF the Jew
that, devoting their lives to poetry,
have gained a fortune.
Mr.. Riley was peculiarly sensitive
to the advance of age, and evaded in
quiries as to the date of his birth, but
the most accurate information avail
able indicated that he was born in
1S4S SHOULD you ask him his age,
one of his friend said, ''he would an
sver that he was this side of 4O,' and
leave you to guess which side"
Born 20 the Law.
The poet was the son of Reuben A.
RELY, a lawyer and political speaker
of Greenfield, Ind. The younger Riley
could not be brought to the dull rou-
tine of school days, but he was wise
mother, who was Elizabeth Marine be-
fore her marriage, was writer of
verse Instead of preparing for the
practice of law, as his father wished,
the son apparently prepared for moth
ing, and when he left home, he turned
itinerant sign painter to make his liv
ing. What he carried from the little
school house was some sympathetic
knowledge of literature impaired by
his teacher, Lee o. Harris, himself
poet.
For ten years Riley roved the Ohio
valley, painting commercial signs on
fences and farm outhouses. He had
the trick of brush and pencil, and
cleverly drew sketches illustrative of
the virtues of merchandise advertised
in the signs he and his fellow artisans
made to bloom on the roadsides. He
was naturally musical, and shone as
a fiddler in the villages at which his
party stopped at night. He played
for dances and at concerts in country
hotels. and he wrote rhymes which
sometimes found their way into the
country newspapers.
Takes Up Newspaper Work.
He led this cheerful, free and easy
life until late in the '70s. when he
took employment at Anderson, Ind. He
had now begun to write verse stead
lily, but with little encouragement
from publishers. In 1877, for the pur-
pose. as he said, of proving that he
could write poetry of value, he per-
petrated the Poe hoax" which for
years was a literary sensation, which
he often regretted, and of which, as
he often told his friends he knew he
never would hear the last.
In the early sos Mr.. Riley settled
in Indianapolis and began writing
verses in "Hoosier" dialect for the
indianapolis Journal for a small SAL
airy. He sent some of his poems to
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and
they received his praise. volume
was published and the Hoosier poet"
began to win public.
He was a graphic reader of his
own verses. and for fifteen years, or
until 1888, he made tours of the coun-
try, appearing in public entertain
ments with great success, both alone
and in association with the humorist
Bill Nye. who was his intimate friend
Wealth Comes to Him.
Publication of books of poems year
after year brought Mr.. Riley wealth
and wide recognition of his literary
genius, and not only in the genre
form. Many of his poems are of mag
NATIVE fantasy or are gently philo-
sophie. In 1902 he received the de-
gree of master of arts from Yale uni
versity and in 1904 the University of
Pennsylvania conferred upon him the
degree of doctor of letters.
In July, 1911. the poet presented to
the city of Indianapolis property val
Ted at $4,000, for a site for a public
library and school administration
building.
Mr.. Riley never married. but he was
a lover of children, whose spirit he
OWNED he intimately. and of family
life. Many of the last years of his