James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. He was born in Greenfield, Indiana, and grew up in a rural area of the state. He was educated in local schools and worked as a printer's apprentice and a schoolteacher before becoming a full-time writer. Riley is best known for his dialect poems, which often featured rural characters and settings. His most famous works include "Little Orphant Annie," "The Raggedy Man," and "When the Frost is on the Punkin." He also wrote several novels, including The Hoosier... AI Generated Content
Titles list
- "Friday Afternoon" to William Morris Pierson. [1868-1870]
- "Hik-Tee-Dik! ". the War-Cry of Billy and Buddy
- A Backward Look
- A Ballad from April
- A Ballad. with a Serious Conclusion
- A Barefoot Boy
- A Bear Family
- A Brave Refrain
- A Bride
- A Caller from Boone. Benj. F. Johnson Visits the Editor
- A Canary at the Farm
- A Canary at the Farm (in Dialect)
- A Christmas Memory
- A Country Pathway
- A Cup of Tea
- A Defective Santa Claus
- A Delicious Interruption
- A Discouraging Model
- A Ditty of no Tone
- A Diverted Tragedy
- A Dos't o' Blues
- A Dos't o' Blues. (Ragweed and Fennel)
- A Dream
- A Dream of Autumn
- A Dream of Long Ago
- A Dubious "Old Kriss"
- A Fall-Crick View of the Earthquake
- A Fantasy
- A Feel in the Chris'Mas-Air
- A few of the Bird-Family
- A Fruit Piece
- A Full Harvest
- A Glimpse of Pan
- A Good Man
- A Good-Bye
- A Gustatory Achievement
- A Hobo Voluntary
- A Home-Made Fairy Tale
- A Home-Made Fairy-Tale
- A Hymb of Faith
- A Leave-Taking. (Ragweed and Fennel)
- A Letter to a Friend
- A Life Lesson
- A Life-Lesson
- A Liz Town Humorist (in Dialect)
- A Lounger
- A Man of Many Parts
- A Masque of the Seasons
- A Monument for the Soldiers
- A Mortul Prayer
- A Mother-Song
- A Motto
- A Nest-Egg
- A New Year's Plaint
- A New Year's Time at Willards's (in Dialect)
- A Noon Lull
- A Noted Traveler
- A Old Played-Out Song
- A Parent Reprimanded
- A Pen-Pictur' of a Certin Frivvolus Old Man
- A Phantom
- A Poet's Wooing
- A Poor Man's Wealth
- A Prospective Visit
- A Rough Sketch
- A Scrawl
- A Session with Uncle Sidney
- A Song
- A Song by Uncle Sidney
- A Song for Christmas
- A Song of Long Ago
- A Song of Singing
- A Southern Singer
- A Spring Song and a Later
- A Sudden Shower
- A Summer Afternoon
- A Summer Sunrise. after Lee o. Harris
- A Summer's Day
- A Tale of the Airly Days
- A Test
- A Test of Love
- A Twintorette
- A Variation
- A very Youthful Affair
- A Voice from the Farm (Sonnets)
- A Water-Color
- A Wild Irishman
- A Wild Irishman. (Sweet-Knot and Galamus)
- A Windy Day
- A Worn-Out Pencil. (Rhymes of Rainy Days)
- A Wraith of Summertime
- A Wrangdillion
- A' Old Played-Out Song
- A' Old Played-Out Song. (down Around the River Poems)
- Abe Martin
- After the Frost
- Albumania
- Almon Keefer
- America's Thanksgiving
- An out-Worn Sappho
- Anselmo
- Art and Love (Sonnets)
- Art and Poetry to Homer Davenport
- As Created
- At Sea
- Away
- Back from a Two-Years' Sentence
- Back from Town
- Be our Fortunes as they May
- Becalmed
- Because
- Blooms of May
- Born to the Purpl. [W. M.] (some Songs after Master Singers)
- Christmas Greeting
- Climatic Sorcery
- Dan o'Sullivan
- Dearth (Sonnets)
- Down on Wriggle Crick (in Dialect)
- Down to the Capital
- Dusk (Sonnets)
- For You
- Friend of a Wayward Hour
- From the Headboard of a Grave in Paraguay
- Good-By Er Howdy-Do
- Granny (in Dialect)
- Griggsby's Station (in Dialect)
- Has she Forgotten?
- He and I
- He Called her In
- Her Face and Brow
- Her Hair
- Her Hair (Sonnets)
- Her Valentine
- Her Waiting Face
- Herr Weiser
- His Room
- How did you Rest, Last Night?
- How it Happened
- Ike Walton's Prayer
- Illileo
- In the Afternoon
- In the Corridor
- In the Evening
- In the Heart of June
- Indiana (Sonnets)
- It's _got_ to Be
- Jack-In-The-Box (Grandfather, Musing.)
- James B. Maynard
- Jim
- Jim (in Dialect)
- Joney (in Dialect)
- June (Sonnets)
- Kingry's Mill (in Dialect)
- Knee Deep in June (in Dialect)
- Kneeling with Herrick
- Laughter Holding both his Sides
- Leedle Dutch Baby (in Dialect)
- Like his Mother Used to Make (in Dialect)
- Little Orphant Annie (in Dialect)
- Little-Girl-Two-Little-Girls
- Lockerbie Street
- Longfellow (Sonnets)
- Louella Wainie
- Monsieur Le Secretaire. [John Clark Ridpath]
- My Bachelor Chum
- My Bride that is to Be
- My Dancin'-Days is Over
- My Henry
- My Mary
- My Old Friend
- Not Always Glad when we Smile
- Nothin' to Say
- Old Chums
- Old Fashioned Roses (in Dialect)
- Old Indiany. Intended for a Dinner of the Indiana Society of Chicago
- Old John Henry
- Old Man Whiskery-Whee-Kum-Wheeze
- Old October (in Dialect)
- Our Boyhood Haunts
- Our Kind of a Man
- Our Old Friend Neverfail
- Our Own
- Out of Reach?
- Out of the Hitherwhere
- Pan (Sonnets)
- Proem
- Regardin' Terry Hut (in Dialect)
- Scotty
- Silence (Sonnets)
- Sleep (Sonnets)
- Somep'N Common-Like
- Song of Parting
- Subtlety. [R. B.] (some Songs after Master Singers)
- That Night
- The Beautiful City
- The Best is Good Enough
- The Boys
- The Dead Joke and the Funny Man
- The Dead Lover
- The Dolly's Mother. [W. W.] (some Songs after Master Singers)
- The Harper
- The King
- The Little Man in the Tinshop
- The Little Old Poem that Nobody Reads
- The Little Town o' Tailholt (in Dialect)
- The Lost Kiss
- The Lost Path
- The Mulberry Tree
- The Old Band
- The Old Days
- The Old Man and Jim
- The Old School-Chum
- The Old Trundle-Bed
- The Old-Fashioned Bible
- The Poet's Love for the Children
- The Quest
- The Ripest Peach
- The Serenade (Sonnets)
- The Sermon of the Rose
- The Shower
- The Song of Yesterday
- The Sphinx
- The Stepmother
- The Text
- The Touch of Loving Hands. Imitated
- The Touches of her Hands
- The Town Karnteel (in Dialect)
- The Traveling Man
- The Treasure of the Wise Man
- Them Old Cheery Words
- Thinkin' Back
- Through Sleepy-Land
- Time (Sonnets)
- To Almon Keefer. Inscribed in "Tales of the Ocean"
- To my Old Friend, William Leachman
- To Santa Claus
- To the Judge
- To the Quiet Observer after his Long Silence
- Tommy Smith
- Uncle Sidney to Marcellus
- We Must Believe
- What "Old Santa" Overheard
- When Bessie Died
- When Lide Married _him_
- When my Dreams Come True
- When Old Jack Died
- When she Comes Home
- When we Three Meet
- Where Shall we Land?
- Who Bides his Time
- Grant at Rest August 8, 1885 (Sonnets)
- The Train Misser. at Union Station (in Dialect)
- To Robert Burns (in Dialect)
- We Must Get Home
- When De Folks is Gone (in Dialect)
- When the Hearse Comes Back (in Dialect)
- Wind of the Sea. [a. t.] (some Songs after Master Singers)
- America's Thanksgiving 1900
- An Assassin
- An Autumnal Extravaganza
- An Empty Glove
- An Empty Nest
- An Impetuous Resolve
- An Impromptu Fairy-Tale
- An Impromptu on Roller Skates
- An Old Friend
- An Old Settler's Story
- An Old Settler's Story. (Rhymes of Rainy Days)
- An Old Sweetheart of Mine
- An Old Sweetheart. (Sweet-Knot and Galamus)
- An Old Year's Address
- An Old-Timer
- Another Ride from Ghent to Aix
- Armazindy
- Art and Poetry. to Homer C. Davenport
- As my Uncle Used to Say
- As we Read Burns
- At Aunty's House
- At Broad Ripple. (Sweet-Knot and Galamus)
- At Dusk
- At Last
- At Madame Manicure'S
- At Noey's House
- At Noon -- and Midnight. (Sweet-Knot and Galamus)
- At Utter Loaf
- At Zekesbury
- August
- Autographic. for an Album
- Autumn
- Babyhood
- Babyhood. (down Around the River Poems)
- Bedouin
- Being his Mother
- Benjamin Harrison. on the Unveiling of his Monument at Indianapolis
- Best of All
- Bewildering Emotions
- Billy and his Drum
- Billy Millers Circus-Show
- Bin a-Fishin'
- Blind
- Brudder Sims
- Bryant
- Bud's Fairy-Tale
- By any other Name
- Charles H. Phillips. Obit November 5th, 1881
- Charms
- Claude Matthews. Governor of Indiana
- Company Manners
- Coon-Dog Wess
- Cousin Rufus' Story
- Craqueodoom
- Curly Locks
- Dan Paine
- Das Krist Kindel
- Dawn, Noon and Dewfall
- Dead in Sight of Fame
- Dead Leaves
- Dead Selves
- Dear Hands. (Sweet-Knot and Galamus)
- Decoration Day on the Place
- Deformed
- Dialect in Literature
- Dialect in Literature. and the Common People Heard him Gladly
- Doc Sifers. (Sweet-Knot and Galamus)
- Dolores
- Donn Piatt of Mac-O-Chee
- Dot Leedle Boy
- Down Around the River
- Down Around the River. (down Around the River Poems)
- Dream
- Dream-March
- Dreamer, Say
- Dreams
- Eccentric Mr. Clark
- Envoy
- Fame
- Farmer Whipple -- Bachelor
- Farmer Whipple. -- Bachelor
- Father William. a New Version by Lee o. Harris and James Whitcomb Riley
- Floretty's Musical Contribution
- George Mullen's Confession
- Go, Winter!
- Grandfather Squeers
- Green Fields and Running Brooks
- Griggsby's Station
- Harlie
- Has she Forgotten. (down Around the River Poems)
- Heat-Lightning
- Her Beautiful Eyes
- Her Beautiful Hands
- His Mother. (down Around the River Poems)
- His Mother's Way
- His Vigil
- Home at Night
- Honey Dripping from the Comb
- How it Happened. (down Around the River Poems)
- How John Quit the Farm
- I Smoke my Pipe
- If I Knew what Poets Know
- In Bohemia. (Rhymes of Rainy Days)
- In the Dark
- In the Dark. (Rhymes of Rainy Days)
- In the South. (Ragweed and Fennel)
- Iry and Billy and Jo
- Jack the Giant Killer. Bad Boy's Version
- Jap Miller
- Job Work
- John Alden and Percilly
- John Brown
- John Walsh
- Johnson's Boy
- Judith
- June
- June at Woodruff
- Just to be Good
- Kissing the Rod. (down Around the River Poems)
- Knee-Deep in June
- Kneeling with Herrick. (down Around the River Poems)
- Leonainie
- Let Us Forget
- Lines for an Album
- Little Orphan Annie
- Long Afore he Knowed who Santy-Claus Wuz. (Sweet-Knot and Galamus)
- Lullaby. (Ragweed and Fennel)
- Luther Benson. after Reading his Autobiography
- Man's Devotion
- Marthy Ellen. (Sweet-Knot and Galamus)
- Moon-Drowned. (Sweet-Knot and Galamus)
- Morton
- Mrs. Miller (down Around the River Poems)
- My Father's Halls
- My Friend
- My Jolly Friend's Secret
- Natural Perversities
- Nessmuk
- North and South
- Old Man's Nursery Rhyme. (Rhymes of Rainy Days)
- On the Banks o' Deer Crick
- On the Sunny Side
- Only a Dream
- Orlie Wilde
- Our Little Girl
- Over the Eyes of Gladness
- Philiper Flash
- Plain Sermons
- Prior to Miss Belle's Appearance
- Private Theatricals
- Reach your Hand to Me
- Red Riding-Hood
- Right here at Home
- Robert Burns Wilson
- Romancin'. (down Around the River Poems)
- Say Something to Me
- Scraps
- Sister Jones's Confession
- Sleep
- Song of the New Year
- Squire Hawkins's Story
- Suspense
- Thanksgiving
- That other Maud Muller
- The Ancient Printerman
- The Artemus of Michigan
- The Bat. (Ragweed and Fennel)
- The Bear Story. that Alex "Ist Maked up his-Own-Se'F"
- The Blossoms on the Trees
- The Chant of the Cross-Bearing Child
- The Curse of the Wandering Foot
- The Cyclone
- The Days Gone by. (down Around the River Poems)
- The Drum. (Ragweed and Fennel)
- The Frog
- The Funny Little Fellow
- The Gilded Roll. (Ragweed and Fennel)
- The Harp of the Minstrel
- The Hereafter
- The Home-Going
- The Hoodoo
- The Hoosier Folk-Child
- The Iron Horse
- The Legend Glorified. (Rhymes of Rainy Days)
- The Little Fat Doctor
- The Little Tiny Kickshaw. (down Around the River Poems)
- The Lost Path. (down Around the River Poems)
- The Merman
- The Old Guitar
- The Old Hay-Mow
- The Old Home by the Mill. (Ragweed and Fennel)
- The Old Retired Sea Captain
- The Old Times were the Best
- The Old Year and the New
- The Passing of a Heart
- The Pixy People
- The Plaint Human
- The Quarrel
- The Quiet Lodger
- The Rain. (Rhymes of Rainy Days)
- The Rainy Morning
- The Rival
- The Rivals; or the Showman's Ruse. a Tragi-Comedy, in One Act
- The Rose
- The same Old Story
- The Shoemaker
- The Singer
- The Speeding of the King's Spite
- The Stepmother. (Rhymes of Rainy Days)
- The Tree-Toad. (Rhymes of Rainy Days)
- The Twins
- The Watches of the Night
- The Way it Wuz. (Ragweed and Fennel)
- The Wife-Blessed
- Them Flowers
- This Man Jones. (Sweet-Knot and Galamus)
- Three Dead Friends. (Rhymes of Rainy Days)
- To a Boy Whistling
- To an Importunate Ghost
- To Hear her Sing
- To my Good Master. (Sweet-Knot and Galamus)
- To the Serenader
- Tom Johnson's Quit. (Ragweed and Fennel)
- Tradin' Joe
- Tugg Martin
- Wait for the Morning. (Ragweed and Fennel)
- Want to be Whur Mother is. (Rhymes of Rainy Days)
- We to Sigh Instead of Sing
- Wet Weather Talk. (Rhymes of Rainy Days)
- What Chris'Mas Fetched the Wigginses
- What Smith Knew about Farming
- The Silent Victors. May 30, 1878
- Tired Out
- To Annie
- Wash Lowry's Reminiscence
- We are not Always Glad when we Smile
- What the Wind Said
- When Evening Shadows Fall
- When June is here. (Ragweed and Fennel)
- When Mother Combed my Hair
- When my Dreams Come True. (Ragweed and Fennel)
- When Old Jack Died. (Sweet-Knot and Galamus)
- When the Green Gits Back in the Trees. (Sweet-Knot and Galamus)
- Where Shall we Land. (Rhymes of Rainy Days)
- Where-Away
- Ylladmar
- Liberty. New Castle, July 4, 1878
- Limitations of Genius
- Little Jack Janitor
- Little Orphant Annie
- Maymie's Story of Red Riding Hood
- Mr. Hammond's Parable. the Dreamer
- Mrs. Miller
- Mylo Jones's Wife
- Naughty Claude
- Noey Bixler
- Noey's Night-Piece
- Old Aunt Mary'S
- Old Man's Nursery Rhyme
- Old October
- Old Winters on the Farm
- Old-Fashioned Roses
- Our Hired Girl
- Romancin'
- September Dark
- That Little Dog
- The Bear-Story. that Alex "Ist Maked up his-Own-Se'F"
- The Boy from Zeeny
- The Boy Lives on our Farm
- The Boys' Candidate
- The Brook-Song
- The Bumblebee
- The Child-World
- The Circus-Day Parade
- The Clover
- The Days Gone By
- The Evening Company
- The Gilded Roll
- The Happy Little Cripple
- The Hired Man and Floretty
- The Jolly Miller. [Restored Romaunt.]
- The Little Coat
- The Loehrs and the Hammonds
- The Lugubrious Whing-Whang
- The Nine Little Goblins
- The Old Man
- The Old Soldier's Story. as Told before the New England Society in New York City
- The Old Tramp
- The Old-Home Folks
- The Orchard Lands of Long Ago
- The Pathos of Applause
- The Pet Coon
- The Raggedy Man
- The Rider of the Knee
- The Runaway Boy
- The South Wind and the Sun
- The Squirtgun Uncle Maked Me
- The Tree-Toad
- Thoughts Fer the Discuraged Farmer
- Time of Clearer Twitterings
- Told by "the Noted Traveler"
- Tom Van Arden
- Uncle Mart's Poem. the Old Snow-Man
- Up and down Old Brandywine
- Waitin' Fer the Cat to Die
- Wet-Weather Talk
- When Early March Seems Middle May
- When the Frost is on the Punkin
- When the Green Gits Back in the Trees
- Where is Mary Alice Smith?
- Where the Children Used to Play
- Who Santy-Claus Wuz
- Winter Fancies
- Wortermelon Time
- Elizabeth. May 1, 1891
- Elmer Brown
- Erasmus Wilson
- Eros
- Evagene Baker -- who was Dyin' of Dred Consumtion as these Lines was Penned by a True Friend
- Evensong
- Extremes
- Ezra House
- Faith
- False and True
- Find the Favorite
- Folks at Lonesomeville
- Fool-Youngens
- For this Christmas
- God's Mercy
- Good-By, Old Year
- Her Light Guitar
- Her Smile of Cheer and Voice of Song. Anna Harris Randall
- In Days to Come
- John Clark Ridpath
- Lord Bacon. Written as a Joke and Ascribed to a very Practical Business Man, Amos J. Walker
- My First Womern
- My Night
- Shadow and Shine
- Soldiers here to-Day
- Song
- Sun and Rain
- Sutter's Claim. Imitated
- The Guide. Imitated
- The Hour before the Dawn
- The Lost Thrill
- To James Newton Matthews. in Answer to a Letter on the Anatomy of the Sonnet
- To the Cricket
- Two Sonnets to the June-Bug
- Uncle Dan'L in Town over Sunday
- Uncomforted
- What they Said
- When it Rains
- Which Ane
- While Cigarettes to Ashes Turn
- With her Face
- Written in Bunner's "Airs from Arcady"
- Josh Billings. Dead in California, October 15, 1885
- The Earthquake. Charleston, September 1, 1886
- Lewis D. Hayes. Obit December 28, 1886
- Little Maid-O'-Dreams
- Luther a. Todd. Obit July 27, 1887, Kansas City, Missouri
- Mona Machree
- My Boy
- My Conscience
- My Fiddle
- My Philosofy
- New Year's Nursery Jingle
- O. Henry. Written in the Character of "Sherrard Plummer"
- Old Indiany. Fragment Intended for a Dinner of the Indiana Society of Chicago
- On the Death of Little Mahala Ashcraft
- Rosamond C. Bailey
- The Delights of our Chilhood is Soon Passed Away
- The Gudewife
- The Highest Good. Written for a High-School Annual
- The Judkins Papers
- The Old Swimmin'-Hole
- To -- "the J. W. R. Literary Club"
- To a Poet on his Marriage. Madison Cawein
- To Lesley
- To Rudyard Kipling
- When the Hearse Comes Back
- John Boyle o'Reilly. Sepulture -- Boston, August 13, 1890
- Meredith Nicholson
- Tennyson. England, October 5, 1892
- Mrs. Benjamin Harrison. Washington, October 25, 1892
- To Elizabeth. Obit July 8, 1893
- George a. Carr. Greenfield, July 21, 1914
- Home-Made Riddles-All but the Answers
- Igo and Ago
- In Fervent Praise of Picnics
- Intellectual Limitations
- Jargon-Jingle
- John Mckeen
- Last Night -- and This
- The Object Lesson
- To my Sister. a Belated Offering for her Birthday
- To the Boy with a Country. Dan Wallingford
- To the Mother
- To the Quiet Observer. Erasmus Wilson, after his Long Silence
- William Pinkney Fishback
- William Mckinley. Canton, Ohio, September 30, 1907
- Lee o. Harris. Christmas Day -- 1909
- Lines Fer Isaac Bradwell, of Indanoplis, Ind., County-Seat of Marion
- Lines to Perfesser John Clark Ridpath. a. M., ll. D. t-Y-Ty!
- Little David
- Little Dick and the Clock
- Longfellow
- Mr. what's-His-Name
- My Ruthers
- No Boy Knows
- Old Bob White
- Old John Clevenger on Buckeyes
- On a Dead Babe
- On a Splendud Match
- On any Ordenary Man in a High State of Laughture and Delight
- Out of Nazareth
- Pap's Old Sayin'
- Ponchus Pilut
- Rabbit in the Cross-Ties
- Ringworm Frank
- Slumber-Song
- Some Scattering Remarks of Bub'S
- Song. [W. s.] (some Songs after Master Singers)
- Summer-Time and Winter-Time
- The Best Times
- The Blind Girl
- The Book of Joyous Children
- The Boy Patriot
- The Circus Parade
- The First Bluebird
- The Good, Old-Fashioned People
- The Great Explorer
- The Hoss
- The Jaybird
- The Katydids
- The King of Oo-Rinktum-Jing
- The Little Dog-Woggy
- The Little Lady
- The Little Mock-Man
- The Little Red Ribbon
- The Little White Hearse
- The Lovely Child
- The Muskingum Valley
- The Noble Old Elm
- The Old Home by the Mill
- The Penalty of Genius
- The Rambo-Tree
- The Rossville Lectur' Course
- The School-Boy's Favorite
- The Silent Victors
- The Song I Never Sing
- The Three Jolly Hunters
- The Toy Penny-Dog
- The Trestle and the Buck-Saw
- The Voices
- The Wandering Jew
- The Way it Wuz
- The Yellowbird
- The Youthful Patriot
- Their Sweet Sorrow
- This Dear Child-Hearted Woman that is Dead
- Thomas the Pretender
- Thoughts on a Pore Joke
- Three Singing Friends
- To a Jilted Swain
- To a Poet-Critic
- To Edgar Wilson Nye
- To the Child Julia. [R. H.] (some Songs after Master Singers)
- Town and Country
- Twiggs and Tudens
- Us Farmers in the Country, as the Seasons Go and Come
- We Defer Things
- What Redress
- When Age Comes On
- When I do Mock
- When Maimie Married
- When we First Played "Show"
- While the Musician Played
- Why
- William Brown
- Writin' Back to the Home-Folks