In honor of James Whitcomb Riley’s birthday today, let’s look back on the legendary life and work of the Hoosier Poet, who now rests at the top of Crown Hill.
James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849-July 22, 1916)
“…the Hoosier Poet blew heart bubbles. He took by divine right his place as an American poet. In his verse Indiana spoke to the world.” The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 1916.
Born in Greenfield and named after an Indiana governor, Riley became not only the best-known poet of his day but a major celebrity and the namesake of Hoosier Poet cigars, creamed corn, rolled oats, and a passenger train from Chicago to Cincinnati. After a rocky start in a traveling medicine show and painting ads on barns, he published The Old Swimmin’ Hole and ’Leven More Poems in 1878 and never looked back. Beginning in 1879, he added the lecture circuit to his talents, often sharing the stage with Mark Twain. He held “his audience in the palm of his hand as he recited his poetry, making them laugh or weep at will.”
