BIOGRAPHIES

Cagle, William R. “James Whitcomb Riley: Notes on the Early Years.” Manuscripts 17, no 2 (spring 1965): 3-11.

Uses Riley's correspondence to argue that he was a more complex, contradictory figure than his poetry suggests.

Carman, Bliss. James Whitcomb Riley: An Essay, pp. 11-25. Metuchen: Charles F. Heartman, 1926.

A personal essay about the author's friendship with Riley that includes correspondence. The author was a poet and contemporary of Riley.

Crowder, Richard. “James Whitcomb Riley and Children.” Library Journal 82, no. 22 (December 15, 1957): 3229-3230.

Short biographical sketch describes Riley's devotion to children, including the establishment of a Camp Jim Riley for disabled youngsters.

———. Those Innocent Years: The Legacy and Inheritance of a Hero of the Victorian Era, James Whitcomb Riley. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., 1957, 228 p.

A scholarly biography of Riley.

Dickey, Marcus. The Youth of James Whitcomb Riley: Fortune's Way With the Poet From Infancy to Manhood. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1919, 425 p.

First volume of a laudatory, authorized biography of Riley by his friend that, most contemporary critics argue, provides insight into how Riley wished to be represented, not necessarily on how he was truly.

———. The Maturity of James Whitcomb Riley: Fortune’s Way with the Poet in the Prime of Life and After. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1919, 427 p.

Second volume of the authorized biography of Riley.

Hughes, Edwin Holt. “A Brief Sketch of the Life of James Whitcomb Riley.” In In Honor of James Whitcomb Riley: A Meeting of Indiana State Teachers' Association, pp. 63-89. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1906.

Biographical essay by a contemporary.

Mitchell, Minnie Belle. James Whitcomb Riley: As I Knew Him. Greenfield: The Old Swimming Hole Press, 1949.

Personal account of Riley's work and art, which posits direct correlations between events in his life and poems.

Van Allen, Elizabeth J. James Whitcomb Riley: A Life. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999, 352 p.

Thorough, academic study of Riley's life and work, from a cultural studies perspective.

CRITICISM

Cassity, Turner. “Out of the Heartland.” Parnassus 18-19, nos. 1-2 (1993): 381-83.

A review of the 1993 edition of The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley finds Riley's poetry saccharine but notes that many of the poems are of historic interest.

Crowley, John. “A Bleak Vindictive Wind: The Drunkenness of James Whitcomb Riley.” Dionysos: Journal of Literature and Addiction 7, no. 2 (summer 1997): 35-39.

Academic essay that highlights Riley's alcoholism and its relationship to his poetic productivity.

Gregory, Horace. “James Whitcomb Riley: A Victorian Poet.” In Poet of the People: An Evaluation of James Whitcomb Riley, by Jeannette Covert Nolen, Horace Gregory, and James T. Farrell, pp. 63-106. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1951

Literary reflection on Riley's power as a poet and a performer, by a poet and translator of poetry.

Johnson, Thomas C. “Review of James Whitcomb Riley: A Life.” American Literature 74, no 2 (2002): 410-11.

Review of Elizabeth Van Allen's James Whitcomb Riley: A Life provides an excellent summary of critical response to Riley.

Masters, Edgar Lee. “James Whitcomb Riley.” In Essays of Today, edited by Odell Shepard and Robert Hillyer, pp. 342-62. New York: The Century Company, 1928.

Notes the absence of satire and irony in Riley's poetry and concedes that the poet's works of “common life” are entertaining but fundamentally superficial.

Monahan, Michael. “Our Best-Loved Poet.” In New Adventures, pp. 69-186. New York: George H. Doran, 1917.

An early essay that celebrates Riley for the very reasons later critics dismiss him.

Monroe, Harriet. “James Whitcomb Riley.” Poetry 7 (April-September 1916): 305-307.

Celebrates Riley's contributions to American poetry.

Nolan, Jeannette Covert. “Riley as a Children's Poet.” In Poet of the People: An Evaluation of James Whitcomb Riley, by Jeannette Covert Nolen, Horace Gregory, and James T. Farrell, pp. 13-34. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1951.

Explores Riley's place as an author of children's poetry.

Schwartz, Joel. “Alfred Russel Wallace and ‘Leonainie’: A Hoax That Would Not Die.” Victorian Periodicals Review 17, nos. 1-2 (spring-summer 1984): 3-15.

Historical analysis of the effects of Riley's hoax on one prominent scientist and the resulting repercussions.

Sorby, Angela. “Performing Class: James Whitcomb Riley's Poetry of Distinction.” Modern Language Quarterly 60, no. 2 (June 1999): 197-222.

Examines the “raggedy,” “poor,” “crippled,” and sub-literate personae of Riley's dialect poems to argue that these figures were what she terms “grotesque familiars.”

Tucker, Edward L. “The Association of Bill Nye and James Whitcomb Riley: Further Documents.” Resources for American Literary Study 26, no. 2 (2000): 223-35.

Historical essay focuses on correspondence between Nye and Riley.

Waterman, David C. “Indiana Poets—James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916).” Contemporary Education 3 (spring 1987): 169-70.

Overview of Riley's literary significance.

Additional coverage of Riley's life and career is contained in the following sources published by the Gale Group: Contemporary Authors, Vol. 137; Contemporary Authors—Brief Entry, Vol. 118; DISCovering Authors Modules: Poets; Literature Resource Center; Major Authors and Illustrators for Children and Young Adults, Eds. 1, 2; Reference Guide to American Literature Ed. 4; Something About the Author, Vol. 17; and Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 51.