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The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley
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The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley Paperback - 1993

by James Whitcomb Riley

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Reader reviews for The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley

From the publisher

Few lives have left so vivid an impression upon a native environment as that of James Whitcomb Riley, the Hoosier Poet. His folksy, down-home rhymes are still enormously popular in his native state and beyond. This publication brings back into print the complete Riley repertoire of more than 1,000 poems, including such all-time favorites as "Little Orphant Annie" (far and away the best-loved of all Riley characters), "The Raggedy Man," "Our Hired Girl," "A Barefoot Boy," "The Bumblebee," "Granny," and "When the Frost Is on the Punkin."
It is said that Indiana's best-known poet did not portray but invented the typical Hoosier. Applying imaginative skill, Riley altered and adapted the people around him to suit his purpose. As Jeannette Covert Nolan once put it, the figure who emerged was "a mellow, humorous rustic, a quaint, bucolic philosopher, unlettered but gifted with an earthy shrewdness, a peasant wisdom, a heart of gold, speaking a drawling, hybrid tongue, a dubious dialect as yet unidentified by any philologist."
In his heyday Riley was famous all over the world. Though often called a children's poet, he actually wrote about children for adults, delighting in emotional reminders of an irretrievable past--perhaps one that never quite existed. Throughout his life Riley looked back wistfully and sentimentally upon his childhood days, turning the longings and unfulfilled dreams of youth into verse. So celebrated was he in Indiana that in many public elementary schools, students were required to memorize and recite one of his poems every week for admiring audiences of visiting parents.

If I Knew What Poets Know
If I knew what poets know, Did I know what poets do, If I knew what poets know,
Would I write a rhyme Would I sing a song, I would find a theme
Of the buds that never blow Sadder than the pigeon's coo Sweeter than the placid flow
In the summer-time? When the days are long? Of the fairest dream:
Would I sing of golden seeds Where I found a heart in pain, I would sing of love that lives
Springing up in ironweeds? I would make it glad again; On the errors it forgives:
And of rain-drop turned to snow, And the false should be the true, And the world would better grow
If I knew what poets know? Did I know what poets do. If I knew what poets know.
--James Whitcomb Riley

From the rear cover

This publication brings back into print the complete Riley repertoire of more than 1000 poems.

Details

  • Title The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley
  • Author James Whitcomb Riley
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint Edition
  • Pages 920
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Indiana University Press (Ips), Bloomington
  • Publication date 1993-03-01
  • Features Index
  • ISBN 9780253207777 / 0253207770
  • Weight 2.55 lbs (1.16 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.4 x 5.6 x 2.2 in (21.34 x 14.22 x 5.59 cm)
  • Category Poetry
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 92028235
  • Dewey Decimal Code 811.4

About the author

JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY (1849-1916), born at Greenfield, Indiana, became a Hoosier legend even before his death.

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The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley
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The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley

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The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley

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Indiana University Press, 1993. Paperback. Good. Disclaimer:A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include previous owner inscriptions. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley

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Indiana University Press, 1993. Paperback. Very Good. Disclaimer:A copy that has been read, but remains in excellent condition. Pages are intact and are not marred by notes or highlighting, but may contain a neat previous owner name. The spine remains undamaged. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley

The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley

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The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley

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The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley

by Riley, James Whitcomb

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Indiana University Press. PAPERBACK. Good. Spine lightly bumped. Binding solid, pages crisp and clean, no writing. Front cover and first page creased. Also some light scuffs and dents, a few bent page tips. Corners bumped and creased.
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The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley

by Riley, James Whitcomb

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Bloominton,Indianapolis.: Indiana University Press, 1993. Book. Fine. Soft cover. 4th Edition. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Softcover 1993, 4th edition. Text and covers in fine condition. Binding firm. Pages unmarked and clean. (886 pages).
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The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley

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Indiana University Press, 1993-03-22. 4th Printing. paperback. Used: Good. 8.50x5.50x2.20. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
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