Little Orphant Annie and Other Poems

James Whitcomb Riley

Apr 2013 · Courier Corporation

About this ebook

Famous for his nostalgic poems invoking the people and places of rural Indiana, James Whitcomb Riley (1849–1916) earned himself the nickname "the Hoosier poet." His verse also earned him election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the gold medal of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and several honorary degrees.
This volume contains a rich selection of his best and most familiar poems — filled with the warmth, humor, and picturesque Hoosier dialect that made Riley one of the most beloved American poets. Included are "The Old Swimmin'-Hole," "The Raggedy Man," "When the Frost Is on the Punkin," "Little Orphant Annie," "An Old Sweetheart of Mine," and many more.

About the author

Poet, lecturer, and journalist, Riley gained popularity with his series of poems in the Hoosier dialect written under the pseudonym "Benjamin F. Johnson, of Boone." These originally appeared in the Indianapolis Journal, where he worked from 1877 to 1885; in 1883 they were published as The Old Swimmin'-Hole and 'Leven More Poems. His most popular poems are "When the Frost is on the Punkin"' and "The Old Man and Jim." Riley went on numerous lecture tours, entertaining as an actor and humorist. Although best known for his dialect poetry---"comforting, familiar platitudes, restated in verse" (Richard Crowder)---Riley also wrote humorous sketches and other poems. He produced more than 90 volumes of popular poetry, some of which are available in reprinted editions.