ABSTRACT

Around the turn of the 20th century, poems idealizing ruraland small-town life were a staple of American newspapers and magazines. The carefully rhymed and metered (if at times mildly colloquial) work of such poets as James Whitcomb Riley offered a reassuring image of what life and community were supposed to be-and perhaps in part had been-before industrialization, the consolidation of capital, waves of immigration, and new modes of communication and transportation began shaping an urban landscape that featured pale children in sweatshops.