TY - BOOK AU - Riley,James Whitcomb TI - The Old Soldier's Story: Poems and Prose Sketches AV - PS PY - 2010/// CY - Salt Lake City, UT PB - Project Gutenberg KW - American wit and humor KW - American poetry N1 - Release date is 2010-05-11; Produced by David Clarke, Chandra Friend and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.); Original publication data not identified N2 - "The Old Soldier's Story: Poems and Prose Sketches" by James Whitcomb Riley is a collection of poems and prose sketches written in the early 20th century. The works capture various themes, including humor, nostalgia, love, and the experiences of soldiers, as evidenced in the opening sketch featuring an old soldier recounting a humorous yet poignant tale from the battlefield. The light-heartedness juxtaposed with deeper reflections offers readers a glimpse into the human condition from an approachable and often witty perspective. The opening of this collection introduces us to a storyteller—an old soldier—addressing an audience at a banquet. He begins relating a familiar, comedic anecdote about a cannonball hitting a soldier during battle, leading to a playful mix-up involving the soldier's injuries. This narrative sets the stage for the blend of humor and humanity that pervades the collection. The soldier's manner of storytelling, filled with dialect and earnestness, highlights the authenticity of his voice, inviting readers to connect with the simplicity and depth of shared human experiences even amid chaos and tragedy. (This is an automatically generated summary.) UR - https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32335 ER -