although the play and his newspaper work helped expose him to a wider audience, the chief source of his increasing popularity was his performances on the lecture circuit. he gave both dramatic and comedic readings of his poetry, and by early 1879 could guarantee large crowds when he performed. in an 1894 article, hamlin garland wrote that riley's celebrity resulted from his reading talent saying, "his vibrant individual voice, his flexible lips, his droll glance, united to make him at once poet and comedian—comedian in the sense in which makes for tears as well as for laughter". although he was a good performer, his acts were not entirely original in style; he frequently copied practices developed by samuel clemens and will carleton. his tour in 1880 took him to every city in indiana where he was introduced by local dignitaries and other popular figures, including novelist maurice thompson with whom he began to develop a close friendship.