Field first started publishing poetry in 1879, when his poem "Christmas Treasures" appeared in A Little Book of Western Verse.[7] Over a dozen volumes of poetry followed and he became well known for his light-hearted poems for children, among the most famous of which are "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" and "The Duel" (which is perhaps better known as "The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat"). Equally famous is his poem about the death of a child, "Little Boy Blue". Field also published a number of short stories, including "The Holy Cross" and "Daniel and the Devil."
The volume, The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac, was published posthumously with an introduction by Field's brother, Roswell Martin Field in 1896.[9]
Field died in Chicago of a heart attack at the age of 45.[10] He is buried at the Church of the Holy Comforter in Kenilworth, Illinois.[11] Slason Thompson's 1901 biography of Field states that he was originally buried in Graceland Cemetery in Chicago,[12] but his son-in-law, Senior Warden of the Church of the Holy Comforter, had him reinterred on March 7, 1926