Madison Cawein must be included in any consideration of turn-of-the-century American poetry for the same reason which probably prevented his making a greater impact upon it: the sheer quantity of his output. He published more than thirty volumes of poetry. One recent critic estimated that he wrote 2,700 poems, about 1,200 of which were revisions of earlier work. His range was broad: his poems drew on Arthurian legend, Oriental and classical motifs, and local legend and customs. He also translated the works of German poets. Yet for his contemporaries his popularity was based on his poems about the flora and fauna of Kentucky, which they found a veritable nature guide to the Kentucky woodlands. His nature was minutely detailed, idealized in the Keatsian manner, and peopled with classical nymphs and timeless fairies.

The man who was later to be called the "Keats of Kentucky" had ample opportunity to observe his...