Analyzing 30 years of Don McKay's achievements, this critique explores one of the most original bodies of work in contemporary English-language poetry. Emphasizing details of ornithology, botany, weather, industry, and the arts, as well as focusing on varied geographic settings, his poetry opens countless doors for analysis. Fourteen contributors examine the complex contradictions of McKay's work, including nuanced description and intricate metaphor, philosophical phrasing and folksy idiom, madcap humor and elegy.