Maxine Kumin is considered one of the best Jewish American poets of her time. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for his work on Up Country. She has been compared to Anne Sexton, a fellow American confessional poet. Confessionalist poets tend to focus their poetry on personal issues that have taken place in their lives. For example, Kumin discusses the inner lives of his characters in his personal poems. She is considered a naturalist feminist because she places the utmost importance on ecological things, such as plants, animals and the general environment around her. Kumin "states that her connection with animals is essential to her work as a poet, and later implies that through her association with them she has discovered a creaturely self that is deeper and better than the human self" (Lyman, 23) . For some it is not only ecological, but also ecological feminist. Unlike other confessionalist poets who wrote primarily about despair and depression, Kumin focuses his writings on happier things, such as family life, farming, themes of life and nature, and loss. His first published writings included Connecting the Dots, Nurture, Looking for Luck, Up Country: Poems of New England, The Long Approach, and House, Bridge, and Fountain Gate. She was recognized for her extraordinary work and the attention she attracted from women in American society. Critics have even compared his work to Henry David Thoreau and Robert Frost. Kumin became an important figure in feminist literary society. She was born and raised in Philadelphia to Jewish parents. She grew up on a farm and has always been surrounded by animals, which is reflected in her poetry. Kumin's "poetry is political and... medium of paper... solid and sacred place where the rituals of life, love and death are purely performed" (St. Andrews, 623). Her poetry showed that she was extremely passionate about the things she loved in life, such as her family and her farm. Even though she had a small accident while riding a horse, she continues to write about how wonderful these animals are and how much they mean to her. She went through a really difficult time when Anne Sexton died because she was the one who encouraged her to write. Kumin said he will continue to write until his death. Critics appreciated his writing because it was direct and had a good pace. Many considered her a feminist naturalist because she mainly spoke about nature and its surroundings. It has forever marked a place in the minds and hearts of the American literary world.