John Taylor the "Water Poet," a Thames waterman, was prompted by a facility for extemporaneous verse to venture into print in 1612. His ensuing career as a published poet spanned four decades and encompassed the genres of travel literature, parody, history, and satire. Taylor's poetic work does not fit neatly into the categories of seventeenth-century English poetry. Unable to compete with the classicism of poets such as Ben Jonson and unwilling to attempt the artificial style of the Metaphysical and lyrical poets, he chose instead to write simply about everyday life. Although his poetry occasionally strays into modes associated with the professional poet (elegies, epithalamia, and sonnets), these instances are rare. His most typical works focus on a single theme, are written in rhymed couplets of irregular meter, and are narrative and often humorous in tone. Taylor's poetry was directed to a broad cross section of the reading public...