Kentucky literature
Kentucky literature did not become well known until the late 19th century, when authors such as James Lane Allen, John Fox, Jr., Alice Hegan Rice, and Annie Fellows Johnston brought light to the state's rich history and culture. As their literary works grew in popularity around the country and world, others began to take notice of all types of Kentucky literature, including works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and the historical novel. History Earlier literature Literature in Kentucky developed thanks to the arrival of the printing press in Lexington in 1787. The earliest writings were folk tales, autobiographies, poetry, and historical reporting books. For example, the Reverend Stephen T. Badin, from France in 1792, was one of the first Kentuckians to write a poem about a Kentucky hero. His elegy to Joseph Hamilton Daviess published in 1812 has appeared in numerous books. However, Reverend Badin did not become as well known a poet as George Dennison Prentice, from New England, who was one of the best known Kentuckian poets of the day with his poem on Mammoth Cave in 1840. Mention should be made of The Beauchamp-Sharp Tragedy (Known as the Kentucky Tragedy in 1825), in which Kentuckian legislator Solomon P.