As a native author of Chattanooga, Hays often focuses on the nature of Appalachia for inspiration in writing image-driven poetry and prose. Many of his works deal with the mysterious interdependencies of Transcendentalism. Hays's poetical and prosaic writing styles are usually immediate, manic, sobering, and consolatory. Hays's subject matter often portrays complementary aspects of violence's dialectical relationship with the living world.