Conkling, Hilda, 1910-

Hilda Conkling (1910-1986), poet, was the daughter of poet and Smith College English professor, Grace Hazard Conkling (1878-1958). Hilda is noteworthy for having composed her entire body of poetic work as a young child between the ages of four and fourteen. She did not write down her poems, instead her mother transcribed Hilda’s spoken work and submitted it for publications. Her work appeared in various magazines and three volumes of her poetry were published by the time she was fourteen in 1924. As an adult, Hilda managed bookstores in Boston and Northampton, Massachusetts. She died in 1986.

From the guide to the Hilda Conkling poems, Conkling (Hilda) poems, undated, (Redwood Library and Athenaeum)