Grace Hazard Conkling

Grace Walcott Hazard Conkling (February 7, 1878 - November 15, 1958) was an American poet and academic.

Grace Hazard Conkling (1878-1958). Courtesy the Poetry Foundation.

Grace Walcott Hazard Conkling
Born	Grace Walcott Hazard 7, 1878(1878-Template:MONTHNUMBER-07) New York City
Died	15, 1958(1958-Template:MONTHNUMBER-15) (aged 80)
Nationality	American
Occupation	Poet, English professor
Spouse	Roscoe Platt Conkling
Children	Hilda Conkling, Elsa Kruuse

Life

Youth and education

Conkling was born Grace Hazard on February 7, 1878 in New York City to Frances (Post) and Christopher Grant Hazard.

She was educated at Smith College, graduating in 1899, and then studied in Paris and Heidelberg. However, in her 2nd year she fell ill from overwork and was forced to abandon the idea of music as a profession, and returned to the United States.

Career

She married Roscoe Platt Conkling of San Antonio Texas, in 1905, and spent her early married life in Mexico.

The couple separated in 1914, and Conkling returned to Smith College, where she taught English until her retirement in 1947.

Her poetry and short stories were published in numerous magazines including the Yale Review, Atlantic Monthly, and Harper’s. She was a member of the Poetry Society of America, the N.E. Poetry Society, the Author’s Club of Boston, and the Women’s University Club of New York.

She attracted wide attention as the teacher of her little daughter, Hilda Conkling, whose Poems by a Little Girl (1920) displayed great ability at an early age. Grace copied down her daughter's poems as they were spoken, which is the only record that exists of Hilda's work.

Grace Conkling died on November 15, 1958 and was survived by her 2 daughters and 3 grandchildren.

Recognition

In 1922, Variations on a Theme was chosen by Amy Lowell as the inaugural winner of the Blindman Prize, given by the Poetry Society of South Carolina.

In 1930, Conkling was awarded an honorary M.A. from Smith College.

Smith College awards a residency in the name of Grace Conkling.

Publications

Poetry

• Afternoons of April: A book of verse. Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1915.
• Wilderness Songs. New York: Holt, 1920.
• Variations on a Theme. Charleston, SC: Poetry Society of South Carolina, 1922.
• Ships Log, and other poems. New York: Knopf, 1924.
• Flying Fish: A book of songs and sonnets. New York & London: Knopf, 1926.
• Witch, and other poems. New York: Knopf, 1929.

Non-fiction

• Imagination and Children's Reading. Northampton, MA: Hampshire Bookshop, 1922.

Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.

Francis Ledwidge (Grace Hazard Conkling Poem)

See also

• List of U.S. poets

References

Fonds

• Grace Hazard Conkling papers at Smith College

External links

Poems

• 2 poems by Conkling: "The Nightingales of Flanders," "Velardena Sunset"
• Grace Hazard Conkling in The New Poetry: An anthology: "Refugees," "The little rose is dust, my dear"
• Grace Hazard Conkling in Poetry: A magazine of verse, 1912-1922: "Symphony of a Mexican Garden," "To the Mexican Nightingale," "Ave Venezia," "I Will Not Give Thee All My Heart," "The Little Town," "Refugees," "The Little Rose is Dust, My Dear," "Velardena Sunset," "Santa Maria del Rio," "The Museum," "Gulf View," "Spring Day," "Patio Scene," "Guadalupe," "Popocatapetl," "Huasteca," "Tampico," "Cuernevaca," "Durango," "Orizaba," "Amecameca," "Vera Cruz," "San Luis Potosi," "Diary Written on Peony Petals," "Primaveral"
• Grace Hazard Conkling 1878-1958 at the Poetry Foundation
• Grace Hazard Conkling at PoemHunter (14 poems).

About

• Grace Hazard Conkling at Smithipedia