Shoes of the Wind; A Book of Poems

Shoes of the Wind; A Book of Poems is an anthology of Hilda Conkling, who was famous for composing all of her poems as a child between the age of four and fourteen.

Shoes of the Wind offers a representative selection of Hilda Conkling's literary output. All of her poems were dictated out loud to her mother, who would write them down - Hilda afterwards checked what was written and amended any errors. Whether mother and daughter were roaming the New England country or relaxing at home, Hilda would spontaneously speak her verses, eventually composing hundreds of poems in this way.

The most popular topic for the young girl was nature; many of her poems are vignettes about the beauty of the seasons, of animals, the woods and fields, of the skies and the coastline. Simple descriptions are interwoven with fantasy, conveying an impression of a child's vivid imagination at work. Others relate to family life, with references to keeping childish secrets from her older sister or the great affection with which Hilda appreciates her mother.

The author stopped composing poems when she was in her early teens, with her final anthology published when she was fifteen. Although Hilda Conkling faded into obscurity in adulthood, her works have resurfaced somewhat in the modern day: certain of her poems have been set to music, while her anthologies have been reprinted.