Nellie Hunt Collings

During her long life, NELLIE HUNT COLLINGS (1883-1961) kept copious journals detailing life on a small Idaho farm. Interspersed with those entries were bits of poetry, most relating to the things that were central to her--family and community. She celebrated the small things in verses that spoke from her heart to the hearts of those she loved. At times, she notes, during the harsh winters, she might go weeks without seeing anyone except her family…but she was never alone. She had her words.

Her verses make no pretense to sophistication or high art. They are meant to be spoken and understood, not analyzed and assessed. Nevertheless, they attain to a kind of emotional purity that is rare. Now, half a century after her death, they allow her to live again.

Edited by Michael R. Collings.