Young Vincent

Young Vincent offers a sweeping and intimate exploration of the life and loves of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, tracing her journey from a latchkey child to a defiant Vassar graduate and literary icon. In this compelling work, Hood masterfully blends fact with imagination to present a uniquely personal portrayal of Millay’s creative process, gritty personal struggles, extraordinary strokes of luck, and her complex bisexual romantic life. Drawing from first-hand interviews with her sister Norma, lover Catherine Filene Shouse, and other close friends, as well as the poet’s letters, journals, and poems, this book vividly captures the essence of Millay’s remarkable world.

Set against the backdrop of the early 20th century, Millay’s story resonates with the challenges of our own tenuous times. The forces that sought to stifle free expression, limit opportunities, and deny civil rights echo through history, allowing modern readers to better understand Millay’s transformative era of groundbreaking art and technology. Through her struggles to reconcile her bold nature with the rigid constraints of her society, Millay becomes a timeless companion, inspiring empathy and reflection in today’s rapidly changing world.

Jenifer Kay Hood is one of the world’s foremost authorities on Edna St. Vincent Millay. As a charter member of the Millay Society, Hood has had the opportunity to visit Steepletop, the poet’s home in upstate New York, and has interviewed the poet’s sister, Norma Millay Ellis, Millay’s friends, biographers and other scholars. She wrote and performed Fatal Interview, a one-woman show about the poet which was featured on PBS, as well as Bunny and Vincent, a play about Millay’s relationship with the critic, Edmund Wilson. She lives in Salem, Oregon.