Paul Conklin

Background

Conklin was born c. 1929, in the United States.

Education

Conklin graduated from Wayne State University and later received a master's degree from Columbia University.

Career

Conklin first became interested in photography while serving in the U.S. Army during the 1950s. Upon leaving the army, he worked for the Minneapolis Star as a newspaper reporter, as well as freelancing as a writer in Nigeria. After returning from Nigeria, he was hired into the then-newly created Peace Corps, documenting the organization's activities from 1962 to 1965. His work for U.S. Catholic magazine stretched over almost 40 years, beginning with a 1964 photo story about two Peace Corps worker in Nepal during the first year of the magazine's existence.

It was a few years later, in 1971, that he took what is likely his most famous photograph: a picture of a Vietnam War protestor inserting a daisy into the gun barrel held by a National Guardsman. The photo appeared in Time magazine. Conklin also had his photos published in such magazines as National Geographic and Newsweek, as well as such newspapers as the Washington Post.

Conklin's interest in documenting quickly disappearing cultures across the world, resulted in his publishing several books for young adults either as a photographer or as both photographer and author. His books as an author include Cimarron Kid, Choctaw Boy, and Michael of Wales; and his books as a photographer, often for author Brent Ashabranner, include To Live in Two Worlds: American Indian Youth Today, Keepers and Creatures at the National Zoo, People Who Make a Difference, and To Seek a Better World: The Haitian Minority in America.

Achievements

• Conklin is best remembered for his work depicting the activities of the Peace Corps. He is also known for his many nonfiction books for young adult readers.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Cimarron kid

    (Text and photographs describe the daily life of a young b...)

    1973
  • Michael of Wales

    (Describes life in a small Welsh coal mining town and the ...)

    1977
  • Choctaw Boy

    (Presents the life of a Choctaw boy in Mississippi today a...)

    1975

Views

In his 27 photo stories for U.S. Catholic, Conklin brought readers up close with poverty and justice struggles on Indian reservations, in Appalachia, urban ghettos, prisons, and faraway countries. He portrayed the work of Peace Corps and VISTA workers, dedicated lay Catholics, contemplative nuns in the Arizona desert, and activist nuns in the Mississippi Delta.

References

• Contemporary Authors Volume 221
  2004