Herman de Coninck (21 February 1944 – 22 May 1997) was a Belgian poet, essayist, journalist and publisher.

[1] Herman de Coninck was born in Mechelen, Belgium, where his parents ran a Catholic bookshop.

While on his way to a literary colloquium with several other Flemish and Dutch poets and writers (amongst them Hugo Claus, Anna Enquist and Gerrit Komrij), Herman de Coninck collapsed in the streets of Lisbon, Portugal on May 22, 1997.

A year later, his widow Kristien Hemmerechts wrote a very personal and biographical monologue entitled Taal Zonder Mij (1998).

The death of de Coninck's first wife, An Somers, in a car accident in 1971 began a difficult period in his life.

The loss of his wife deeply influenced his second volume of poetry, Zolang er sneeuw ligt(1975).