Clingerman was born Mildred McElroy in Allen, Oklahoma, and her family moved to Tucson, Arizona, in 1929.

[1] Most of her short stories were published in the 1950s in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, edited by Anthony Boucher.

Boucher included her story "The Wild Wood" in the seventh volume (1958) of The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction and dedicated the book to her, calling her the "most serendipitous of discoveries.

[3]: 374 Married women are portrayed in stories like “The Wild Wood” (January 1957 F&SF) or “A Red Heart and Blue Roses” (original to her collection); they suffer violations of body space, male intrusiveness, and the impostures of aliens.

Her stories have also appeared in several anthologies, including literature textbooks for middle and high school students.