Al Hellus' Passing
Saginaw poet and arts activist Al Hellus passed away today. In his time, he was good for Saginaw's poetry scene, and he will be missed.
I didn't know Al incredibly well, but when I moved to the tri-cities, he promptly offered me a reading at the Red Eye. It didn't work out, but I eventually had the chance to read with him at the Andersen Enrichment Center. It was a great reading, made better by Al's irreverent sense of humor. Though I didn't see him much, I always got the sense that he was out there, in Saginaw, doing things for poetry and the arts. The sense that he's not out there anymore creates a real void.
a vision of corrected history with breakfast
--Al Hellus
the days' casting call
includes newsbites on the radio
that could have happened
anywhere between the last fifty years
and breakfast, which is
a plate of poached headlines
& a cup of printer's ink.
surely the second coming is at hand.
I stare out the window where, suddenly,
the Watergate hearings are once again in session
-- a bearded Richard Nixon
is seated on the stand admitting,
finally, that he always was a crook, and
Joe McCarthy breaks down on television,
blubbers to the packed Senate chamber
about his obsession with
young communist boys
who spurned him in his youth.
on a warm Tuesday in Vienna, Hitler
is accepted into the academy of art.
he becomes a mediocre painter
most noted for having dropped dead
at the Cedars Tavern next to Jackson Pollack
who kept right on talking to the
poor old bastard for half an hour.
his last painting,a nude self-portrait
sells for thousands of dollars
who claims to really like it.
I didn't know Al incredibly well, but when I moved to the tri-cities, he promptly offered me a reading at the Red Eye. It didn't work out, but I eventually had the chance to read with him at the Andersen Enrichment Center. It was a great reading, made better by Al's irreverent sense of humor. Though I didn't see him much, I always got the sense that he was out there, in Saginaw, doing things for poetry and the arts. The sense that he's not out there anymore creates a real void.
a vision of corrected history with breakfast
--Al Hellus
the days' casting call
includes newsbites on the radio
that could have happened
anywhere between the last fifty years
and breakfast, which is
a plate of poached headlines
& a cup of printer's ink.
surely the second coming is at hand.
I stare out the window where, suddenly,
the Watergate hearings are once again in session
-- a bearded Richard Nixon
is seated on the stand admitting,
finally, that he always was a crook, and
Joe McCarthy breaks down on television,
blubbers to the packed Senate chamber
about his obsession with
young communist boys
who spurned him in his youth.
on a warm Tuesday in Vienna, Hitler
is accepted into the academy of art.
he becomes a mediocre painter
most noted for having dropped dead
at the Cedars Tavern next to Jackson Pollack
who kept right on talking to the
poor old bastard for half an hour.
his last painting,a nude self-portrait
sells for thousands of dollars
who claims to really like it.
posted by Jeff Vande Zande at 5:23 PM
4 Comments:
Jeff
Thank You for remembering dear, sweet Al Hellus. He was one of Michigan's finest, working class poets. He was a poet who most likely have never heard of or read, and they will be the less for not knowing the man and his fine work. God Bless you Al "Oh Hell Yea" Hellus. You were a big heart in this world, and you brought poetry to the people. God has a special place for those who understand what Thomas Merton called "poetry is the closest humans can get to the ear of God." M.L. Liebler, Al's Friend and Publisher
'tis sad. The last time I heard him read was a year and a half ago. He read a poem about thistles, and talked about how he lets them grow in his yard, disregarding the neighbors' chagrin, for the finches.
My step-dad used to play in his band.
- Joe
For those who did not know Al Hellus, he was a Delta student several decades ago, a student of Skip Renker's, a frequent reader and performer of his own and other people's poetry, and an organizer of many poetry-related functions in and around Saginaw. He was a character, a great sense of humor, a story teller, a 'large presence.'
For those who did know Al, you'll probably agree these few words hardly do justice to his efforts and personality.
He will be missed.
Larry Levy
Jeff, thank you for your blog post on Al Hellus, whom I first met when he came to EMU from Delta around 25 years ago. He was the imposing-looking guy in a Shakespeare class who, I came to realize, was the other person in the class who was digging the plays and the lectures. We stayed friends until the end, sharing an rented house in Ypsi's student ghetto in grad school, and having hundreds of all-night discussions over many, many drinks. He had a wicked wit and did not suffer fools gladly. He took his writing, even the humorous poems, even as an undergrad, very seriously. For me, as for most people I know, writing was something I loved to do, but I could set it aside to persue other things--such as a love interest or a job. It was something separate. Not for Al, though. He could not not write, and wove through every element of his life. Even when he was in a fallow period, he was still filling his notebook with observations. I envied that. He remained a dear friend to me and later to my wife. My daughter calls him "Uncle Al," and was never prouder than when he dedicated a poem to her. I will be a long time coming to terms with his loss, even though we knew this day would come.
Anyway, I was glad to see your post about him. Thanks.
Mike Anderson
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