About the Poet

August Helpling is a poet, academic, and educator. His work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and appears in Jeopardy Magazine, Troublemaker Firestarter, Crab Orchard Review, and Boudin. He holds a BA in Creative Writing from Western Washington University, and an MFA in Poetry from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Born and raised in Southern California, he is transplanted and thriving in the American Midwest. When he isn’t writing or teaching, you can find him at home watching terrible movies, or out by the train tracks eating fresh figs.

August Helpling standing in front of Cloud Gate, also known as the Chicago Bean.
Gustave Dore's painting titled "Jacob Wrestling with the Angel." Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Published Works

Poems
Family Name, Water Works, & “I’m Doing My First E Shot Tonight, Can You Help Me?”
Appear in Boudin, Pride issue. (2026)"How's Your Transition Going?"
Appears in Jeopardy Magazine, 58th edition. (2022)Interview with Troublemaker Firestarter
Featuring "What I Imagine She was Thinking..." (2025)Reviews
On CD Eskilson's Scream / Queen and On Stevie Edwards' The Weather Inside
Appear in Crab Orchard Review. (2026)Awards
Pushcart Prize Nomination: "What I Imagine She was Thinking..." (2022)
Don and Elain Westhoff Award for Poetry: "'How's Your Transition Going?'" (2022)