About the Poet

August Helpling is a poet and educator transplanted and thriving in the American Midwest. His work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and is featured in Jeopardy Magazine, and Troublemaker Firestarter. He holds a BA in English Creative Writing from Western Washington University, and will graduate with his MFA in Poetry from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2026. He is also an Editing Intern with Crab Orchard Review. 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.

Selected Works

Interview with Troublemaker Firestarter
Featuring "What I Imagine She was Thinking..." (2025)"How's Your Transition Going?"
Featured in Jeopardy Magazine 58th edition. (2022)Awards
Pushcart Prize Nomination: "What I Imagine She was Thinking..." (2022)
Don and Elain Westhoff Award for Poetry: "'How's Your Transition Going?'" (2022)