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Knox College in Galesburg professor and novelist Robert Hellenga was at Tri-States Public Radio Station last night for a book reading.

The wonderful world of Hellenga

By: Margaret Eaton

Posted: 3/31/06

Novelist Robert Hellenga was present last night to read from his latest novel, answer questions and sign copies in the Tri States Radio Studio. Hellenga, professor at Knox College in Galesburg, is the author of four novels: "The Sixteen Pleasures," "Blues Lessons," "The Fall of a Sparrow" and his latest, "Philosophy Made Simple."

The audience was made up primarily of First Year Experience students there for class and members of the community were there to hear Hellenga read from his book.

"Philosophy Made Simple:" begins with three chapters taken from an earlier book, "The Sixteen Pleasures," which, Hellenga said slowed the book down.

"They are told from the father's perspective. He's in Chicago while the heroine is in Italy. But I don't like to waste anything, so I published them individually as short stories and then while I was stuck, I went back to them and started this off with them," Hellenga said.

"The Sixteen Pleasures" centers around the activities of Rudy Harrington, an avocado wholesaler who decides after his wife's death to sell his home in Chicago and move to Texas to have an avocado grove. His three daughters are living their own lives in the far corners of the world and the middle one, Molly, is engaged to be married to an Indian scientist. The neighborhood he moves to in Texas is a colorful one, Hellenga said, and his neighbors include an old Russian who keeps his former circus elephant who paints, Norma Jean, in a barn.

Rudy and the Russian, who as far as Hellenga said does not have a name, develop a friendship and the Russian begins to teach Rudy the commands he uses to train Norma Jean. On top of all this, Rudy is planning his daughter's wedding. He rediscovers an interest in philosophy and ponders the true meaning of Immanuel Khant's Dingon Zishe. He also encounters a Pandit, a Hindu priest who tells him after he has sent the wedding invitations out the date chosen for the wedding is inauspicious and should be changed.

Hellenga said he got the idea for a painting elephant after he had heard an item on NPR about it.

"Then I started to do a little research and it turns out there are people in Texas who have elephants. Often they don't have great lives," Hellenga said.

But the important thing is they were there. He also discovered there is an elephant buried in a park in Oquaka, Ill. named Norma Jean.

A man of many talents, Hellenga also sang Winds on Lake Michigan, a song Rudy sings to Norma Jean while he is taking care of her when the Russian takes a vacation.

"In all my books there's a blues singer, I just can't get away from it," Hellenga said.

Hellenga said he did not initially want to write, he said there were enough fiction writers in the world. After receiving a grant of $5,000 and using it to travel to Italy things changed.

"Knox has an active writing program so I thought why not? I wrote a few short stories. Going to Italy was the big turning point. When I get stuck now I write about Italy."

He also gave advice to prospective writers in the audience.

"I always tell my students, getting something down on paper is very important. As long as you get something down you can relax, it doesn't matter how bad it is."