12 Facts About Franz Hellens

Franz Hellens, born Frederic van Ermengem was a prolific Belgian novelist, poet and critic.

Franz Hellens was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times.

Franz Hellens is known as one of the major figures in Belgian magic realism, and as the indefatigable editor of Signaux de France et de Belgique.

Franz Hellens's father was a bacteriologist, and when in 1886 he was appointed professor at the University of Ghent the Van Ermengem family moved from Brussels to Wetteren, and then to Ghent in 1894.

Franz Hellens published two collections of short stories, Hors-le-vent and Clartes latentes.

At the outbreak of war, Hellens was ineligible for service.

Franz Hellens spent some months in England before travelling to the Cote d'Azur, where he met many famous artists and writers, and fell in love with a married Russian named Maria Marcovna Miloslawski.

Franz Hellens returned with her to Brussels in 1920, the same year he published Melusine, and married her on 20 July 1925, having divorced Marguerite in 1919.

Franz Hellens made trips to Italy in 1925 and 1926 and to Norway in 1936.

Franz Hellens's father died in 1932, an event which prompted him to begin writing his voluminous diaries.

Franz Hellens married Helene Burbulis on 26 November and moved to Paris, where he stayed until her death in 1971.

Franz Hellens reestablished Le Disque vert with Rene de Soher in 1951, and compiled a collected volume of his poetry in 1959.