John Haag Obituary

John Haag April 6, 1926 - November 24, 2008 On Nov. 24, John Haag, of Bellefonte, died at the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home, in the arms of his wife, Corene Johnston. Haag was born on April 6, 1926, in Sandpoint, Idaho, the son of Joseph Paul and Bertha Belleville Haag. In addition to his wife, he is survived by two sisters, Janette Smith, Boulder City, Nev., Virginia Cox, Vancouver, Wash.; and a whole passel of loving and beloved nieces and nephews, including a few great-nieces and nephews, and even a couple of great-greats. John traveled the world during four years in the Merchant Marine during World War II, and three Korean War years in the Navy. He eventually attended both the University of Washington, Seattle, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, and Reading University, Reading, England. He was both a Fulbright and a Woodrow Wilson fellow. After completion of his graduate work in 1961, he accepted a faculty position in English at Penn State's University Park Campus, where, for more than 30 years, he cultivated the development of young writers in the ways that he had been mentored by Theodore Roethke, James Wright and Stanley Kunitz. Students from as long ago as the 1960s stayed in touch with "The Perfesser" until the end of his life. Some have gone on to win acclaim with their own writing. Haag once decided to publish "from A to Z," and over the course of the next few years, had poems accepted by a number of magazines and other periodicals, with names beginning with the letter "A," and progressing through the alphabet. The letter "S" was represented by Scientific American. He also published two chap books, small, paper-backed volumes of poetry. His hardcover Stones Don't Float: Poems Selected and New, won the 1996 Ohio State University's The Journal award in poetry. Haag was an orchid aficionado, and past president of the Central Pennsylvania Orchid Society. With his friend, the author Bill Russell, Haag learned and taught others about the pleasures of wild mushrooms during woods walks and haute cuisine pot lucks. After his retirement from Penn State, Haag spent most Tuesday mornings drinking coffee and hanging out with other retired guys and the regulars at Webster's Book Store & Cafe, Allen St., State College. A celebration of the rowdy, sui generis poet's life will be held at Webster's on Dec. 14, 2008, from 2 to 4 p.m. Information about donations to a memorial fund will be available by that time. Arrangements are under the direction of the Wetzler Funeral Service, Inc. in Bellefonte.

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Published by Centre Daily Times on Dec. 6, 2008.

Memories and Condolences
for John Haag

4 Entries

Susan Beck

April 20, 2021

To Professor Haag: my dearest, most incredible teacher, poet and mentor. Though I knew you only for a short time, the childlike wonder you imprinted on my soul was permanent. Rest in peace.

Daniel Postellon

July 21, 2009

I fondly remember him reading "Slippery Jack" with "the thing in the clock" at The Jawbone in the late 1960's. Were these ever published? I never took a class from him, but he was one of my favorite teachers. He will be missed.

Chip Murray

December 6, 2008

John once told me 40 years ago that Atlantis didn't sink, she just slipped her mooring and sneaked away when no one was watching. In essence, John has escaped his cocoon of mortal flesh, spread his wings and floated after her directed by that compass in his hands. Thank you for the guidance, I now know the way. There will be wine and cookies waiting for you. We have all been so lucky to have known John in this life.

Jay Rubin

December 6, 2008

John loosed his metaphor "the grunion of the mind," in my fertile beach during the high tide of my youth in the early '60s. He was THE one, of my many teachers, who insinuated the value, love and sheer glee of learning into my then profoundly resistant and empty head. Perhaps it was that tell-tale impish glint in his eyes, the knowing witty cackle, that lubricated his
students' acceptance of the grimmer challenges/self-responsibilities that lay ahead of us in the life experience. In those days, with John's profound influence, life became "a fountain" (my favorite of his "jokes") for me, from which meaning has since poured forth in abundance.
I often count having known John Haag as one of the greatest blessings in my life. He was my friend, in the best sense of that word. A true friend, who encouraged me to grow, to become characterologically bigger, to think, to "see," to accept and to understand. I'm satisfied that John will continue to find comfort in the arms of The Muse. I will miss him, as will so many others whose lives have been touched by his. Today, I know better than to ask for whom the bell tolls. We may think we are, yet know we are not, islandes apart. So until the morrow, John, "Nevermore."