Brother Blue, 1921-2009. R.I.P.

Dr. Hugh Morgan Hill, better known as Brother Blue, died on Tuesday after a short illness. He was 88.

Brother Blue was a storyteller who was a fixture in Cambridge between Central and Harvard Square where he regaled generations of people who came and went. As you can deduce by his name he always dressed in blue.

I didn't know him well but he was a friendly sort. Most of the my encounters with him were at the Out of the Blue Gallery where I have often read my poems. The last time I saw him was in May when my roommate Christopher and I went to see Eric Bogosian read from his novel Perforated Heart at Porter Square Books. Blue got up to speak and he gushed in praise of Bogosian who I don't think was sure what to make of him. Alas, neither Christopher or I had the chance to speak with him. Something both of us regret.

Here's Brother Blue telling a story in Central Square last year. The woman you see in the video is Ruth Edmonds Hill. They were married nearly 60 years. If that doesn't tell you a little something then I'm not sure what will.