Helen Heath (born 1970) is a poet from New Zealand.

Background

Heath is based in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand. She received her MA and PhD in Creative Writing from the

International Institute of Modern Letters The International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML; ) is a centre of creative writing based within Victoria University of Wellington. Founded in 2001, the IIML offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses (including a PhD in creative writing) ...

, at the

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

. In 2017 she was publishing programme leader at Whitireia Publishing (part of Whitireia Community Polytechnic).

Works

Heath's poetry explores ideas of science, motherhood and grief, and she draws inspiration from scientists such as

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...

. Heath's first published work was the chapbook, ''Watching the Smoke.'' In 2012 she published her first poetry collection, ''Graft.'' Her collection ''Are Friends Electric?'' was published in 2018 by

Victoria University Press Te Herenga Waka University Press or THWUP (formerly Victoria University Press) is the book publishing arm of Victoria University of Wellington, located in Wellington, New Zealand. As of 2022, the press had published around 800 books. History V ...

. Heath has also been published in the ''Best New Zealand Poems'' series (2012) and literary journals, including ''Turbine,'' ''Swamp'', ''4th Floor,'' and ''Snorkel.''

Awards

''Graft'' won the 2013 NZSA Jessie McKay Best First Book Award for Poetry at the

New Zealand Post Book Awards The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are literary awards presented annually in New Zealand. The awards began in 1996 as the merger of two literary awards events: the New Zealand Book Awards, which ran from 1976 to 1995, and the Goodman Fielder Wa ...

. The scientific perspective of the poetry in ''Graft'' led her poem ‘Making Tea in the Universe’ to win the 2011 inaugural Science Teller Poetry Award. In 2013, the collection became the first book of poetry or fiction work to be shortlisted for the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

Science Book Prize. The book was also listed in the New Zealand Listener's Top 100 Books of 2012. In 2019 ''Are Friends Electric?'' won the Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.

Bibliography

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References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, Helen Living people 1970 births International Institute of Modern Letters alumni New Zealand fiction writers New Zealand women poets Writers from Wellington City