Helen Heath
Helen Heath (born 1970) is a poet from New Zealand. Background. Heath is based in Wellington, New Zealand. She received her MA and PhD in Creative Writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters, at the Victoria University of Wellington. 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. 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. 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 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  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. External links. Official website