Helên is a prize-winning poet who is both versatile and original. Helên’s first taste of poetic success came in 1985 when she was a prize-winner in 'She' Magazine's National Poetry Competition with 'Ode To Bad Poetry'.
In October 2000 she won the Manchester Poetry Festival Slam.
She has performed at a range of venues including schools, libraries, tents, a canal barge, an ancient historical monument, lots of pubs, an inflatable peach and the occasional theatre.
She has wowed audiences from folk clubs to fringe festivals; from rural Cheshire to racy Reading. Special guest appearances include: The Edinburgh Fringe Festival; The Buxton Fringe Festival; Manchester Poetry Festival; The Bristol Poetry Festival; The Poetry Tent at Glastonbury; Chloe Poems’ ‘Wham bang Thank you Mam’ @ The Green Room, Manchester; The Ashton Court Festival, Bristol; The Lymm Festival; The Cheltenham Festival of Literature; The South Kensington Festival Stars of Slam; Big Mouth Cabaret, Bristol; Mouthtrap Cabaret, Reading; Rossendale Folk Festival; Jim Bennett’s Poetry Open Mic. at Border’s Books; The Castle Bar, Cardigan, and The Bowery Poetry Club New York.
Helên has organised events for Warrington’s Hot Wire Events and The Lymm Festival. She was actively involved in Warrington Community Press, which produced two publications one of which was ‘The Hotwire Slam Anthology’. Along with fellow poet, Jo Warburton, she was commissioned to write and perform a ten-minute performance poem to commemorate five years of The Lymm Festival; she has helped to judge the festival’s creative writing competition on three occasions.
In 2004 Helên devised a piece of performance for children called ‘We Are Poets’, along with primary school teacher Kate McGann. Helên wrote the script and all of the poems in the show which saw Helên and Kate take on the roles of snooty Penelope Page and uncouth Gabby Mouth. Helên and Kate have provided workshops and performances to a numerous schools to critical acclaim.
Helên’s poems have appeared in various magazines and anthologies both in print and online:
‘Hopelessness and Other Hobbies’, Helên’s self published chap book, 2001
‘Slam! The Hotwire Anthology’, Pyramid Press 2002.
‘Shortfuse: The Global Anthology of New Fusion Poetry’, Rattapallax Press, 2002.
In 2003 Helên donated poems to a ground breaking e-book edited by Todd Swift, ‘100 Poets Against the War’ which went down in history as the fasted assembled poetry anthology of all time. This was later followed by, ‘Times New Roman - Poems for Lord Hutton’ and ‘Babylon Burning 9/11 Five Years On' all published by Nth Position (website now defunct).
‘In Our Own Words: A Generation Defining itself Vol. 6’, MW Enterprises, 2005.
‘Venue Magazine’ Bristol, 2006.
‘Taste’, clan-u press, 2006.
‘The Ugly Tree Magazine’. Issues 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 18, 19 & 20 www.flapjackpress.co.uk
‘Citizen 32 Magazine’. Issues 3 & 4
‘This poem is sponsored by.’ Corporate Watch's 10 year anniversary anthology. February 2007.
‘In Our Own Words: A Generation Defining itself Vol. 7’, MW Enterprises, 2007.
'We Are Poets!' Flapjack Press publications 2008 www.flapjackpress.co.uk
'Best of Manchester Poets, Volume 1.' Puppywolf June 2010. Poem included: 'On Being A white Square'.
'We Are Poets!' anthology of children's poetry released as a Kindle ebook, October 2013.
'Best of Manchester Poets, Volume 3.' Puppywolf March 2013. Poem included: 'If You've Nothing To Hide There's Nothing To Fear'