• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
The Friday Poem

The Friday Poem

A poem every Friday

  • The Frip
  • About
    • Masthead
    • Contributors
  • FAQ
  • Archive
    • Search the archive
    • Friday Poems
    • Reviews
    • Features
  • Subscribe
  • Submit a poem

Helena Nelson

 is a poet, critic, and publisher, founding editor of  and , and Consulting Editor at The Friday Poem. Her first collection, Starlight on Water (Rialto, 2003), was a Jerwood / Aldeburgh First Collection winner. Her second was Plot and Counterplot (Shoestring, 2010). She also writes and publishes light verse, including Down With Poetry! (HappenStance, 2016) and Branded (Red Squirrel, 2019). Her most recent collection is PEARLS: The Complete Mr & Mrs Philpott Poems (HappenStance, 2022).

    Big white text on a black background. Parts of the words "The" and "Big" . Its striking if you like that monochrome block capitals kind of thing.

    Meanwhile in Camelot

    Helena Nelson reviews The Big Calls by Glyn Maxwell (Live Canon, 2023)
    A section taken from the front cover, parts of the words "The" and "Arctic3 can be seen. Th cover is brown with cream text. What can you do?

    Hanging onto Tam Lin in The Arctic

    Helena Nelson reviews The Arctic by Don Paterson (Faber, 2022)
    Black background covered in a myriad of small white shapes. At first the look like birds, but as one looks more closely they look like small abstract figures on horseback. Or maybe on camels. Who knows?

    Uncharted territory

    Helena Nelson reviews Imperium by Jay Gao (Carcanet, 2022)
    a hand holding a pen with a blue winners rosette attached to it

    The Competition Poem

    Is there such a thing as the competition poem? And, if there is, how do you write it? The Frip talks to Ian Duhig, Helena Nelson and Christopher James to find out
    Black and white head and shoulders photo of Helena Nelson smiling into the camera against the background of a field

    Poetry editors have a love/hate relationship with poetry

    In Conversation: The Friday Poem talks to Helena Nelson about the future of poetry publishing, the cult of personality and where to find good poetry today
    Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Email

    Read this next

    Head and shoulders photo of Rachael. She has short brown hair and glasses. She has her baby daughter in a sling across her chest.

    Rachael Matthews

    This page shows the features and reviews that Rachael Matthews has contributed to The Friday Poem.

    Site Footer

    MENU

    • About us
    • FAQ
    • Submit a poem
    • Contact
    • Privacy
  • Mentions Légales
  • THE FRIP

    The Frip is The Friday Poem’s reviews and features magazine. We run book reviews, profiles, interviews, essays, lyric essays and other features of interest to poets and readers of poetry. Read the Frip here.

    NEWSLETTER

    Why not sign up for our weekly newsletter and never miss a Friday Poem again? Pop your email address in the box and click the button.

    Copyright © 2023 · The Friday Poem · All Rights Reserved · follow the Friday Poem on Twitter · follow the Friday Poem on Facebook · ISSN  2968-7675 follow the Friday Poem follow the Friday Poem on