Helen Kemp Zax

IMPERFECT II poet Helen Kemp Zax:

Regaining perspective is something we’ve needed to do quite often these past few years. When I need to gain perspective, I try different things.
* Walking my dog Huckleberry Finn in the park is one of my favorite ways to reset.
* Calling my children or my friends to hear their voices—even if we don’t talk about what’s troubling me—always helps.
* Meditating and doing yoga are calming ways to recenter.
* Writing poetry is my first love—so sitting down and pouring out my feelings in a poem always helps me when life begins to feel a bit imperfect.

Helen Kemp Zax is co-winner of the 2021 YorkMix International Children’s Poetry Prize, First Prize winner in the 2018 MG Katherine Paterson Prize, and Finalist in 2019. Her poems appear in Things We Do, Hop To It, Dear Tomato, di-verse-city 2021 and The Caterpillar, Dirigible Balloon, Cricket, Hunger Mountain, The School Magazine, High Five, and Better Than Starbucks. Helen received an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. A member of Poets Garage, Helen has taught writing from elementary to post-graduate levels. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband Leonard and their Aussie-doodle Huckleberry Finn. You can find Helen on Instagram at helenkempzax and on Twitter at @HelenZax.