Kathleen Hellen

Poet

Baltimore, MD
Maryland US

Author's Bio

Kathleen Hellen is the author of three collections and three poetry chapbooks, the latest young girl in the flower of time from Lily Poetry Chapbooks. Her debut collection Umberto’s Night won The Jean Feldman Poetry Prize from Washington Writers’ Publishing House. Hellen’s poems have won the James Still Award, the Thomas Merton Prize for Poetry of the Sacred, and prizes from the H.O.W. Journal and Washington Square Review. Nominated multiple times for Best of the Net, the Pushcart, and recently, for Best American Short Stories, her work has been featured on Poetry Daily and Verse Daily, and was a finalist for The American Poetry Prize from Settlement House, the Poetry International Chapbook Contest, the Louise Bogan Award, the Off the Grid Poetry Prize, and the Stephen Dunn Prize in Poetry. She is the recipient of grants from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts.

 

 

 

Publications & Prizes

Books:
Meet Me at the Bottom (Main Street Rag Publishing Company, 2022)
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The Only Country Was the Color of My Skin (Saddle Road Press, 2018)
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Umberto's Night (Washington Writers' Publishing House, 2012)
Chapbooks:
young girl in the flower of time (Lily Poetry Review Books, 2026)
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Pentimento (Finishing Line Press, 2014)
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The Girl Who Loved Mothra (Finishing Line Press, 2010)
Journals: , ,
2 Bridges Review
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88: A Journal of Contemporary American Poetry
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Abstract Magazine
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Aji Magazine
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Alpha Beat Soup
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American Letters & Commentary
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Amsterdam Review
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Anomalous Press
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Anti-
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Anti-Heroin Chic
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Apalachee Review
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Appalachian Review
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Artemis
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Artful Mind
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As It Ought To Be Magazine
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Ascent
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Asia Literary Review
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Atlas & Alice
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Autofocus
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BarBar
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Barnwood International Poetry Magazine
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Barrow Street
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Barzakh
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Beauty for Ashes Poetry Review
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Belt Magazine
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Big City Lit
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Birdcoat Quarterly
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Blink-Ink
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Blue Unicorn
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BOMBFIRE
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Book of Matches
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Briar Cliff Review
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Brilliant Corners
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Broadkill Review
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Caesura
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Caliban
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Cicada
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Cider Press Review
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Clackamas Literary Review
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Clockhouse
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Concision Poetry Journal
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Confluence
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Conte
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Curator Magazine
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Eclipse
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EcoTheo
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English Journal
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Ethel
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Evergreen Review
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Every Writer
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Fatal Flaw
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Faultline
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Flapper Press
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Gas
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Glimpse
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Green Hills Literary Lantern
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H.O.W. Journal
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Heavy Feather Review
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Heron Tree
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Hobart
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Hoxie Gorge Review
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In Posse Review
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Iris
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J Journal
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Japanophile
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Josephine Quarterly
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Jubilat
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Juked
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Kartika Review
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Kerning
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Kettle Blue Review
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Lantern Review
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Leaping Clear
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Leon Literary Review
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LEVELER Poetry Journal
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Lost Balloon
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Lumiere Review
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Margins
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Masque & Spectacle
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Memoir Journal
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Menacing Hedge
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Mythium
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Nebo
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Necessary Fiction
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Negative Capability
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Nerve Cowboy
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New Note Poetry
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Nine Cloud Journal
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Nonbinary Review
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Northwest Literary Forum
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Notre Dame Review
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Now & Then
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Now Culture
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Off the Coast
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Offcourse
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Okay Donkey
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Oversound
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Oyster Boy Review
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Pank
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Pebble Lake Review
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Pensive: A Global Journal of Spirituality and the Arts
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phati'tude Literary Magazine
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Piedmont Literary Review
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Platte Valley Review
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Poetry Daily
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Point Judith Light
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Potomac Review
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Presence
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Puerto del Sol
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Quantum Tao
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Queen Mob's Teahouse
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Rattapallax
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Revolution John
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Rhino Magazine
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Runes: A Review of Poetry
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Sampsonia Way
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Scoundrel Time
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Seattle Review
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Sliver of Stone
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Small Orange
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Spillway Magazine
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Spoon River Poetry Review
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Storyscape
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Subtropics
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Swink
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Switched-On Gutenberg
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Tampa Review Online
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THAT Literary Review
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The Broome Review
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The Chattahoochee Review
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The Coachella Review
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The Disappointed Housewife
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The Drunken Boat
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the engine(idling
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The Evansville Review
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The Potomac Journal
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The Wrath-Bearing Tree
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Tinfish
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Tiny Spoon
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Trampoline
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Tule Review
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Two Review
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UCity Review
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Verse Daily
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Verve
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Vita Poetica Journal
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Where is the river
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Writers Resist
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you are here: the journal of creative geography
Prizes won: 

2012 The Jean Feldman Poetry Prize, Washington Writers’ Publishing House; 2011 The H.O.W. Journal Poetry Prize; 2007 Recipient Baltimore Arts & Humanities Grant, Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts; 2007 Washington Square Review Poetry Prize; 2005 The Thomas Merton Prize for Poetry of the Sacred; 2003 Individual Artist Award, Maryland State Arts Council; 1996 and 1994 The James Still Poetry Award; 2012 Finalist Quartet Series, Toadlily Press; 2011 Finalist Stephen Dunn Prize in Poetry, The Broome Review and Split Oak Press; 2009 Finalist Concrete Wolf Poetry Chapbook Series; 2009 Finalist Best of the Net; 2007 Finalist the Marlboro Prize for Poetry, Marlboro Review; 2007 Finalist Autumn House Book Award; 2006 Finalist Kore Press First Book Award; 2006 Finalist Slapering Hol Press Chapbook Contest; 2006 Finalist Many Mountains Moving Flash Fiction Contest; 2003 Finalist Pablo Neruda Poetry Prize, Nimrod/Hardman Awards; 2007 Semi-finalist Nimrod/Hardman Awards.

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Annie Ernaux, Tomas Tranströmer, Paul Celan, Zora Neale Hurston, Emily Dickinson, Yannis Ritsos, Basho, Yasunari Kawabata
What I'm reading now: 
Telling the Truth as it Comes Up: Selected Talks & Essays 1991-2018 by Alice Notley

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
Asian American
Prefers to work with: 
Adults
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Tokyo
Japan
Raised in: 
PA
Pennsylvania
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Jun 30, 2026