Helen Pletts 海伦·普莱茨 is the English co-translator of Chinese poet Ma Yongbo 马永波, her official Chinese translator. She is a committee member of CB1 Poetry, the established monthly poetry reading event in central Cambridge UK, which has organised poetry readings for many years. CB1 features up and coming writers and well known poetry names.

Her work has been translated into Chinese, Bangla, Greek, Vietnamese, Serbian, Korean, Arabic, Italian, Albanian, and Romanian.

Publisher Kate Birch describes her work: “Helen’s very personal poetry reveals her strong connection to the natural world while also laying herself open emotionally. She writes with a thoughtful, mesmerising delicacy on love and death, on joy and need, illness and exhaustion.”

Helen 海伦·普莱茨 and Ma Yongbo 马永波 are co-creators of the ongoing series of weekly Response Poetry Volumes of the transnational dialogue featured in ‘Ma Yongbo Poetry Roadtrip - Summer Tour 2025’ published by International Times since 10th May 2025.

Helen has five shortlistings for the Bridport Poetry Prize (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024), two longlistings for The Rialto Nature & Place Prize (2018, 2022), a longlisting for the Ginkgo Prize (2019), a longlisting for the National Poetry Competition (2022), 2nd Prize in the Plaza Prose Poetry Competition (2022-23), and a shortlisting for the Plaza Prose Poetry Competition (2023-24).

Her three collections include the illustrated 'your eye protects the soft-toed snow drop', with Romit Berger (2022, ISBN 978-9-657-68177-0, Gama Poetry) and two early collections ‘Bottle bank' (2008 ISBN 978-1-84923-119-0), and ‘For the chiding dove' (2009, ISBN 978-1-84923-485-6) published by YWO/Legend Press with Arts Council support.

Her prizewinning prose poetry features in The Plaza Prizes anthologies and The Mackinaw. Her eco-poetry appears in anthologies from Worple Press, Open Shutter Press, Fly on the Wall Press.

Her work is widely published in international journals such as International Times, Vox Populi, Ink Sweat and Tears, Aesthetica, Orbis, The Mackinaw, The Ekphrastic Review, Cambridge Poetry, The Fenland Reed, Poetry on the Lake, Sindh Courier, European Poetry, Verse Virtual, Magique Publishing, Primelore, Deshusa, Verseum Literary, Stigmalogou.gr, Area Felix, www.cnpnews.co.kr, Masticadoresusa, The Journal of Transnational Literature, The Wordsmith Literary E-Magazine, Alessandra Today Magazine, The Daily Global Nation, Gas: Poetry, Art and Music, International Web Post, Ciceroni journal (Kosovo) in English. In Chinese translation by Ma Yongbo —New World Poetry , Literary World, Prose Poetry, Silver, Poetry Reference, Big Dipper International Poetry Forum.