About Helen Pearse
Helen
Pearse is a London based freelance journalist, specialising in music,
the arts and travel.
After reading English at Leicester University, where her first year tutor was Monica Jones, long time mistress and muse of Philip Larkin, Helen went on to train as a magazine journalist at the London College of Fashion and the London College of Printing (now all part of the London Institute).
There was a short stint at Draper’s Record before joining Art and Design magazine at the very bottom of the magazine chain of command, helping to compile an art gallery ‘Round Up’ section and attending private views all over London.
Over the years she has written for various local, national and international publications, including The Bristol Observer, The Richmond and Twickenham Times as well as American and Australian editions of ‘The Clarinet’ magazine and jazzreview.com.
For the last four years Helen has been the official ‘feature’ writer of the Clarinet and Saxophone magazine, interviewing artists as diverse as the rapper/jazz saxophonist, Soweto Kinch, and international solo clarinettist Julian Bliss in venues that range from the Wigmore Hall to the 606 jazz club and beyond… She is also an Staff Writer on the jazzreview.com site, and recently interviewed award winning British jazz artist, Claire Martin, on her debut at New York’s legendary Algonquin Hotel.
A keen amateur musician, Helen plays clarinet and alto sax and has lessons with Paul Harvey. She is also on the Board of the Women Writers’ Network for whom she books regular monthly speakers for meetings held at the Conway Hall, and for whom she has interviewed many literary agents, newspaper and magazine editors, playwrights, scriptwriters, journalists,.and a poet. She is also a member of Women in Journalism. Helen co-wrote a short play that was performed at the Exeter Arts Festival, called ‘1986 and all that…’ about the fall of the Berlin Wall, and contributed to a book of poetry published by Rive Gauche in Bristol.
Helen lives in Notting Hill with her husband, two children and a dog called Elvis.