Keith was born in
Wellington in 1942. She is the daughter of ceramic artist and painter
June Black. She studied zoology and English literature at
Victoria University of Wellington. During the 1960s she spent a decade living in London, and returned to New Zealand in 1974, where she worked as a journalist for several years before beginning to write fiction. Academic
Terry Sturm said Keith's short stories "focus on the practices and aspirations of women in a demanding world". Since around 1995, Keith has owned a gallery called Blikfang Art and Antiques in
Northcote, a suburb of Auckland. ==References==