Wilk aims to inspire Apr 28, 2006, 05:14

A Medicine Hat writer has teamed up with 29 women from all over the world to pen a book of poetry for breast cancer.
Debbie Wilk has three poems in the recently released book The Beauty Within.
The book consists of 90 poems written by women from several countries including Canada, the U.S., Scotland, Japan and England.
A portion of the proceeds from the book go to breast cancer research in all of the participating countries.
Wilk, 33, has ties to other forms of cancer. Several people in her family have passed away from the disease.
“I don’t care that I’m not making any money off it. It’s going to a good cause and I’ve met a lot of great people doing it,” she said.
Wilk, who works full-time at AMA Travel, began writing poetry approximately two years ago.
“One day I just started writing and it just kind of came,” she said.
A short time later, she stumbled on a website, www.poets.com, where poets review each other’s work.
“I met a lot of people through there and some of us have become really close friends,” she said.
Two of the women she met on the website were Margaret Hussey from Hamilton, Ont., and Sharon Ruderham from Scotland. The two ladies initiated The Beauty Within project approximately one year ago. Hussey came up with the idea after her mother died of breast cancer.
Wilk, who’s the only poet from western Canada featured in the book, had to choose three poems for the book from approximately 60 she had written. Her three poems are titled If You Knew, The Realization and Brooklyn.
“I picked ones that were important to me and inspirational,” she said.
Wilk gains inspiration for her poetry from personal experience or world events, such as Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina.
“I find it’s the easiest way to express things,” she said.
Hussey said people will love Wilk’s poetry.
“Debbie writes with compassion and from her heart. She writes about things that are happening in the world, her life, she also writes with humour and about her children,” she said.
Being featured in The Beauty Within inspired Wilk to publish her own book of poetry, which features 65 of her original poems. The book, which is currently untitled, will come out at the end of summer.
For more information or to purchase
The Beauty Within visit www.innercircleofpoets.com.


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