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Words in Full Bloom

Madison area writer Bellile
releases first poetry book

She reflects on life
through her writing and photographs


By Lela Jane Bradshaw
Contributing Writer

(October 2011) – During their school age years, many people pursue creative endeavors such as acting in plays or composing song lyrics. For some, these early activities turn into career paths or lifelong passions. For others, long hours at the easel may become fond memories as their lives turn on to different roads of interests and responsibilities.
While Heidi Bellile had written poetry as a teenager, it had been several years since she had tapped in to that aspect of her talents. Poetry had taken a backseat to other elements in her life including completing a degree in Child Development, attaining a teaching certification in Special Education, and raising a son. Writing was something she largely explored through letters to family members.
But about a year ago, her path turned rather abruptly back to the poetry she had not revisited for quite some time. “I just all of a sudden started getting a creative burst!” Bellile explains.

Heidi Bellile

Bellile

She recalls being happily surprised by the sudden outpouring of poetry but also a bit baffled. While considering this new found artistic energy she turned to a friend for advice saying, “It’s really sort of blossoming – what do I do with it?” Fortunately, that friend was the son of a poet and advised her to start carrying around a journal in order to record her thoughts and inspirations whenever they might come to her.
Bellile just released her first book “A Walk on the Poet’s Edge.” The book includes 50 poems that are groups into chapters on Nature, Challenges, Love and Loss. Bellile has lived on a farm near Madison, Ind., for the past eight years and finds inspiration in the landscape not only for her words but also her photography. The book is illustrated with her pictures from the Heritage Trail in Madison and countryside shots. While this is Bellile’s first official release, some literary enthusiasts will already be familiar with her work because she has often taken part in readings at the Cultivate Center in Madison.
Bellile’s first book captures a range of emotions and she believes her work will likewise evoke a variety of responses in readers. She describes her style as “inspiration based poetry,” which she believes is “often the most powerful.” Some of the poems are comic stories, while others take a more philosophical turn. Many of her works, including some of her nature poems, reflect themes and images that will be familiar and comfortable to her fellow area residents. However, she also views some of her works as “conversation pieces” as she confronts some complex ideas that challenge readers to examine their own views about life.
This variety allows her poems to find a home in some very different environments. Some of her work has been read aloud as part of a yoga class, its calming tone fitting in well with contemplative atmosphere. Some of her more challenging pieces may soon show up in the classrooms of her professor friends looking for new ways to spark discussion in their classrooms. While she believes some of her lighter poems could be described as “a bit like Shel Silverstein” and could appeal to children, the bulk of the collection is aimed at adults and reflects on serious issues. She points out that what people will enjoy in a poem is “all in individual taste.”
For the poet herself, some of her favorite creations are the longer, more philosophical poems. Bellile cites the death of a close friend as one of the events that set off her recent creative exploration and an entire chapter of her book is devoted to the theme of loss.
“The thing I love about poetry is there is so much freedom,” she says thoughtfully. “For me it has really helped me work out issues.” She believes writing, art, and music to be be “fantastic outlets of expression.”
Bellile is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling and sees a connection between her studies and her art.
Bellile’s creative work has not stopped with her first volume and she is already planning a second book. She is presently aiming to release that book next year and believes that it will be “more complex, more of a crowd pleaser.” She reflects that “the more I’ve done, the better I’ve gotten.”

• For information on book orders or to view a preview of Bellile’s poetry, visit: www.xlibris.com.

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