College junior youngest poet to be featured in book

In response to an advertisement soliciting submissions for a book on why women are beautiful, college junior Karen Flesch wrote a poem her senior year of high school.

She didn't hear back for about a year. Then in the fall of 1995, her first year at Oberlin, she got a call from Dana Carpenter, one of the editors of the book. Carpenter informed Flesch that her poem had been selected to appear in the book, I Am Beautiful, a celebration of women in their own words. Flesch is the youngest of over 60 women to have a piece included in the book.

Since publication, Flesch has received recent national media attention for her poem, which is about her recovery from anorexia nervosa two years prior.

"I wasn't sure what to write about," she said. "... although I had recovered, I was still very much involved in eating disorder prevention. So it made perfect sense to me to write a piece about my recovery from anorexia and the notion that beauty lies beyond the surface."

Flesch did not have high hopes for the poem. "I did it on a lark. I went to my desk, took out a piece of paper and scribbled something down in five minutes. It was totally spontaneous. I sent it off in the mail the next day and didn't expect to hear back about it."

Flesch said, "At first I didn't think anything would happen with the book - the only people that bought it were my friends and relatives - but then a couple weeks ago I got a call from Dana Carpenter and she informed me that since the book was published one year ago, it's been receiving lots of attention in the media."

Among the many media events Flesch has been invited to is the Faith Middelton Show, on a National Public Radio (NPR) member station in Connecticut. The show is broadcast all over New England.

Middelton has won the Peabody award twice and interviewed figures ranging from Walter Cronkite to Katherine Hepburn. Flesch was interviewed live via phone for a program Tuesday afternoon.

Also included in the media attention package is a feature on the Gail King Show, a syndicated alternative morning talk show. According to Flesch, King is Oprah Winfrey's best friend and Winfrey might be considering doing a show on the book.

Although she wasn't present in the studio, Flesch's poem was read on the show. Later the editors discussed Flesch on the show.

Flesch said, "As far as creative writing goes, it was one of my first attempts at poetry. I have other poems I've put more effort into. I think this poem is good because it gets my point accross in an effective manner. It's not necessarily a great literary work."

"I'm enjoying my 15 minutes of fame," Flesch said, "because I know reality is always just around the corner."