Wilmink was born in
Enschede and studied
Dutch and history at the
University of Amsterdam. From 1960 to 1978, he taught modern literature at the same university. He wrote many songs for
musicals and wrote a number of
novels for young adults. At first he mainly wrote for
adults, but later mainly for children. His first publication was in 1966:
Brief van een Verkademeisje (Eng: "letter from a Verkade girl"). His poem "Ben Ali Libi," inspired by Dutch Jewish magician
Michel Velleman, who was murdered at the
Sobibor extermination camp, has become one of his most famous poems. From 1970, he formed a writers' collective, together with
Karel Eijkman,
Hans Dorrestijn,
Ries Moonen,
Fetze Pijlman and
Jan Riem. They contributed a lot to television programs such as
De Stratemakeropzeeshow,
Het Klokhuis,
De Film van Ome Willem,
Sesamstraat and
Kinderen voor Kinderen. He received numerous prizes for his work, including the
Louis Davids Prijs in the 1970s, the
Zilveren Griffel in 1983 and 1994, the
Nienke van Hichtum-prijs in 1985, the
Gouden Griffel in 1986, and the
Theo Thijssen-prijs in 1988. Wilmink played accordion, and performed regularly with his group in the nineties. Many Dutch artists have performed Wilminks poetry, including
Herman van Veen,
Wieteke van Dort,
Joost Prinsen and the
cabaret group
Don Quishocking. Many of his texts have been put to music by
Harry Bannink and
Frank Deiman. In later life, his health declined due to a number of
strokes. ==Works==