Heartsongs

by Mattie J.T. Stepanek

Book Overview

Now available in hardcover, a special gift edition with 16 pages of new poems and illustrations, the national bestseller that introduced millions of people to Mattie J.T. Stepanek

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 078686947X
• ISBN13: 9780786869473
• Release Date: August 2002
• Publisher: Hachette Books
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.5" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

sweet and inspiring

an uplifting collection of poetry by an MDA spokesman

Please keep in context

Honestly...all of those who want to place poets in a general "poetry" category. Poetry is not a race to place one person at the top of a long list of other poets he or she supercede. Anyone who believes in qualifying great writers that easily is not a student of literature. To try and compare Mattie Stepanek to Sylvia Plath (or Sharon OLDS) is to try and compare Mattie's life to Sylvia's or Sharon's. Or to Shakespeare's. Motivations, inspirations, era, context...all alter the development of a writing style. Great works are determined not by comparing works line by line, but by gathering all elements of the writer's life and placing them within context of what the writer composed. At 13, Mattie had composed thousands of poems, and passed away after living his life, though burdened, to the fullest extent. At 13, Sylvia Plath was beginning her foray into writing that would haunt and torture her to her suicidal death. Mattie WAS an amazing writer--his style is simple, yet evocative, and sometimes brutally honest. He doesn't mince words or disguise his hope or hurt with difficult metaphor. Burdened by a disease that made writing--nay, LIVING--difficult, he confronted it with a passion exemplified in his writings. Can you compare him to Shakespeare, Byron, Yeats? In some ways yes--his life influenced his art--in some ways no--he only lived to be 13, while the others struggled through the pangs of adolescence, through heartbreak, through adulthood's love and loss--not to mention a lifetime of literary study, while Mattie had but 8 years, at the most. But he WILL be remembered, like Shel Silverstein will be remembered, because the quality of his poetry is remarkable for who he WAS. Please don't pretend that an overexuberance for modern or contemporary era poets makes your knowledge of writers superior to that of others. Those who run about flaunting their "intelligence" are often incapable of understanding true intellect. Being intelligent is not reading what you believe are "great" writers, it understanding that greatness exists at all levels, if you are capable of finding it. For those reading this to consider Heartsongs, the collection of books ARE remarkable. Mattie Stepanek's understanding of the fragility of life, death, and hope are often mind-boggling, particularly when you consider he composed some of these poems before he could write. At three, he not only comprehended the death of his sibling, he coped with it, wrote about it, and wrote about it quite WELL. He understood his own predicament and continued to find hope in everything he pursued, until the end of his life. Heartsongs was appreciated long before Mattie passed away, as it should have been, and as it should continue to be.

A book of beautiful poems

"Heartsongs" is not a very long book, but it is a book that will touch your heart. Mattie Stepanek was only eleven years old when he wrote "Heartsongs", and he has endured much pain and grief in his short life. He has seen three of his siblings pass away from a rare form of muscular dystrophy, and he suffers from the same condition. Echoes of Mattie's pain can be found in some of his poems, but they are mainly dominated by a sense of love for everything in the universe and a deep desire for world peace. Mattie wants to be a peacemaker, and his poems are filled with peace and childhood wonder. Sometimes the deepest wisdom comes from children, and that is very true about this beautiful book of poems. This book leaves you with the thought that beauty is in the eye of the beholder; and in the heart of hearts.

Excellent

Mattie's wisdom is far beyond his years. What a gifted soul. Thank you, Mattie, for sharing your poetry with us. I wish you longevity and great happiness, and I look forward to reading more 'heartsongs' in the years to come. I also recommend a little book of wisdom by another young man who is wise beyond his years - "Open Your Mind, Open Your Life" by Taro Gold. Both Mattie and Taro are humble young sages with the faces of boys but the hearts of philosophers.

Heartsongs

Mattie is an inspiration and the true peacemaker he aspires to be. I am so moved by the natural gift that he has been blessed with. While reading this collection of 20 poems, you have to keep reminding yourself that this was written when he was just 5 years old. Awesome!The life experience that this young man has had, rings through loud and clear in this collection of feelings. Children will love this book, and adults will be moved. Thank you to VSP books for giving us the gift of Mattie! Can't wait for more!