LS 5663 Module 6: Poetry and Fiction

Heartsongs

Stepanek, Mattie J.T. 2001. HEARTSONGS. New York: Hyperion. 

ISBN 0-7868-8809-1

Review:

Heartsongs is a simple, yet beautifully moving collection poems written by Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek. Mattie began writing poetry and stories at the very young age of three years old. He was living with a rare form of muscular dystrophy, Dysautonomic Mitcochondrial Myopathy, the same disease that had already claimed the lives of his three younger siblings. Mattie's mother Jeni is now living with the adult-onset form of this rare type of MD. The fact that Mattie lost his battle with his disease on June 22,2004, makes his poetry that much more profound.

Mattie's book is arranged in three parts. It is separated by the themes Senses, Seasons, and Celebrations. His strong religious faith is apparent in his poetry, as is a strong sense of self. Though his poetry is simple and obviously written by a child, his vivid details and imagery, sense of theme, and voice show us that Mattie understood the elements of poetry.

Each section begins with a finger paint illustration by Mattie. He also illustrated each page number with a heart. These illustrations are beautifully moving in their simplicity. It's touching to see his little finger prints in the blue sky and green leaves.


Fiction Pair:

I would pair Heartsongs with Jordan Sonnenblick's novel, After Ever After. Jeffrey, the main character, is a cancer survivor. After Ever After follows Jeffrey through middle school as he deals with the after effects of his treatment for leukemia.

Throughout the novel, Jeffrey learns to live his life to it's fullest eventhough he suffers mentally and physically from the effects of the chemotherapy drug, methotrexate.

I chose to pair Heartsongs with Sonnenblick's novel due to the subject matter and the highlighted poem below.

Highlighted Poem:

Summer 'Rememberies'

After everyone has
A smoky cookout at Chip's house,
And the grown-ups make
Music on their guitars for singing and dancing,
And the children take
Off their shoes and run
Around the backyard catching
Lightning bugs in the dark --
Then, it is a very good time to be
Happy.
And that 'then' is
A very good time and
A very good feeling to remember
Ever-After.

Possible Uses:

Though Heartsongs could be used to help kids learn the importance of overcoming obstacles, it could also be used to teach literary elements such as theme and voice.
Teachers can also use Mattie's poems to show students that anything in their life could be a topic for poetry - from summer cookouts to itchy feet.
I would definitely bring Heartsongs into a class discussion on the novel, After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick.