Heart; A Personal Journey through its Myths and Meanings

New York, N.Y.: William Morrow, 2001. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Julie Metz (illustrations) and Jerry Bauer (Author. xii, 308 pages. Illustrated endpapers. The book is inscribed believed by the author, with sentiment, on the front free endpaper. The inscription reads: "When the Heart speaks, the spirits of the Universe listen. Thank you for allowing our Hearts to combine and join the Universal spiritual Word. g" ["g' compares favorably with Godwin's autographs found on the internet.] Includes Author's Note, Prologue, and Epilogue. Part One covers The Heart Through Time; Part Two covers Heart Themes in Life and Art; and Part Three covers Hospitality of Heart. Gail Godwin (born June 18, 1937) is an American novelist and short story writer. Godwin has written 14 novels, two short story collections, three non-fiction books, and ten libretti. Her primary literary accomplishments are her novels, which have included five best-sellers and three finalists for the National Book Award. Most of her books are realistic fiction novels that follow a character's psychological and intellectual development, often based on themes taken from Godwin's own life. Godwin was born in Birmingham, Alabama, but raised mostly in Asheville, North Carolina by her mother and grandmother. She adopted her mother's interest in writing at an early age and obtained a Bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). While at the University of Iowa, Godwin's dissertation became her first novel, The Perfectionists. By 1976 she had become a successful writer and author of three books. In particular, two books, A Mother and Two Daughters (1982) and A Southern Family (1987), resulted in further acclaim. In this truly remarkable work, acclaimed, bestselling author Gail Godwin takes us on a breathtaking journey of the heart that spans the entire history of human civilization, combining literature, myth, religion, philosophy, medicine, the fine arts, and intensely personal stories from the writer's own past to explore the full and complex character of that unique symbol. Brimming with intelligence and wit, Godwin's explorations and meditations brilliantly track themes of the heart in life, legend, and art -- from the first valentine to the first stethoscope, from Gilgamesh to Confucius, from the heart of darkness to wearing one is heart on one's sleeve. Here is a gift of the heart from an eminent American writer at the pinnacle of her creative talents. It is a work of extraordinary power, creativity, scholarship, and passion. Lively and moving, Heart offers us a profound new look at where we come from and what has sustained us across millennia-in short, what it is that makes us human.

"The Italians have a musical notation not found in any other language: tempo giusto 'the right tempo.' It means a steady, normal heat, between 66 and 76 on the metronome. Tempo giusto is the appropriate heat of the human heart." One of the preeminent literary artists of our time turns her attention, her profound insight, and her passion to humankind's most enduring, important, evocative, and provocative symbol:

What is heart? It is the muscle of life, sending our most vital fluid coursing through our veins to every striving hungry part of our being. It is what keeps us striving against impossible odds; that fortifying something that is the cornerstone of every triumph. It elates us when we discover love and pains us greatly when that love is lost or proves unrequited. It is a gentleness that colors what we give to others. It is a symbol that we see on greeting cards: a small, red shape that was drawn on the wall of a cave in Spain more than 12,000 years ago.