Heart: A Personal Journey Through Its Myth and Meanings

Heart: A Personal Journey Through Its Myth and Meanings

by Gail Godwin (Author)

Synopsis

To humans, the heart has always been more than flesh and blood. Rising above its biological function, it has, instead, become the symbol of our emotions. Fear, sadness, anger, love, restlessness, discernment, foreboding, pleasure, longing, comfort, pride, despair - all that signifies passion and the human spirit are the domain of the heart. Gail Godwin takes us on a breathtaking journey 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 this unique icon. Brimming with intelligence and wit, Godwin's explorations and meditations brilliantly track themes of the heart in life, legend, and in art: from the first drawing of the 'heart-shaped' heart to the first valentine, from Gilgamesh to Confucius, from the heart of darkness to wearing one's heart on one's sleeve. A work of great charm, creativity, scholarship, and passion, HEART offers us a wonderful look at where we come from and what has always sustained us.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published: 14 Feb 2002

ISBN 10: 0747554641
ISBN 13: 9780747554646
Book Overview: Released on Valentines Day - the present to buy your friends, lovers, and family. Perfect gift book for all occasions For fans of THE TULIP and COD - on a subject with universal appeal

Author Bio
Gail Godwin is the three-time National Book Award nominee and nationally bestselling author of two collections of short fiction and ten highly acclaimed novels, including A MOTHER AND TWO DAUGHTERS, A SOUTHERN FAMILY, FATHER'S MELANCHOLY DAUGHTER, and EVENSONG. She has taught at the University of Iowa, Vassar, and Columbia University, and has edited the BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES collection. She lives in Woodstock, New York.