Boy's poetry from the heart inspires others to hope
By Craig Wilson, USA TODAY
By Joyce Naltchayan, AFP
Poet Mattie Stepanek's book Journey Through Heartsongs hit the best-seller lists Nov. 18.
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — Mattie Stepanek is wheeling around his living room like any 11-year-old boy on an electric scooter, laughing as he runs over the long orange cord that snakes across the floor.
But Mattie's "scooter" is his life station — an electric wheelchair. And the laughter is sometimes halting. He suffers from a rare form of muscular dystrophy, a ventilator supplying his oxygen.
Mattie, wise beyond his years, has become the newest rage in the publishing world with his tiny volume of inspiring poems, Heartsongs, and its sequel, Journey Through Heartsongs.
The new book hit best-seller lists Nov. 18. A paperback of his first poetry collection, written between ages 3 and 6, also hit lists that week. Both took off after an October appearance on Oprah, and Mattie now calls Oprah Winfrey "a good friend."
Heartsongs is No. 27 on the USA TODAY Best-Selling Books list; Journey Through Heartsongs is No. 11.
December Prayer
No matter who you are,
Say a prayer this season.
No matter what your faith,
No matter how you celebrate,
Say a prayer this season.
There are so many ways
To celebrate faiths,
There are so many faiths
To celebrate life.
No matter who,
No matter what,
No matter how
You pray.
Let's say a prayer
This season,
Together, for peace.
- December 1999
"I'm a bit surprised," Mattie says. "I never thought my message would get out so quickly."
He is a poet who calls himself a peacemaker.
His message revolves around "heartsongs," which he describes simply as "a message of peace." He came up with the word when he was 4. ("Shh! Listen! That's my heartsong!" he told his mother.)
"I thought it was sweet at the time. Nothing more than sweet," says mom Jeni Stepanek, who suffers the same disease and is in a similar, but larger, wheelchair. "But then I learned not to be surprised by anything he says."
Mattie's life has been filled with surprises — good and bad. He has almost died more than once, was named the National Goodwill Ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, appeared on Good Morning America and Oprah, and has become first-name friends with another peacemaker, for-mer president Jimmy Carter, who surprised Mattie on GMA last week.
"I was in a state of general shock. That's why I couldn't talk," says Mattie, who admits that's a rarity. (He appears on GMA again on Christmas Day.)
Mattie's books, which were originally published by a small publishing house in Alexandria, Va., are now being handled by Hyperion in New York, the same house that publishes the Don't Sweat the Small Stuff series.
Cheryl Barnes of VSP Books, the family firm that printed his first book last summer, says Heartsongs just got too big for her operation.
"I'm not surprised by Mattie, but the recent events have been miraculous," says Barnes, who calls Mattie "my little Yoda."
Mattie's books, now difficult to find, will be in mass circulation by mid-January.
"We're working on a number of signings with him," says Katie Long of Hyperion. "And we have another book coming out in April from him, too." Its title: Hope Through Heartsongs.
After a morning of home schooling, Mattie is busy making Christmas decorations for Carter and Winfrey. He inscribes ornaments with one of his favorite sayings: "Remember to play after every storm."
And play he does, donning a wizard hat as he goes about his day. Like most kids his age, he's a big fan of Harry Potter. With his wire glasses and impish grin, he even resembles the English schoolboy. He's also quite fond of Harry's sidekick, Hermione Granger. Pictures of her cover the wall over his bed. But "she's not my girlfriend."
He cried at the movie because he thought it so fabulous.
A precocious child who has already studied at a local community college, his goal is to major in peace studies and writing.
"He lives on the edge. It could be one day or one year," his mother says. Three of Mattie's siblings already have died of the disease. "We've been given the gift of time. He's spending these days living, not dying."
Meanwhile, Mattie continues what he calls his "peace work," with a possible speaking tour in the works.
"We need to win the war on terrorism with words, not bombs," he says. "We need to sit down and listen to our heartsongs. We need to stop fighting over things that don't matter, things like land and money."
He has already become a pro at the celebrity game, taking interviews into his own hands.
"Do you need any more questions answered?" he asks a reporter after two hours of interrogation.
"Do you have anything more to say?" he's asked in return.
"Of course. But just if you need me to say something."
I saw this boy get interviewed by Larry King on TV. It just struck me how full-grown men and women, with full use of their bodies and its functions, would be so out of hope that the only choice left for them is to blow themselves up. Maybe they ought to fight a battle against a debilitating disease and see how it fits. I'd say they ought to shape up... but then most of them have shipped out.
By Craig Wilson, USA TODAY
By Joyce Naltchayan, AFP
Poet Mattie Stepanek's book Journey Through Heartsongs hit the best-seller lists Nov. 18.
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — Mattie Stepanek is wheeling around his living room like any 11-year-old boy on an electric scooter, laughing as he runs over the long orange cord that snakes across the floor.
But Mattie's "scooter" is his life station — an electric wheelchair. And the laughter is sometimes halting. He suffers from a rare form of muscular dystrophy, a ventilator supplying his oxygen.
Mattie, wise beyond his years, has become the newest rage in the publishing world with his tiny volume of inspiring poems, Heartsongs, and its sequel, Journey Through Heartsongs.
The new book hit best-seller lists Nov. 18. A paperback of his first poetry collection, written between ages 3 and 6, also hit lists that week. Both took off after an October appearance on Oprah, and Mattie now calls Oprah Winfrey "a good friend."
Heartsongs is No. 27 on the USA TODAY Best-Selling Books list; Journey Through Heartsongs is No. 11.
December Prayer
No matter who you are,
Say a prayer this season.
No matter what your faith,
No matter how you celebrate,
Say a prayer this season.
There are so many ways
To celebrate faiths,
There are so many faiths
To celebrate life.
No matter who,
No matter what,
No matter how
You pray.
Let's say a prayer
This season,
Together, for peace.
- December 1999
"I'm a bit surprised," Mattie says. "I never thought my message would get out so quickly."
He is a poet who calls himself a peacemaker.
His message revolves around "heartsongs," which he describes simply as "a message of peace." He came up with the word when he was 4. ("Shh! Listen! That's my heartsong!" he told his mother.)
"I thought it was sweet at the time. Nothing more than sweet," says mom Jeni Stepanek, who suffers the same disease and is in a similar, but larger, wheelchair. "But then I learned not to be surprised by anything he says."
Mattie's life has been filled with surprises — good and bad. He has almost died more than once, was named the National Goodwill Ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, appeared on Good Morning America and Oprah, and has become first-name friends with another peacemaker, for-mer president Jimmy Carter, who surprised Mattie on GMA last week.
"I was in a state of general shock. That's why I couldn't talk," says Mattie, who admits that's a rarity. (He appears on GMA again on Christmas Day.)
Mattie's books, which were originally published by a small publishing house in Alexandria, Va., are now being handled by Hyperion in New York, the same house that publishes the Don't Sweat the Small Stuff series.
Cheryl Barnes of VSP Books, the family firm that printed his first book last summer, says Heartsongs just got too big for her operation.
"I'm not surprised by Mattie, but the recent events have been miraculous," says Barnes, who calls Mattie "my little Yoda."
Mattie's books, now difficult to find, will be in mass circulation by mid-January.
"We're working on a number of signings with him," says Katie Long of Hyperion. "And we have another book coming out in April from him, too." Its title: Hope Through Heartsongs.
After a morning of home schooling, Mattie is busy making Christmas decorations for Carter and Winfrey. He inscribes ornaments with one of his favorite sayings: "Remember to play after every storm."
And play he does, donning a wizard hat as he goes about his day. Like most kids his age, he's a big fan of Harry Potter. With his wire glasses and impish grin, he even resembles the English schoolboy. He's also quite fond of Harry's sidekick, Hermione Granger. Pictures of her cover the wall over his bed. But "she's not my girlfriend."
He cried at the movie because he thought it so fabulous.
A precocious child who has already studied at a local community college, his goal is to major in peace studies and writing.
"He lives on the edge. It could be one day or one year," his mother says. Three of Mattie's siblings already have died of the disease. "We've been given the gift of time. He's spending these days living, not dying."
Meanwhile, Mattie continues what he calls his "peace work," with a possible speaking tour in the works.
"We need to win the war on terrorism with words, not bombs," he says. "We need to sit down and listen to our heartsongs. We need to stop fighting over things that don't matter, things like land and money."
He has already become a pro at the celebrity game, taking interviews into his own hands.
"Do you need any more questions answered?" he asks a reporter after two hours of interrogation.
"Do you have anything more to say?" he's asked in return.
"Of course. But just if you need me to say something."
I saw this boy get interviewed by Larry King on TV. It just struck me how full-grown men and women, with full use of their bodies and its functions, would be so out of hope that the only choice left for them is to blow themselves up. Maybe they ought to fight a battle against a debilitating disease and see how it fits. I'd say they ought to shape up... but then most of them have shipped out.
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