Review of Heart and Harmony: Poetic Reflections on Legendary Singers

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Julie Marie Basil
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Review of Heart and Harmony: Poetic Reflections on Legendary Singers

Post by Julie Marie Basil »

[Following is a volunteer review of "Heart and Harmony: Poetic Reflections on Legendary Singers" by Archie Luper.]
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5 out of 5 stars
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Do you enjoy poetry and learning more about the lives of famous musicians? Do you enjoy the melody of a good song and the rhythm of a rhyming poem? If you answered yes to these questions, then you should check out Heart and Harmony: Poetic Reflections on Legendary Singers by Archie Luper.
 
In this short book, Luper covers the careers of 50 of the most influential artists of our time. For each artist, he shares information about the artist’s background, including their given name, date of birth, and date of death if they are no longer living. He also provides details about their most famous works, which recording studios the artists have worked with, and what instruments they play. For artists who have been married, he includes the name(s) of their spouse(s), as well as the names of any children they had. Several of the artists included in this collection of poems are The Beatles, Celine Dion, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, and Taylor Swift.
 
All of the pertinent background information for each musician or musical group sets the stage for Luper’s poem detailing their lives and musical careers. The poems all follow the same structure of eleven stanzas with four lines in each stanza. Luper’s poems in this collection also share a rhyming scheme in which the first and second lines of each stanza end with a rhyming pair and the third and fourth lines of each stanza also end with a rhyming pair. Each poem touches on the artist’s roots, the titles of some of their most popular songs, and their legacy.
 
Overall, I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars, as I found nothing to dislike. I learned a lot about artists who I had heard of and even more about artists whose songs I knew but whose names I did not know. Some readers might dislike the repetitive nature of the poems since they all have the same structure and touch on similar details from the musicians’ lives, but others will find that this helps create cohesiveness amongst the collection. I only found one typographical issue in this poetry collection, which did not really detract from the wonderful reading experience.

******
Heart and Harmony: Poetic Reflections on Legendary Singers
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"It is only with the heart that one can see clearly, what's essential is invisible to the eye." ~ Antoine St. Exupery
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Gerry Steen
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Post by Gerry Steen »

Julie Basil wrote: 14 Dec 2024, 08:21 [Following is a volunteer review of "Heart and Harmony: Poetic Reflections on Legendary Singers" by Archie Luper.]
Book Cover
5 out of 5 stars
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Do you enjoy poetry and learning more about the lives of famous musicians? Do you enjoy the melody of a good song and the rhythm of a rhyming poem? If you answered yes to these questions, then you should check out Heart and Harmony: Poetic Reflections on Legendary Singers by Archie Luper.
 
In this short book, Luper covers the careers of 50 of the most influential artists of our time. For each artist, he shares information about the artist’s background, including their given name, date of birth, and date of death if they are no longer living. He also provides details about their most famous works, which recording studios the artists have worked with, and what instruments they play. For artists who have been married, he includes the name(s) of their spouse(s), as well as the names of any children they had. Several of the artists included in this collection of poems are The Beatles, Celine Dion, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, and Taylor Swift.
 
All of the pertinent background information for each musician or musical group sets the stage for Luper’s poem detailing their lives and musical careers. The poems all follow the same structure of eleven stanzas with four lines in each stanza. Luper’s poems in this collection also share a rhyming scheme in which the first and second lines of each stanza end with a rhyming pair and the third and fourth lines of each stanza also end with a rhyming pair. Each poem touches on the artist’s roots, the titles of some of their most popular songs, and their legacy.
 
Overall, I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars, as I found nothing to dislike. I learned a lot about artists who I had heard of and even more about artists whose songs I knew but whose names I did not know. Some readers might dislike the repetitive nature of the poems since they all have the same structure and touch on similar details from the musicians’ lives, but others will find that this helps create cohesiveness amongst the collection. I only found one typographical issue in this poetry collection, which did not really detract from the wonderful reading experience.

******
Heart and Harmony: Poetic Reflections on Legendary Singers
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I enjoy poetry and I love music. Your review has piqued my interest in this book. It will be nice to learn about the humans behind the music. The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, and Celine Dion are in my list of top ten musicians. I happily added this book to my bookshelves.
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Post by Anu Anand »

This book sounds like a delightful blend of poetry and music history, offering a unique way to explore the lives of legendary artists. Your review does a great job of capturing its appeal and structure. The cohesive poem format seems interesting. Thanks for sharing such a thoughtful review!
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Post by Lene Lena »

This sounds like an interesting book! Archie Luper’s exploration of these legendary artists through structured poetry offers a unique blend of biography and art. Your insights into the background information provided enhance our appreciation for the musicians’ contributions to music history. It’s wonderful to see such appreciation for the artistry involved!
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Post by Sarah Zain »

I liked how the poems shared same structure. Using poetry to dive in musicians lives is beautiful idea. Thank you for well written review
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Post by Priya Murugesan »

I love music very much. I would love to know more about the careers of the musicians. I think I would find this book interesting. Thanks for your review!
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Post by Adrian Bouknight »

Julie Basil wrote: 14 Dec 2024, 08:21 [Following is a volunteer review of "Heart and Harmony: Poetic Reflections on Legendary Singers" by Archie Luper.]
Book Cover
5 out of 5 stars
Share This Review


Do you enjoy poetry and learning more about the lives of famous musicians? Do you enjoy the melody of a good song and the rhythm of a rhyming poem? If you answered yes to these questions, then you should check out Heart and Harmony: Poetic Reflections on Legendary Singers by Archie Luper.
 
In this short book, Luper covers the careers of 50 of the most influential artists of our time. For each artist, he shares information about the artist’s background, including their given name, date of birth, and date of death if they are no longer living. He also provides details about their most famous works, which recording studios the artists have worked with, and what instruments they play. For artists who have been married, he includes the name(s) of their spouse(s), as well as the names of any children they had. Several of the artists included in this collection of poems are The Beatles, Celine Dion, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, and Taylor Swift.
 
All of the pertinent background information for each musician or musical group sets the stage for Luper’s poem detailing their lives and musical careers. The poems all follow the same structure of eleven stanzas with four lines in each stanza. Luper’s poems in this collection also share a rhyming scheme in which the first and second lines of each stanza end with a rhyming pair and the third and fourth lines of each stanza also end with a rhyming pair. Each poem touches on the artist’s roots, the titles of some of their most popular songs, and their legacy.
 
Overall, I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars, as I found nothing to dislike. I learned a lot about artists who I had heard of and even more about artists whose songs I knew but whose names I did not know. Some readers might dislike the repetitive nature of the poems since they all have the same structure and touch on similar details from the musicians’ lives, but others will find that this helps create cohesiveness amongst the collection. I only found one typographical issue in this poetry collection, which did not really detract from the wonderful reading experience.

******
Heart and Harmony: Poetic Reflections on Legendary Singers
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Julie, thank you for sharing this review! This looks like an interesting read. I like how the text spans such a wide array of musicians, even up to contemporary artists like Taylor Swift. I'll have to keep this one in mind! Thanks again for such a well-written review! I'll keep an eye out for your future content!
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Post by Martina Sette »

This book seems so good! I love music and I want to know more about it. Great review!
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Julie Marie Basil
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Post by Julie Marie Basil »

Martina Sette wrote: 02 Feb 2025, 18:18 This book seems so good! I love music and I want to know more about it. Great review!
This was definitely an enjoyable read, thank you for taking the time to comment!
"It is only with the heart that one can see clearly, what's essential is invisible to the eye." ~ Antoine St. Exupery
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Post by Diane C Johnson »

What a novel concept. I think the format Archie Luper uses is fitting as I’ve always thought of musical artist who write songs as poets. I am adding "Heart and Harmony: Poetic Reflections on Legendary Singers" to my reading list as I would enjoy both the historic background on the artist as well as the poetry. Thank you for the great review.
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Post by Elizabeth-Tush4Christ »

All the musicians written about are great artists with very lovely personalities, and it's great to have people write about them. However, I do not really know much about them and hope to find out more about their personalities in this author's poem. It's like a fun way of reading a biography; it's creative, and I like it. Your review is informative; thank you.
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Post by Chi Chiu Michael Mak »

A celebration of the greats of art and music! Love it!
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