Reviews:


"This book of exquisitely written poetry and it’s accompanying illustrations speaks of what the heart hears. Love and gratitude are the prevailing themes in Illusionary Heart: Poems of Life and Love and Essence by poets  Vanessa Vendola and Peggy Neuman. Vendola is a regular performer on the Open Mic circuit in Raleigh and Neuman is primarily a visual artist with a focus on the American Southwest. Illusionary Heart is illustrated  by Brazilian Gisele Bes. A long time in the making, you can tell how joyous the authors’ words are as they leap off of the page and connect with the surrounding poems. For instance, the hologram is the prevailing image in “Hologram” by Vendola and “Hologram Shoes” by Neuman. Their verse meshes  well with each other, and Bes’s illustrations complete the reader’s expectations of discovering words of love, life and essence. The book opens with three essence poems about the authors, with accompanying illustrations that are some of the best in the collection. Bes draws her female figures with sturdy legs, curvy hips and arms. These ink-women are grounded to the earth as they meditate, dream and create. Their legs are either dancing or walking  and their arms are swinging to the sky, full of childlike joy. Neuman’s poems are longer and more imagistic than Vendola’s, whose strengths lie in her compact essence poems. These three women have shared their talents and hearts with us in this inspiring collection. These artists had a vision and Illusionary Heart is their result."

~A Osborne,Raleigh

*****************************************************************************************************

Illusionary Heart” is an awakening. Authors Vanessa Vendola and Peggy Neuman’s inspiring words offer reminders of life’s most precious beauty marks: the light of a dawning day, the love between mother and child, the harmony of music and verse. Gisele Bes’ playful illustrations compliment the book’s gentle expressions. “Illusionary Heart” is accessible and relevant, allowing the reader to form an instant connection to its poems. Vendola and Neuman weave vignettes of love, joy, relationships and nature into a cadence that pulses from the pages into our own lives. The buoyancy of “Illusionary Heart” is contagious; you, too, will set down the book with a renewed lightness in spirit! This artistic trio has generously unlocked a portal from their hearts to ours.

~ CPallone