Emily Dickinson loved birds,* and her sister, Lavinia, loved cats. That's a comic mini-conflict inside
The Belle of Amherst, a one-woman play by William Luce. I did it as a senior thesis project at Kenyon College many years ago (I'm finally the right age to play the role!), and now there's a revival of it Off-Broadway, starring Joely Richardson,
reviewed by Scott Klavan at
Escape Into Life. Julie Harris played the role originally.
You can see production shots at
the review and also this fabulous Death tarot card, starring Emily Dickinson, by Susan Yount.
This week and next, you can read poems about cats at EIL, too! We had the Dog Days this summer, poems about dogs, and now, in October, it's equal time for cats,** with cat art by
Nicola Slattery. I'm calling the first installment of this mini-anthology
Cat-at-Strophe, a horrific pun. You see the Halloweenish theme here. This lovely Slattery piece is actually titled
Hallowed Cat! Lavinia would be pleased.
* And also bees and butterflies.
**Birds are pretty ongoing in poetry.
5 comments:
Scott Klaven's review of William Luce's, The Belle of Amherst with Joely Richardson, is a little harsh.
reviews are so subjective because of this many times unkind
Yep. Sigh... He's a true and honest critic. I notice that he places each review in the larger contexts of theatre--the history of it, the art of it, and, in New York, the business of it. We get his perspective as well as his reaction to each play.
I read "Lives Like Loaded Guns" and was fascinated by the relationships between and amongst the Dickinson clan. The play sounds interesting.
Sending the Emily tarot card on!
I love the cat that swallowed the moon, and of course Carolyn's poem!
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