The Friends of the Whitesburg Public Library will present the play, “The Belle of Amherst,” by William Luce at 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 12, at Whitesburg United Methodist Church.  The church is at 480 Church Street, directly across from Whitesburg Elementary School. No tickets or reservations are required. Donations will be appreciated and will support the Whitesburg Public Library and the Whitesburg Care Fund Christmas Angels. 

The one-woman play about Emily Dickinson will be performed by Sybil Rosen, a lifetime member of the Friends of the Whitesburg Public Library and an award-winning playwright, novelist and actress.

“The Belle of Amherst is an intimate glimpse into the life of our most loved – and least known – American poet, Emily Dickinson,” Rosen said.  “By turns, funny, poignant, lyrical, and wise, the one-woman play investigates the poet’s unusual life – her self-imposed seclusion, the close circle of family, her writing life, and the men who loved her.”

Rosen has been nominated for Chicago’s Jefferson Award for Best Actress.  Her novel for young adults, “Speed of Light,” won the Sydney Taylor Award for Older Readers.  As a writer, her film narration was nominated for an Academy Award, and she won an Emmy for Best Writing on the Daytime Serial “Guiding Light.”  Most recently she co-wrote the screenplay with Ethan Hawke for the movie BLAZE, which Hawke directed, and which is based on her “Living in the Woods in a Tree,” a memoir about life in a Carroll County tree house with Texas music legend Blaze Foley.

For more information about the play, contact the Whitesburg Public Library at 770-834-0713.