"Make earth glad, little one--
that is the way to keep
the glad song ever in your heart.
It must not go out."
~Opal Whiteley
from her childhood diary (85)
I learned of Opal Whiteley (1897 - 1992) through the work of my cousin, Robert Lindsey Nassif, who wrote the script, music, and lyrics for Opal: A New Musical Adventure (winner of the Richard Rodgers Award). I haven't seen the play yet, but based on my reading, I feel sure that if you ever liked Our Town or The Fantasticks or A Midsummer Night's Dream, then you will be glad that you read this play. (Click to watch on youtube.)
And if you're a fan of Beatrix Potter, Edith Holden, Emily Dickinson, Emerson, Thoreau, or Annie Dillard, then you will find Whiteley's outlook similar in various ways to these nature-loving writers. Both the authenticity of the diary and the circumstances surrounding Whiteley's birth were disputed during her lifetime, and continue to be so even today.
There are several versions of the diary available.
Read one now and decide for yourself!
I went with:
Opal: The Journal of an Understanding Heart
by Opal Whiteley
Adapted by Jane Boulton
The Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow:
The Mystical Nature Diary of Opal Whiteley
With a Biography and Afterword by Benjamin Hoff
(author of long-time favorites: The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet)
Opal: A Life of Enchantment, Mystery, and Madness
by Kathrine Beck
(Background Reading)
A Brit Among the Hawkeyes,
by Richard, Lord Acton
Includes the essay "To Live Again in Music: The Riddle of Opal Whiteley," in which Acton describes his attendance at two poignant events in February 1992: Opal's funeral mass in London; and the New York premiere of Nassif's play, Opal: A New Musical Adventure" (above).
FOR MORE ON OPAL WHITELEY . . .
SEE NEW FORTNIGHTLY POST:
"OPAL: IN LOVE WITH THE WORLD"
ON MY LITERARY BLOG OF CONNECTION & COINCIDENCE
THE FORTNIGHTLY KITTI CARRIKER
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