“Fayette on the Page: One Book, One Community 2014” is now in progress at the Fayette County Public Library.
Organized by local librarians, this annual initiative uses literature and reading to bring people together and start conversations. Each year features a single book as the centerpiece of a sequence of events and activities at the library.
This year’s title is “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” Maya Angelou’s groundbreaking and inspiring account of growing up in the Jim Crow South, triumphing over adversity to find her voice.
Creativity workshops, book discussions, and stage performances are all part of the lineup of related activities scheduled throughout August and September.
Demonstrating the reach of Maya Angelou’s influence and the power of her legacy, Fayette on the Page programming in September will include a look at “Native Guard,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning poetic work by recent two-term U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey, who acknowledges her youthful discovery of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” as a pivotal event in her development as an artist. On Sept. 16 at 8 p.m., Fayette County Public Library will host company members from the Alliance Theatre for “Maya’s Legacy,” a sneak peek at the upcoming world premiere stage presentation of “Native Guard” and interactive discussion of its relationship to Angelou’s work.
“Native Guard” becomes a stage play this year for the first time in a special world premiere in Atlanta on the Alliance Theatre’s intimate Hertz Stage.
Prize-winning poetry will come alive with music, image, and spoken word.
Tickets are now on sale at the Fayette County Public Library for the matinee performance of “Native Guard” at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 5 on the Hertz Stage at the Alliance Theatre at 1280 Peachtree St. in Atlanta.
Through a special partnership between the Alliance Theatre and the Friends of the Fayette County Public Library, tickets for this particular performance are available at the discount price of $28 each – a savings of 30 percent off the regular box office rate.
What makes the October 5 performance of “Native Guard” of particular interest to Fayette County residents is the special guest appearance onstage of two members of the Fayette County Public Library staff.
For this performance only, library director Christeen Snell and public services librarian Sarah Trowbridge will be part of Act II of the “Native Guard” experience, leading the Alliance Theatre audience in a “talkback” discussion of the show.
For those who may not be able to attend “Native Guard” Oct. 5, discounted tickets to other performances of the play will be available for purchase from Alliance Theatre staff on-site at the library only on the evening of September 16, for guests of the “Maya’s Legacy: Native Guard” sneak peek.
All “Fayette on the Page” activities are free and open to the public, made possible through the generous support of the Friends of the Fayette County Public Library.
For additional information about “Fayette on the Page: One Book, One Community,” please contact the library at 770-461-8841 or visit online at http://www.fayettecountyga.gov/public_library.
