Emily Dickinson is one of America’s famous poets, although she’s never quite had as much impact over here in the UK as she has in the States. That’s a shame, as her work is wonderful, and now British director Terence Davies is hoping to bring her life on the screen, with THR reporting that he’s lined up Cynthia Nixon to play Dickinson in A Quiet Passion.
The poetess was famously reclusive, publishing only a few poems during hre lifetime. Most of her work was only found and published after her death, and as it was written just for herself, it has an intensely personal quality that’s rare. There are also rumours she was a lesbian and had a female lover, although whether this will be included in the movie isn’t known (as homosexuality has been one of the main themes of Davies work, it may well be). All THR says is that it will ‘trace Dickinson’s life from precocious schoolgirl to tortured recluse’.
“I wrote the screenplay with Cynthia in mind,” Davies says. “It was the kind of dream casting you hope for. I never, for a moment, imagined my wishes would materialize. Cynthia has such a strong feeling for the work – and now she is our Emily Dickinson. I’m over the moon.”
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