The Secret River by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

 "The Secret River is in my mind.                            

I can go there anytime.

Everything Mother Albirtha says is true.

The sky is gold and the river is blue.

River, river, I love you."

                                                  -Calpurnia's poem

I am a long-time fan of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and had read this book so long ago I had the vaguest remembrance of the story. "The Secret River" is to be performed by Opera Orlando in December and we have tickets. I wanted to read the story again as a reference point. The book is the only one written by Marjorie Rawlings specifically as children's literature. The copy pictured above is illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon with beautiful artwork. Not really an opera fan, I was drawn to this one because of Rawlings and because the composer is a University of Central Florida professor of music and I am a two-degree graduate of UCF.

The story involves Calpurnia, an African American girl of a poor family in Florida. She visits Mother Albirtha, who is something of a forest guru, for advice in helping her father to turn his "hard times to soft times." As you can guess from the quote, she is an aspiring poet.

Being reminded of this lovely children's story, I am enthusiastically anticipating the opera version!