What if someone was given a diagnosis that they have 鈥渟ix to live.鈥� No one knows if it will be six days, six weeks or six months. Author Carrie Knowles uses this premise as a starting point for her short story 鈥淪IX鈥� featured in her latest collection 鈥淏lack Tie Optional: 17 Stories鈥� (Owl Canyon Press/2019).
The main character, known as 鈥渨oman,鈥� does not have time for a bucket list, so instead she sets out to right the wrongs of her life. She longs to forgive the man who raped her, and she seeks the forgiveness of the daughter born from that assault. Knowles also transformed this short into a one-act play, which will be . at Burning Coal Theatre Company in Raleigh. Knowles, the 2014 Piedmont Laureate for short fiction, joins host Frank Stasio with select cast and crew to preview the play. Mia Peters is the director of 鈥淪IX: a staged reading鈥�; actress Laquana Henny plays the lead role 鈥渨oman,鈥� and Justin Cole reads as the doctor. The one-act play is presented by the , and proceeds from the event benefit their scholarship fund. Knowles is also teaching a workshop called at Southeast Regional Library in Garner on Monday, May 20 at 7 p.m. Knowles will also host a book signing for in Raleigh on May 22 at 7 p.m.
