Poet
The
- CHARACTERS -
Poe
Poe is a little person in his late 30s/early 40s who, in his solitude, writes and recites his own poems that reflect deep wisdom beyond his years. Sharing his most intimate thoughts and dreams only with his cat, Bronwyn, and with God, Poe sits atop the hill behind his simple cottage each night where he prays aloud and plays ethereal melodies on a silver flute. Poe reads the classics and observes life from a distance.
In his own words, “I have to look at life in a different way.” And he does. Most of his fellow miners don’t understand him, but they can’t help admiring him as a man with a sharp mind who plays poker incredibly well and works hard in the mines alongside the strongest of men. In a time and city far less than welcoming to those of any difference, Poe sees having a woman of his own to love as a near impossibility, and yet, he holds tight to his dream of the impossible.
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Catherine
A young woman in her mid-30s has arrived in Limerick after the death of her mother, for whom she has cared most of her life. She has come to Limerick to work at the home of the local Vicar, and as members of the same church, Catherine and Poe become close friends who share books and music, but she eventually falls in love with the roguish, married miner Emrys who appeals to Catherine’s over-sheltered need for adventure and love.
Eventually in trouble and alone, after becoming pregnant with Emrys’ child, Catherine turns to Poe for help. Poe willingly takes Catherine into his home, helps her through her pregnancy, and even assists in the delivery of her illegitimate child, and he does so with a spirit of complete forgiveness and tenderness.
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Emrys
Unhappily married, Emrys is a broken down, has-been soccer player who could have been a contender in the game had his health not been ruined in the mines.
He’s an angry man who fills his bitter taste of life’s inequities with alcohol, poker, fighting, blood-letting soccer matches… and Catherine, the young woman who comes to town after the death of her mother and becomes smitten with Emrys’ swaggering, arrogant sex appeal.
His affair with Catherine puts a rift between himself and the other miners that threatens to break their long-standing bonds.
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Hankins
A 30ish, lanky, unattractive goofball (by appearances), yet is a young man with a heart of gold, a team player, a side-kick that the other men never challenge because he fits in, doesn’t take sides, plays hard and works hard, and likes everyone.
He has no quarrel with the world, has a fun sense of self-deprecating humor and is the target of many jokes because of his unfortunate looks.
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Casey
50ish and the oldest of the minders – the unspoken patriarch of the group. He has a houseful of children and a fat wife, Gwenn, whom he loves, but he’s also a spiritual cynic who mocks his wife’s devout Catholic beliefs.
Black Lung disease begins to steal Casey’s vitality, and as he faces his mortality, he fears what he will find beyond the grave because of his spiritual ridicule and blasphemy. When Casey lies on his deathbed, Poe is there to help him leave his difficult life behind.
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