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Lucky Girl by Frances Driscoll & Tom Juarez

"Lucky Girl" is the true story of a woman piecing together the shards of a life shattered by rape. In 1987 Frances Driscoll was raped in Atlantic Beach, Florida. In 1995 her poem, "Island of the Raped Women" won the Pushcart Prize after appearing in Volt. In 1997 "The Rape Poems," a collection of 43 poems about the rape and the aftermath was published. This new adaptation is inspired by the phrase, "you are so lucky", one of the first things everyone says to rape survivors. "Some Lucky Girls", one of Driscoll's poems is included in this solo show performed by Cheryl Smith. The Rape Poems was dedicated to ten women in three generations of Ms. Driscoll's family. Two of the four of the youngest generation have been raped since the book was published. Often painful, "Lucky Girl," is also beautiful, heartbreaking, quirky and funny.

"The Rape Poems" has become a primary source for understanding the experience of rape and living with post-traumatic stress disorder. The book has been used in training programs by police departments, the US Air Force, medical schools, college athletic departments and at rape crisis centers around the world. "The Rape Poems" is used as a text in college classes ranging from creative writing and literature to medical ethics.

Driscoll's poetry has appeared in the journals Go, International Quarterly, The Massachusetts Review, Pudding, Sojourner, 13th Moon, Volt and Willow Springs. Poems from "The Rape Poems" were included in the anthologies the why and later, edited by Carly Sachs, and The Pushcart Prize XIX: Best of the Small Presses.

Praise for "The Rape Poems" from prominent poets includes:

Nikki Giovanni: "Powerful. Sad. Touching. Inspiring. What a gift she has."

Ralph Angel: " tender and private and hugely humane, these unsettling poems arrive like dispatches from the very source of our wounds."

Cheryl Smith recently appeared in "A Perfect Ganesh" at New Conservatory Theatre Center and "Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune" at the EXIT. Cheryl performed in Ambit Theatre Company's adaptation of "The Rape Poems" at the 2002 Edinburgh Fringe and received the Dean Goodman Choice award for her performance in "Kilt" at NCTC.