Dava Sobel vs. Dava Sobel

Dava Sobel battles herself about whether or not it is legitimate to write an original play about Copernicus (which she did) in order to fill a two-year gap in the known facts of his life, and embed it in her new biography of Copernicus (which she also did). The piece appears in the Huffington Post.

Sobel visits the Writers Institute Nov. 10th.

The dramatis personae are Dava Sobel Author (DSA) and Dava Sobel Playwright (DSP).

DSP: But one could imagine the dialogue.
DSA: Imagine?
DSP: Based on what's known of the facts, of course....
DSA: You mean make it up?
DSP: To recreate the yeastiness of the situation.
DSA: I wouldn't touch that. I've based my entire career as a journalist on not making up things.
DSP: As long as I'm candid about calling the work a play, who's to fault me? More.

The published play, “And the Sun Stood Still,” was presented as a staged reading by the Writers Institute in April 2008, and has continued to be developed over the course of the past few years in consultation with playwright, director, UAlbany professor and New York State Writers Institute Program Fellow W. Langdon Brown, among others.