parijit
Except for a reading that the author herself staged three years ago, Mary Withertree’s insightful poetry has not been made public to this very day
A. Except for a reading that the author herself staged
B. Except for a reading with the author herself staging it
C. Besides a reading being staged by the author herself
D. Excepting for a reading that the author herself staged
E. With the exception of a reading with the staging done by the author herself
A. No issue
B. Reading with is incorrect, I doubt that staging it is also wrong.
C. Avoid being, look at this option only if other options are not much satisfactory.
D. Excepting is wrong, it should be except
E. Cumbersome. Don't know if there is any grammatical flaw in this. I feel without the fragment "with the staging", the meaning would be the same as the original sentence.
Hence, A.