Halloween Countdown, Day 7

[eldritchhobbit]

On this day in 1849, Edgar Allan Poe died at the age of forty under mysterious circumstances.

For more information, read "Mysterious for Evermore" by Matthew Pearl, an article on Poe's death from The Telegraph. Pearl is the author of a fascinating novel about the subject, The Poe Shadow.



Five years ago, on the occasion of Poe's 200th birthday, I took over the StarShipSofa Audio Science Fiction Magazine to host an hour-long tribute to this pioneer of the short story, luminary of Gothic horror, father of detective fiction, and giant of science fiction. You can listen to the podcast here at the StarShipSofa website, or download it here, or access it via iTunes. If you listen, I hope you enjoy my celebration of Poe's life, works, and legacy!

The following are some of my favorite links about Edgar Allan Poe:
* PoeStories.com: An Exploration of Short Stories by Edgar Allan Poe
* The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore
* The Poe Museum of Richmond (See my pictures of the museum here.)

Free for adoption, here is my narration of Poe's "Mellonta Tauta." If you listen, I hope you enjoy!

And speaking of readings, here is one of my favorites: Gabriel Byrne reading Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death."

There were arabesque figures with unsuited limbs and appointments. There were delirious fancies such as the madman fashions. There was much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust. To and fro in the seven chambers there stalked, in fact, a multitude of dreams.
- Edgar Allan Poe, "The Masque of the Red Death" (1842)

Comments

[lizziebelle.livejournal.com]

Have you heard about the new Poe statue in Boston? http://artery.wbur.org/2014/10/04/edgar-allan-poe-statue-boston-unveiling

five years

[(Anonymous)]

superb! thanks for all the audio links. IT HAS NOT BEEN FIVE YEARS!! not!

five years

[(Anonymous)]

Hi Amy-
Thanks for all the audio links. I cannot believe it's been five years since you did the StarShip Sofa feature. That just blows my mind.

I printed off the Matthew Pearl article and added it to our Halloween book display. Thanks for that!
-Elizabeth Campbell

[equusentric.livejournal.com]

Your StarShipSofa segment was awesome...I think I will listen to it again. Yay Poe!

[xjenavivex.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I finally surfaced long enough to scroll my FLIST and it was grand to run into this.

[i-llbedammned.livejournal.com]

Poe is an author who is very dear to my heart. He was one of the first people to get me into Gothic literature and is still fantastic even years later. The incident of his death is something practically out of a story he wrote.

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to listening to your podcast. Poe introduced me to horror, so he'll always have a special place in my heart. His early death was a loss to all of us.

Re: five years

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

My pleasure! I know what you mean about the five years - isn't ridiculous how fast time is passing these days? Ack!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I knew the statue was in the works, but I didn't realize it was ready to be unveiled already! And from a "coffin-like structure"? How brilliant. I love the look of the statue, with the wind whipping his hair and coat: very "rock star"!

Re: five years

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Hey there, Elizabeth! I'm so pleased the links are useful to you! It blows my mind, too, that it's been five years. Where has the time gone? \o/

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Aw, I'm so happy you thought so! :D Thank you for this! Happy Poe-ing!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Aw, my pleasure! :D I'm happy you enjoyed it.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Well said. I feel the same way about Poe. He's touched a lot of lives, hasn't he?

The incident of his death is something practically out of a story he wrote.

So true!!!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so much! :)

Poe has a special place in my heart, too. And you're so right: his early death was a great loss to the world. If only...

[acciochocolate.livejournal.com]

We've been to the Poe house in Baltimore and the Poe Museum in Richmond. We also attended the Poe funeral in Baltimore 5 yrs ago, and saw many sights related to Poe, including both of his graves. For myself and the bf, Poe was one of the greats: a poet, a critic, a great short story writer, a futurist, and more. W/o his Dupin we would not have Holmes, or so Doyle indicated in his writings.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I would've loved to attend that funeral! How amazing! That must have been an unforgettable experience.

I agree 100% with your love of Poe and appreciation of his legacy. I've made those same pilgrimages to Baltimore and Richmond to see his graves and museum. Wonderful!