Forget Edgar Allan Poe? Nevermore!

Cities up and down the East Coast claim author Edgar Allan Poe as their own and celebrate his 200th birthday

  • By Abigail Tucker
  • Smithsonian.com, June 11, 2009, Subscribe
View More Photos »
Edgar Allan Poe gravesite Baltimore Maryland
Originally buried in an unmarked grave in 1849, Edgar Allan Poe's remains were moved to this downtown Baltimore monument in 1875. (Associated Press)

Photo Gallery (1/5)

Edgar Allan Poe

Explore more photos from the story

Related Links


(Page 2 of 2)

Only now is Baltimore giving Poe a proper funeral, and it’s coming “160 years too late,” Pettit says. Recently, he penned an incendiary article suggesting that Poe be re-re-interred in Philadelphia. Asked if he’d been speaking metaphorically, Pettit responded: “I only meant it as a metaphor because I know it would never happen. In a perfectly just world of literary history, he would be dug up and buried in Philadelphia. We have a perfect plot of land in front of the Poe House.”

Actually, there are a bunch of Poe Houses. That is part of the problem.

For Pettit, it’s a bittersweet detail that Poe – who also lived and wrote in Philadelphia for a time - was en route to Philly when he died and might just have easily given up the ghost there. Other cities also have legitimate claims to the corpse. Poe once tried to commit suicide by swallowing laudanum in Boston, says Paul Lewis, a Boston College Poe specialist who, along with Jerome and Pettit, participated earlier this year in a formal debate about where Poe’s body belongs. Boston is Poe’s birthplace - to mark his bicentennial, the city named a square in his honor. But Boston has enough famous writers, critics say, and besides, Poe frequently locked horns with the resident Transcendentalists.

New York’s claim is that Poe wrote some of his best work there; his relatives apparently considered moving his body to the city after he died. And finally, there’s Richmond, where Poe spent much of his youth.

But maybe the controversy is less about Poe’s actual body than his body of work. Unlike his more provincial New England contemporaries, who frequently grounded their fictions in particular geographies, and even actual towns, Poe tended to base his stories in vague, medieval-like settings. The true backdrop for his work was the terrain of the mind. This is why it’s easy for everyone to see their city, and themselves, reflected in his writing, and also why there are Poe bicentennial celebrations planned in places he likely never visited, like Romania. (Though a Poe party on vampire turf is something of a no-brainer, come to think.)

Likewise, Poe’s influence extends far beyond the horror genre. Stephen King and R. L. Stine are indebted to Poe, but so are Vladimir Nabokov and Michael Chabon. Alfred Hitchcock was a fan, but so is Sylvester Stallone, who has for years floated the idea of directing a Poe film (rumored leading men have included Robert Downey Jr. and Viggo Mortensen).

After the last Great Poe Debate, the crowd voted Philadelphia the rightful heir to Poe’s remains; there will likely be a rematch in Boston this December. Yet wherever we decide Poe’s body belongs, we probably won’t let him rest. He’s been buried for more than a century and a half, but, like the victim in the “Tell-Tale Heart,” doesn’t seem quite dead.


Dead writers’ birthdays can be festive affairs. To mark John Milton’s 400th last year, English departments far and wide staged marathon readings of “Paradise Lost,” with at least one scholar reciting all 10,565 lines from memory. Charles Dickens’ 200th is still three years away, but already his bicentennial Web site is up and running, complete with a glossary of Victorian terms (bluchers: leather half-boots; gibbet: a post for displaying the corpses of executed criminals) and a detailed explanation of cribbage, one of Dickens’ favorite card games.

Yet none of this compares with the hoopla surrounding Edgar Allan Poe, who turned the big 2-0-0 this year. The celebrations far surpass the usual anniversary books and commemorative stamps (in his stamp, by the way, Poe looks much rosier-cheeked than you might expect). Because the horror writer relocated many times in his short life, a slew of cities – namely Philadelphia, Richmond, Baltimore, Boston and New York - are deadlocked in their claim to his legacy; to prove their worthiness, some have launched yearlong celebrations of the eccentric and the macabre. There are candlelight vigils, catacomb re-enactments, “Mask of the Red Death” masquerades with cash bars (which Poe, famous for his benders but chronically short on cash, probably wouldn’t have appreciated) and scads of Unhappy Hours (which he might have liked very much). There are raffles of coffin-shaped cakes and “Cask of Amontillado” wine tastings (“For the love of God Montressor you must attend this event!” one advertisement read, riffing on a famous line from the buried-alive narrative). Poe poetry slams, Segway tours, scavenger hunts, life-size puppet shows, exhibits of 19th century dentistry (a nod to Poe’s “Berenice,” in which the narrator pulls out his beloved’s teeth) - the list goes on and on. Hotels in Baltimore are offering a variety of deluxe packages featuring “blood-red” bottles of wine and coupons for Ravens lager at the Annabel Lee Tavern.

Pity poor Tennyson. It’s his 200th, too, and the most exciting tribute he’s getting is a tea party.

The Poe pomp and circumstance began in January (his birthday is January 19), is scheduled to rage throughout the summer (“Raven”-themed sand sculpture contest, anyone?) and will climax, conveniently enough, right around Halloween: Poe passed away under suspicious circumstances on October 7 in Baltimore, at the age of 40.

Indeed, Baltimore’s event lineup, known as “Nevermore 2009,” constitutes perhaps the most spectacular Poe blowout of all. Even in more ordinary years, the city, home of the Ravens NFL franchise, is hopelessly devoted to Poe, who lived there briefly with his aunt and young cousin (whom he married when she was 13) while writing some early stories. At midnight every January 19, a mysterious gentleman known as the Poe Toaster lays three roses and a bottle of cognac on Poe’s original downtown grave. And it is there that “Nevermore 2009” will mournfully conclude with a mock funeral procession (featuring an antique hearse), an open coffin viewing and not one but two fake funeral services.

“I didn’t want to do a lecture on Poe’s dramatic use of the semicolon,” says Jeff Jerome, curator of Baltimore’s Poe House and Museum. “That’s what Richmond’s doing. That’s what Philadelphia’s doing. I didn’t want people bored to tears.”

However, some (Poe fans in Philadelphia, ahem) say that Baltimore was not always so enamored of the oddball author. Indeed, the city didn’t exactly roll out the red carpet when Poe expired there in 1849. He wasn’t residing in Baltimore at the time, merely passing through, and it’s still unclear how, precisely, he met his untimely end. Rabies, alcoholism and a brain tumor have all been blamed; it’s also been speculated that an inebriated Poe was rounded up, forced to vote repeatedly in a corrupt Baltimore election and then left for dead. At any rate, after an unexplained absence of several days he was found collapsed outside a tavern near the harbor, wearing a frayed straw hat. He wound up in a pauper’s grave.

Twenty years later, though, his stock as a writer was rising, and “Baltimore realized, ‘Hey, isn’t that guy buried in one of our cemeteries? Yes!’ ” says Edward Pettit of Philadelphia, who writes an “Ed and Edgar” blog and oversees many local Poe events. Poe was promptly moved to a more prominent spot in the cemetery; during relocation, his coffin (naturally) collapsed. (The gravediggers reported hearing something rattling around in his skull, which was later counted as evidence for the brain tumor theory.)

Only now is Baltimore giving Poe a proper funeral, and it’s coming “160 years too late,” Pettit says. Recently, he penned an incendiary article suggesting that Poe be re-re-interred in Philadelphia. Asked if he’d been speaking metaphorically, Pettit responded: “I only meant it as a metaphor because I know it would never happen. In a perfectly just world of literary history, he would be dug up and buried in Philadelphia. We have a perfect plot of land in front of the Poe House.”

Actually, there are a bunch of Poe Houses. That is part of the problem.

For Pettit, it’s a bittersweet detail that Poe – who also lived and wrote in Philadelphia for a time - was en route to Philly when he died and might just have easily given up the ghost there. Other cities also have legitimate claims to the corpse. Poe once tried to commit suicide by swallowing laudanum in Boston, says Paul Lewis, a Boston College Poe specialist who, along with Jerome and Pettit, participated earlier this year in a formal debate about where Poe’s body belongs. Boston is Poe’s birthplace - to mark his bicentennial, the city named a square in his honor. But Boston has enough famous writers, critics say, and besides, Poe frequently locked horns with the resident Transcendentalists.

New York’s claim is that Poe wrote some of his best work there; his relatives apparently considered moving his body to the city after he died. And finally, there’s Richmond, where Poe spent much of his youth.

But maybe the controversy is less about Poe’s actual body than his body of work. Unlike his more provincial New England contemporaries, who frequently grounded their fictions in particular geographies, and even actual towns, Poe tended to base his stories in vague, medieval-like settings. The true backdrop for his work was the terrain of the mind. This is why it’s easy for everyone to see their city, and themselves, reflected in his writing, and also why there are Poe bicentennial celebrations planned in places he likely never visited, like Romania. (Though a Poe party on vampire turf is something of a no-brainer, come to think.)

Likewise, Poe’s influence extends far beyond the horror genre. Stephen King and R. L. Stine are indebted to Poe, but so are Vladimir Nabokov and Michael Chabon. Alfred Hitchcock was a fan, but so is Sylvester Stallone, who has for years floated the idea of directing a Poe film (rumored leading men have included Robert Downey Jr. and Viggo Mortensen).

After the last Great Poe Debate, the crowd voted Philadelphia the rightful heir to Poe’s remains; there will likely be a rematch in Boston this December. Yet wherever we decide Poe’s body belongs, we probably won’t let him rest. He’s been buried for more than a century and a half, but, like the victim in the “Tell-Tale Heart,” doesn’t seem quite dead.


Single Page « Previous 1 2

    Subscribe now for more of Smithsonian's coverage on history, science and nature.



 

Add New Comment


Name: (required)

Email: (required)

Comment:

Comments are moderated, and will not appear until Smithsonian.com has approved them. Smithsonian reserves the right not to post any comments that are unlawful, threatening, offensive, defamatory, invasive of a person's privacy, inappropriate, confidential or proprietary, political messages, product endorsements, or other content that might otherwise violate any laws or policies.

Comments (12)

I am doing a research paper on Edgar Allan Poe's influence on today's culture. If anyone could give me any referances I could use for more research I would appreciate that.

Posted by Hannah on October 28,2009 | 11:13 AM

More information for Poe fans:

As Mr. Clark mentioned in an above comment, Mr. Poe was a one-time University of Virginia student. Our U.Va. library recently had an exhibit about him: http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/press/poe/ There are links there to the online exhibit.

And our Alumni Magazine wrote an article about Mr. Poe and his time at U.Va.:
http://uvamagazine.org/features/article/shedding_light_on_a_shadow_figure/

Posted by UVA on October 7,2009 | 11:02 AM

Yes, dear Mr.Perry but the main difference between the "funerals" that Richmond has held is people will actually attend the big one in Baltimore. I attended the last "funeral" in Richmond and I was one of 8 people in attendance. By the way, the "funeral" was nothing more than some guy reading out of a book. Mighty impressive, I almost stayed awake.

I don't think there's any comparision between the "funeral" that the Poe Museum in Richmond has been holding for the "past few years" and the funeral that Baltimore will be holding this weekend. I do believe they are expecting over 700 people to attend.

However, I will say that the Poe Museum is a great museum if you love Poe! I always enjoy going there but the special events that they hold leave a lot to be desired. Stick to the exhibits and not special events.

Posted by Outis on October 5,2009 | 11:22 PM

It's a shame the article didn't pay much attention to the one city Poe actually claimed as his hometown--the city in which he spent considerably more of his life than any other. In fact, with more research, the author of this article might have discovered that most of the major events celebrating Poe's bicentennial will be taking place in or around Richmond, Virginia. We regret there will be no lectures about Poe's use of the semicolon.

Incidentally, since our neighbors to the north have so flattered us by staging a Poe funeral, in imitation of the one we have already staged annually for the past few years,we will be marking the anniversary of Poe's death in an entirely novel way this year. Check Poe200th.com for details.

The Great Poe Debate over Poe's hometown was a nice publicity stunt, but the organizers were afraid to invite a representative from Richmond, who might have silenced the whole debate by quoting Poe's own words on the subject.

Posted by Edgar Perry on August 24,2009 | 05:30 PM

The University of Virginia's Harrison's Institute is having a huge exhibit to celebrate Poe's 200th through August the 1st. He was a student at UVA for almost a year. Be sure to walk across the street and check out the room in which he lived, near the Rotunda.

Posted by Andrew Clark on July 5,2009 | 08:52 PM

The Bronx, NY is proud of its connection with Poe and indeed still maintains his "Cottage" here, as a museum. For a while he lived in a small white three room cottage with his beloved wife Virginia (who died there) and her mother, Mrs. Maria Clemm. It stands in a public park ("Poe Park") near where I grew up and as small boys we were permitted to go there by ourselves and hear the curator (who was fond of a drop or two himself) tell us that Poe didn't really write "The Raven" there, as we supposed (There was a stuffed raven displayed inside, and "Kelly's Raven Tavern" was nearby) but was inspired by the bells of Fordham University's church in his writing of "The Bells". He got along well with the Jesuit Fathers there, regarding them as "highly cultivated gentlemen and scholars."

Posted by Larry Dengler on June 26,2009 | 11:59 AM

Poe realized his last love in Providence.She was Sarah Helen Whitman.
He belongs in Providence with another famous writer Lovecraft.Swan Point Cemetary would be the same!

Posted by Tom on June 25,2009 | 09:36 PM

I still fail to see why people are worried where Poe himself is buried. Can't he just have some rest after people stomping around on his grave and waking him from his supposed eternal sleep?

But, seriously, all lame jokes aside I find it interesting that people bicker over a dead man's body. doesn't his spirit live on with all those cities? I find this all a little bit strange, all though I think it the best celebration for the horror-inducing Edgar Allen Poe.

Posted by jacob on June 24,2009 | 05:59 PM

Hey, I had a couple of drinks in Baltimore - does that mean my heirs have to worry about vultures from Maryland claiming my literary legacy, too? It's clear that all right-thinking people can agree that Poe and his legacy of Philadelphia-produced work belongs to the city of Brotherly Love. We've even got his frickin' raven! Nice try, crabbers. See ya, wouldn't want to be buried hear ya....

Posted by Dennis Tafoya on June 15,2009 | 12:00 PM

While Sullivan's Isle provided inspiration for The Gold Bug, Poe wrote that story while living and working in Philadelphia.

Posted by Edward Pettit on June 13,2009 | 07:08 AM

Poe was not buried in a pauper's grave. He was buried in his grandfathers lot in the rear of the historic graveyard.

I always maintained that once Poe's Bicentennial is over with all the cities that are fighting for Poe's remains and legacy (except Richmond which has an excellent museum dedicated to Poe's memory) will dump him like an empty bottle of Amontillado.

Baltimore has been celebrating and honoring Poe since 1875 and we will continue to honor him for another 200 years. All the other cities can play catch up with Baltimore.

I'm already making plans for the bicentennial of his death in 2049.. You think Baltimore pulled out all the stops for the bicentennial of his birth? You ain't seen nothing yet!

Jeff Jerome
Curator, Poe House and Museum
www.poebicentennial.com

Posted by Jeff on June 12,2009 | 11:30 PM

put charleston, sc on that list of places poe has lived. actually he lived on sullivan's island across the charleston harbor. this is where he wrote "the gold bug".

Posted by kathryn on June 12,2009 | 01:43 PM



Advertisement


Advertisement

Follow Us





First Name
Last Name
Address 1
Address 2
City
State   Zip
Email


Travel with Smithsonian




Smithsonian Store